Chasing the Skip by Janci Patterson

Ricki’s dad has never been there for her. He’s a bounty hunter who spends his time chasing parole evaders—also known as “skips”—all over the country. But now since Ricki’s mom ran off, Ricki finds herself an unwilling passenger in a front-row seat to her father’s dangerous lifestyle.

Ricki’s feelings get even more confused when her dad starts chasing seventeen-year-old Ian Burnham. She finds herself unavoidably attracted to the dark-eyed felon who seems eager to get acquainted. But Ricki thinks she’s ever in control—the perfect manipulator. Little does she know that Ian isn’t playing their game by her rules. (From Goodreads)

Best Bits: Ricki's had it rough. Her father hasn't been a part of her life, and now her mom has gone off to meet some guy she met online. If that's not the setup for abandonment issues I don't know what is. I enjoyed watching the buildup of tension between Ricki and her father, and the confrontation where Ricki finally gets the answers she's looking for. It's clearly difficult for both of them to be in this new situation...and to add skips (people who've missed their court dates) into the mix adds to the trouble. I would say that this book is less about romance, as the synopsis makes it seem, and is more of a contemporary family drama. So, go into it without expectations of true and undying love. 

Nit Picks: There were a lot of ends left open, and I wanted more resolution. This doesn't mean that I found the end of the book unsatisfying, I actually enjoyed it. It just felt like many of the different portions of Ricki's story had a little more to explore than the reader gets to see. Patterson is definitely one to watch, but I feel like this book needed a couple more chapters just to round the story out. 

Chasing the Skip
By Janci Patterson
240 Pages
Published by Henry Holt and Co. 
Received for Review
Rating: C