Zoo

Marks (How It Works) returns with a teen thriller that begins with the kidnapping of 17-year-old Cameron Stewart and quickly dives into blackmail, double-crossing and genetic engineering. Cam awakens in captivity, escapes (killing a guard with aerosol air freshener), discovers he is in Seattle, and slowly works his way back to his home near San Diego. Along the way, he meets beautiful Tee, a girl he quickly falls for, and her jealous boyfriend. They piece together some secrets about Cam's background and discover an ID chip implanted in Cam, which casts doubt on his own parents' innocence, as his captors close in on him once more. Marks shifts viewpoints between Cam, his captors, his parents and investigators, in chapters that begin with date, time and location a la Law and Order or The X-Files. Readers will find Cam's despair both palpable and wholly believable, though the latter cannot be said for the book's dialogue ("" 'I killed him... I'm a victim and a criminal. Okay?' 'Killed who?' Tee frowned. 'The guy guarding the room I was being kept in.... He was gagging, he couldn't see, and I just kept spraying until he collapsed. I think he must've chucked up' ""). Still, the story works in an O.C. meets 24 kind of way, and readers will likely enjoy the warp-speed conclusion as all sides descend upon Cam. Ages 12-up.