“Sniper” by Theodore Taylor

Want a book that grabs you on page one and doesn’t let go? This one’s for you.

Ben is about your age, and his parents have just left him in charge of the family’s wild animal preserve while they travel to Africa. It’s a big job, but at first everything runs smoothly. Then one night the peacocks start screeching, and Ben goes out to see why.

What he finds is two lions, shot dead from a distance, each with a single bullet to the heart.

Someone is out there in the dark. Someone with a score to settle. And Ben is alone with a lot of dangerous animals and no idea who the shooter will go after next.

It’s fast, tense, and short enough to finish quickly. Taylor also wrote “The Cay,” so he knows how to write survival stories that stick with you.

This copy is in good condition, and you can find it at Dead Tree Dreams. Grab it and see if you can guess who’s behind it.