Scared Stiff

by Willo Davis Roberts

This bestselling classic mystery filled with “clever sleuthing” (Publishers Weekly) by two brothers looking for information about their missing mother from three-time Edgar Award­–winning author Willo Davis Roberts is a thrilling roller coaster ride of a read.Rick and Kenny’s Pa was right all along—troubles really do happen in threes. First Pa’s truck was robbed, then Pa ran off, leaving Rick, Kenny, and Ma to fend for themselves, and now Ma has disappeared, too! Rick knows Ma would never leave them on purpose—but then, where is she? Waiting in Uncle Henry’s trailer park doesn’t seem to be getting them any closer to figuring out what happened.Instead the brothers, along with their new friends Connie and Julie, head to the abandoned Wonderland Amusement Park next door to search for answers. But what they find inside sends them on the most terrifying roller coaster ride of their lives. Could whoever took Ma be after them as well?

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Young Adult, Fiction, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Horror

Paperback

First published January 1, 1991

About the author

Willo Davis Roberts was an American writer chiefly known for her mystery novels for children and young adults. She won Edgar Allan Poe awards in 1989, 1995, and 1997 for best juvenile and best young adult mysteries. Her books included The View from the Cherry Tree, Twisted Summer, Don't Hurt Laurie, Megan's Island, Baby-sitting is a Dangerous Job, Hostage, The Girl with Silver Eyes, The One Left Behind and Scared Stiff.

Reviews

[Minni Chappidi · Rating 1 out of 5]

I did not like the book at all- I thought that the mystery was so fast moving and confusing at times. I also didn’t like the characters, they were all very 2D. I didn’t like the whole plot and the kidnapping stuff. It all felt very forced. I did give it one star though because there is an abandoned amusement park in the book, and I enjoyed reading the descriptions of it. I also thought the climax of the book was ok.

[Morgan]

Scared Stiff is about Rick and his little brother Kenny, and there mom and dad. One day Pa came home and told them that a load of new TVs he'd been caring around have been taken while he was going to go eat. E & F, believed that it was all Pa's fault, and blamed him for the missing TVs. E & F is a trucking company that Ma and Pa worked at. Pa is like really mad, Ma sent Rick and Kenny to their rooms while Ma and Pa talk. Next morning Pa was gone, and nobody knew where he went. It was the last day of school and Kenny and Rick had handfuls of stuff, they saw Ma talking to some guys in a black car, Ma gave them money to go get dinner. And when they came back Ma was gone and the house was a wreck, they were sent to their Uncles purple trailer, next to an abandoned amusement park. The police wouldn't help them find their Ma, so Rick and Kenny and their friends go off and look for clues of what happened to the Ma. They explore the amusement park, and yeah. In the end the catch who stole the TVs and they get their Ma back. Pa came back also. I thought it was a really good book, lots of mysteries, and very well written. I would deffinately read it again.

[Cathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Rick and Kenny's Pa was right -- troubles really do happen in threes. First Pa's truck was robbed, then Pa ran off, leaving Rick, Kenny, and Ma to fend for themselves, and now Ma has disappeared, too. Rick just knows Ma would never leave them on purpose -- but then, where is she? Since the police don't seem to be taking him seriously, and with his new friends Connie's coaxing and Julie's help, Rick starts looking for clues. Soon Uncle Henry's trailer park doesn't seem like the best place to be and as the brothers explore the abandoned Wonderland Amusement Park next door answers seem to come to them. Suddenly it appears that whoever took Ma may be after them also.

Well-written suspense filled reading for intermediate students - nice pacing. The main characters are all in tough spots and are as believable as can be. I think the kids will really enjoy it and be rooting them on.

[Randalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super intense for a kids book. This was on our battle of the books list and I might not have picked it up if the cover had looked like this. There is kidnapping, thugs and a shuttered amusement park all woven together.

[Claire S · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book Scared Stiff by Willo Davis Roberts. In the book It starts off by the main character Rick telling the readers how his Pa told him troubles always come in threes, and later that evening Pa came home and said he had his load stolen and he might get fired. That caused Rick and his little brother Kenny's Ma and Pa to fight all night long and in the morning Pa left because they separated. The boys went to school and when they came back they saw Ma being followed so they came up to her and she said to go get dinner. After they came out of the store she was gone. They went back to the apartment she wasn't there and didn't come home for the rest of the evening so Rick called the cops and no one believed him, so they went to go stay in Their uncle Henry's purple bus. They met Julie who lived in the trailer park, and Connie who came to the theme park all the time and they all went into the abandoned park and messed around. When they came they heard that their Ma called so they investigated where they found out where it was coming from, so Uncle Henry went to the police and while he was gone the people who stole the truck load and kidnapped Ma showed up at the trailer park and tried to take Rick and Kenny because they found out Ma had to much information about it. They were being chased through the theme park and the cops finally showed up and arrested Zimmer and Packard, returned Ma, and got Kenny and Rick safe again.
Some things that the author did that affected me in the the book are when Kenny, Rick, and Connie were being chased throughout the Wonderland Theme Park. Because of the way she wrote that part made it so intense giving all the details about being chased and how they talked about the way they hurt the kids it just left suspense when I took a break from reading it. The ending is also pretty emotional finding out everything that happened. It made me relieved when it ended happy but it was scary when they didn't find Kenny yet and they heard the shot and realized that one of the men got shot in the shoulder. The author gave great details whenever Rick was getting anxious about what was going on. She used wording that made it so real and relatable when he felt like his heart was going to explode or when his chest was tight. One other thing was when Ma disappeared the clues she left behind really made the story more interesting.
I loved this book and I recommend to everyone because even though the age recommendation age is around 12 it seems like a pretty mature book because it seems so realistic. It's not like other kids books that are completely unrealistic. Everything in the story could definitely happen in real life. For me it was a perfect read it wasn't to easy and it wasn't to hard. I really enjoyed it and I could picture the whole thing in my mind. My favorite part of the book was when Rick decided to sink his boat and hide behind a fake pirate in the Pirate's Cave so the men wouldn't catch him. I could really connect with the anxiety Rick had throughout the whole thing.

[Natalie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another book on the Battle of the Book list. I'm not really sure how they come up with the titles on this list. I mean, this book is good enough, but I'm not sure why it deserves to be on the list. There wasn't anything super special about it.

Rick and Kenny are distraught when their mother disappears. They're sure she's been kidnapped but the police won't believe them. While their mother is gone, they stay with their Uncle Henry in his big purple fan at an RV park near a closed down theme park.

The kids meet Connie and Julie and have fun exploring Wonderland, the theme park. Rick is still worried about his mom and does everything he can to figure out what happened to her.

I have to admit, even I was intrigued with the idea of exploring an old theme park. It sounded so much fun. Great idea on the setting.

Not sure kids will get the whole insurance side of things, but then again they don't really need too. There's bad guys and good guys and that's pretty much all they need.

I've read one other Willo Davis Roberts book and this one was definitely better than that one. Probably due to the fun setting.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a vivid memory of reading my first page-turner (as an 8 or 9 year old): another Willo Davis Roberts title, "Babysitting Is a Dangerous Job". When a bunch of her titles showed up on Kindle for 99 cents, I bought a few with intriguing premises. This one did not disappoint, and in fact, I enjoyed it more as an adult than my reread of Babysitting Is a Dangerous Job (which was entertaining, but not very suspenseful to an adult). Even at forty, the idea of having free range of an empty amusement park completely sucked me in. The kidnapping plot is slightly hokey (though may be scary for a kid reading this), but not absurd.

[Maylah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rick has more than just basic family troubles. His pa has run off and his ma has (strangely) disappeared. Rick thinks that there is more to the story than on the outside, so with the help of his little brother and two new friends, he tracks clues to piece his family back together again.

However, the investigation is more dangerous than it seems, and when the group explores an abondoned theme park they begin to sense danger...

Find out what happens in this classic mystery by Willo Davis Roberts.

[Carole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Believing that trouble comes in threes, Rick is not surprised when Pa's trailer is robbed when he's on a delivery run, next Pa leaves home, and finally Ma is kidnapped, only the police don't believe she left involuntarily. Rick and his little brother Kenny have to go stay with their Uncle Henry who lives in a purple former school bus in a trailer park next to a closed Wonderland amusement park. Can they convince the police that their Ma was kidnapped?

[Beth Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

After his father abandons the family and his mom disappears, Rick and his younger brother Kenny go to live with their Uncle Henry in an RV park next to an abandoned amusement park. The people who abducted their mother seem to be out looking for Rick and his brother. Creepy setting and interesting plot for a kids’ book.

[Frank McAdam · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well written mystery told from the pov of an 11 year old boy. The plot is pretty threadbare and most readers will figure out early on what's happening, but the author still manages to keep the suspense going. The book was written for young adults but is an enjoyable read for adults as well.

[Julie W · Rating 2 out of 5]

One of the lamer BOB books I’ve read. Everyone has a dysfunctional family. So many implausible aspects of the amusement park. Police made out to be idiots. So many times I rolled my eyes as I read. Only finished so I can complete the full BOB list for this year.

[Lora · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was for Battle of the Books so it is one that I read aloud to my boys. As far as read aloud books go it was good enough. We could take guesses at what was going to happen and enjoy the mystery all the way through.

[Karijean31 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had a hard time getting into this book but the last 60 pages were pretty exciting. Overall I liked this book.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I live near an amusement park, so this mystery rang a bell.

[Michele · Rating 3 out of 5]

That Connie was one scrappy kid.

[Kerstin Daynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great and captivating mystery for young readers! I loved reading this with my 11 year old.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed reading with my 11 yr old

[Sierra Charlesworth · Rating 3 out of 5]

My sixth graders liked this book, but I was not that impressed. It was entertaining as far as middle-grade novel goes, but I felt it was too slow and not very well written.

[Sydney Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Boo Ya

Best book I've read this month! I kind of want a sequel to come out so I can read that to.

[Carys · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book!

[Jennifer Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

5th/6th grade battle of the books. Great mystery for kiddos.

[Maddie Buell · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a fun and unique read!! Great selection for Battle of the Books :)

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty entertaining, quick, fairly intense YA book.

[Coretta brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

It ended good with the bad guys loosing

[Stina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read to prep for battle of the books. Fun kids adventure. Makes my 10-yr-old nervous as he’s reading it. Does mention child abuse, alcoholism, divorce, and poverty.

[Matthew Kern · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story. It was fun to follow the clues and kind of nice to go from the stress of a kidnapped mother to the adventure of an abandoned amusement park.

The end felt a bit flat.

[Madi Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting concept, a mom being kidnapped instead of the kids. It was just way too slow and the explanations were way too technical.

[Brillante Self · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read this aloud to kids to help my son get through his Battle of the Books list. My kids seem to enjoy it fine and were invested in the story but I just wanted to switch books the entire time reading it. Pretty intense for a kid's book with kidnappings, thugs, fathers leaving their families, sneaking out to an old shut down amusement park in the middle of the night... I felt no connection to the characters... Just not my jam.

[Jodi Sorenson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very cute, very enjoyable, and very fun young adult mystery. I will definitely read more of her stories after this!