Fortress / Gabrielle Lord / 283 pages

I loved Gabrielle Lord's 365 series, so when I saw Fortress blogged, I had to read it.  We don't have a copy in our system so I had do a bit research to find a copy, but it was well worth it.  "This is an awesome retelling of the Faraday School kidnapping, a true event in which the teacher and students of a small country school in rural Australia are kidnapped and held ransom."  Both the teachers and students rise to the occasion.  When the kidnappers threaten to kill one of the kids each day, they decide to go on the offensive and fight back.  They fortify their cave and not only defend their position and lives, they take the lives of the kidnappers...and a souvenir.  Wow, this was an exhausting read.  Ms. Lord is such as astounding storyteller that she places the reader directly inside the action, reaction, and terror.