Trapped On The D.C. Train
What could be worse than battling the June heat in Washington D.C.? KC Corcoran and her best friend Marshall Li are about to find out as they board the train at Union Station for a weekend in the country with the Vice-President.
KC’s stepfather is the President of the United States. The children are under strict orders not to disclose that, to prevent anything untoward from happening. The Vice-President is Aunt Kitty, and the two accompanying guards are her family. But there is someone who does know their true identity.
When the vice-president thinks of getting coffee from the snack car KC and Marshall ask if they can go get it. Aunt Kitty sees no harm in that, the snack car is only two compartments away, and they are on a moving train. They do come back safely with the coffee and snacks.
KC is puzzled by some thing she sees along the way. Why is the blind man, and the lady across the aisle from him, sitting facing the back of the train? Marshall tells her its her overactive imagination trying to make a mystery out of it. Is she?
The author scatters clues along the path. The train lights switch off for short moments. A conductor comes along to reassure the passengers that this matter is being attended to; they should not worry if the train makes an unexpected stop. A man is working on the platform connecting the last caboose to the rest of the train. We read on.
Then the last caboose disappears. The Vice-President’s compartment is gone. KC and Marshall are by themselves. They know they have to hide. Somebody is looking for them, and the intentions are not good.
The story is simply told, at a second grade level, yet it sweeps the reader along. It is part of a series which would be a good addition to any second grade reading list.
Title: Trapped On The D.C. Train- Author: Ron Roy
- Publisher: Random House (2011)
- Reviewer: Anjali Amit
- Paperback: 90 Pages
- ISBN: 978-0-375-85926-7
- Genre: Fiction Mystery
