Looking for an unforgettable collection of YA books about kidnapping? As an award-winning author and veteran blogger, I’ve spent over a decade analyzing and recommending the most impactful YA novels about tough topics like child abduction and missing children.
You’ll find detailed reviews of many favorites in the roundup below. I’m confident you’ll find something new to read for National Missing Children’s Day. Some of these are thrillers with young protagonists who are actively fighting against their evil captors, while others are more tragic stories about stolen children and the repercussions of being hostage. With a list about missing kids and teens who’ve been trapped and endangered, I can’t guarantee you’ll find a list of all roses and happy endings here, but you will find great reads.
Forgotten But Never Gone by Khristina Chess
Kidnapping Themes
Mystery & community impacts
What it’s about
A girl walks up the road and vanishes from sight, and the town’s apathy proves as terrifying as the darkness that swallowed her.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“I think it was this rebellious quality about her that allowed everyone to write off her disappearance so easily. Kids like Half-pint ran away. This whole generation was full of delinquents. Blah, blah, blah.” – Khristina Chess from Forgotten But Never Gone
If you’re drawn to those cold case shows and unsolved mysteries, those heartbreaking stories of missing girls and unclaimed Jane Does, Forgotten But Never Gone is for you. Set in 1980, this historical YA novel transports readers back to a time before AMBER alerts and 24-hour news cycles, when carefree kids roamed neighborhoods with little supervision and always returned home in time for supper.
Except sometimes they didn’t.
The story begins with the disappearance of fifteen-year-old Rosie Fields, affectionately nicknamed “Half-pint.” One of the last to see her was Bobby, a foster kid whose life Rosie once saved. When the police dismiss her case as just another runaway, Bobby refuses to accept it, and in his relentless search, he follows one lead after another until he makes a shocking discovery.
I highly recommend this layered and unsettling YA mystery, which exposes some of the reasons why more people seemed to vanish without a trace in the 70s and 80s. What makes this book especially powerful is its dual resonance: it’s both a gripping page-turner and a thoughtful exploration of how society failed vulnerable youth in the past. Bobby’s determination reminds us that sometimes the most unlikely person can become the keeper of truth, and that refusing to forget is itself an act of justice.
Fans of historical mysteries, true crime narratives, or YA novels with grit and heart will love Forgotten But Never Gone. The story lingers long after the final page, leaving you haunted not only by Rosie’s fate but by the real-life children who have never been found.
Stolen by Lucy Christopher
Kidnapping Themes
Psychological manipulation
What it’s about
A slow-boil novel about the abduction of a young girl by a stalker who woos her into caring for him.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“How long will you keep me?" I asked.
You shrugged. "Forever, of course.” ― Lucy Christopher from Stolen
What a beautiful, unsettling, thrilling, complex, and emotional novel! I was mesmerized by the characters and the slow-boil situation. The author did an amazing job of making me emotionally invested in the outcome. I could feel the heat and dryness of the desert. The camel was a creature I could see and smell, and I love the way Lucy Christopher draws a parallel between what happens to Gemma and the camel. Wonderful! I have a very vivid impression in my mind of the setting.
I can’t say too much without giving spoilers, so I will only urge you to read it if you’re looking for YA books about kidnapping and child abduction I loved it!!!
If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch
Kidnapping Themes
Non-custodial parent kidnapping
What it’s about
A haunting novel about a girl who raises her baby sister in the woods for years after being abducted by her bipolar mother.
Why I Love It - Book Review
"Funny how people know what shame is, even when you don't have a name for it. No matter. It feels the same."― Emily Murdoch from If You Find Me
What an addictive novel! Within the first 20 pages, I was utterly hooked, and I spent an entire Saturday reading to the end. I had to find out what happened on the night that Janessa quit speaking. I had to understand the truth about how and why these children raised themselves in a camper in the woods with an abusive, meth-head mother. I loved every moment.
For me, the plotting was so compelling that I overlooked many inconsistencies. How did a child in the woods since she was four teach herself reading and math? Or how to shoot and kill wild game with a shotgun? I was so absorbed by the story questions that none of that mattered.
My heart went out to these sisters and their bond. I loved the patience and kindness their father and stepmother as the girls adjusted to a world with electricity, running water, appliances, and more than two pairs of jeans.
Junior Missing by Khristina Chess
Kidnapping Themes
Psychological manipulation
What it’s about
A seductive and chilling thriller about a runaway teen, drawn into an intoxicating relationship with an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go!
Why I Love It - Book Review
“He called me the most willing kidnapping victim in history. I’d invited him to my house, he’d said. I’d climbed into the car. I’d packed a bag. And a parakeet.” ― Khristina Chess from Junior Missing
Wow! Readers who love the intense chemistry and unsettling seduction of a dark romance won’t be able to put Junior Missing down. What makes Junior Missing so special is the slow-boil depiction of how Grace’s forbidden attraction turns into a trap set by an older man who takes her in—and won’t let her go!
The story starts as sixteen-year-old Grace Keegan, darling of the child pageant world with a bright future, is missing. At first, police assume she ran away. But when they find her abandoned phone along the highway, the truth becomes far more terrifying.
No one knows about Quentin Brock—the musician she met online. He’s charming, funny, and perfect.
Until he isn’t. Until she’s trapped in another state with no way out.
She doesn’t even have shoes.
If you’re looking for YA books about kidnapping, I recommend this mesmerizing, authentic novel that depicts how someone can so easily be manipulated and hurt in a toxic relationship. Junior Missing will stay with you after the final page. Worth the read!
In fact, Khristina Chess is on my list of Best YA Authors to Binge on Kindle Unlimited because she has so many suspenseful novels.
No Exit by Taylor Adams
Kidnapping Themes
Survival
What it’s about
A college student trapped at an interstate exit during a storm makes a dangerous discovery in one of the other vehicles.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“The difference between a hero and a victim? Timing.” ― Taylor Adams from No Exit
Holy cow! In this thriller, a college student pulls over at a rest stop during a blizzard, and while walking around the parking lot to locate cell phone coverage (unsuccessfully), she discovers a child locked in a dog crate in the back of a van. A live child. Someone inside the building is holding a child captive in a cage in that van.
The plot takes off from there. Hang on! Who is it? How can Darby rescue the child and herself? How can she ensure that the psychopath doesn’t kill her and the innocent travelers in a blood bath instead?
Darby is a smart, plucky heroine, and I was rooting for her on every page of this tense YA book about kidnapping and child abduction. I can’t wait to check out the movie that’s coming out about it!
The Lost by Natasha Preston
Kidnapping Themes
Survival
What it’s about
A group of teens are kidnapped and tortured by sadistic psychopaths.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Life is a game; you just have to make sure you’re in control.” ― Natasha Preston from The Lost
This short YA book about kidnapping novel kept me engaged in the story, turning pages to see how these characters were going to escape their situation. I forgave the implausible premise because the whole thing was just super creepy. This "cabin in the woods" seemed to go on forever with its torture rooms, and the author built an entire world that I could imagine. The suspense and tension in the plot wasn't predictable for me.
The ending could have worked better if Piper had been given a little different character development earlier in the book.
For more books that include psychopaths in the storyline, check out my post on Chilling Teen Psychopath Books That Evoke Strong Emotions.
Room by Emma Donoghue
Kidnapping Themes
Identity and survival
What it’s about
A teen girl is kidnapped, raped, and imprisoned in a shed, where she gives birth to a son who knows no world beyond “room.”
Why I Love It - Book Review
“Scared is what you're feeling. Brave is what you're doing.” ― Emma Donoghue from Room
Room is a story told by Jack, a 5-year-old boy who lives in “room.” In some ways his teen mother is a secondary character, a 19-year-old girl who has been kidnapped, imprisoned for years, and serially raped by her jailer until she gave birth to Jack. She is a fiercely protective mother, loving, courageous, and resilient in the face of incredible hardship and danger.
I couldn’t put this book down. It was a very compelling read with an intriguing and unusual narrator, and although Ma never has a choice about her pregnancy (she’s kidnapped and raped, remember), she does have a choice on how she raises her son under these horrific circumstances.
Their journey is unforgettable.
Read this book. Think about Ma, not just Jack. Ma’s story is why I list Room as a YA book about kidnapping and abduction.
Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott
Kidnapping Themes
Identity & survival
What it’s about
A girl is kidnapped by a pedophile at age 10, and as a "too old" teen, she's forced to help him select his next victim to replace her.
Why I Love It - Book Review
Three life lessons:
1. No one will see you.
2. No one will say anything.
3. No one will save you. ― Elizabeth Scott from Living Dead Girl
Fifteen-year-old Alice is the kidnapping victim of a pedophile named Ray who took her at age ten. This haunting, horrifying, graphic, disturbing, and tragic book is about so much more than child rape, although that certainly happens. This novel shows how a person—a child—can lose their self-worth and believe their captor’s lies.
How someone can lose their own humanity.
This thin YA book about kidnapping and child abduction was a fast read, but Alice and her story have stayed with me long after I finished. It’s her voice. In her unflinching viewpoint, Alice shows us what happens to children who are taken and never found. She challenges us to look more closely at the people around us. To notice.
Alice does not speak. And monsters prey on the mute. So pay attention. Speak.
Girl, Stolen by April Henry
Kidnapping Themes
Identity and survival
What it’s about
A blind girl is accidentally kidnapped by a teen boy, putting both of them in danger.
Why I Love It - Book Review
"Sometimes people did this, closed their eyes for a few seconds and imagined it gave them insights into what it was like to be her. Only, at the end, they could still open their eyes and see." ― April Henry from Girl, Stolen
This slender YA novel is a fast and engaging read!
The story is about sixteen-year-old Cheyenne Wilder, daughter of a famous Nike CEO, who is accidentally kidnapped by a boy named Griffen. He's about her age, maybe older, and he soon regrets his actions because his abusive father decides to hold her for ransom. Cheyenne is in danger. She has pneumonia; she's blind; bad men at Griffen's house are interested in assaulting her; and she expects to be killed once money has exchanged hands.
The prose is simple and effective. The viewpoint alternates between Cheyenne and Griffen, and we learn backstories of both protagonists through the story. I especially liked learning so much about what a blind person might experience in such a situation. Cheyenne was clever and resilient.
I haven't read a book straight through and stayed up to finish in a long time. Well done! If you’re looking for a fast-paced YA book about kidnapping, you don’t want to miss this one!
Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood
Kidnapping Themes
Survival & resilience
What it’s about
Based on a true story, an 11-year-old girl is kidnapped by a pedophile and held for two years before escaping.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“How sad was it that grief had a shelf life, he thought. It’s only fresh and raw for so long before it begins to spoil. And soon enough, it would be replaced by a newer, brighter heartache - the old one discarded and eventually forgotten.”―T. Greenwood from Rust & Stardust
I never read Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov, and after reading Rust & Stardust by T. Greenwood, I never want to.
Both novels are based on the real abduction of 11-year-old Sally Horner in 1948. T. Greenwood's book, "Rust & Stardust," depicts the events primarily from Sally's viewpoint over the two years of her captivity and trafficking from New Jersey to Texas and finally California. What horror. What evil. It's unspeakable. Indescribable. I kept turning pages, hoping for it to be over, hoping for her to escape, but it just went on and on.
There are other characters, including her mom, her sister, her brother-in-law, and others who met Sally along the way, suspected something wrong, and sometimes tried to help her. Rescue her. The whole thing is heartbreaking, for everyone, but especially for dear young Sally.
At the end of the book, the author includes two pictures of the real girl, a "before" and an "after." I stared and stared into her eyes. I hurt so much for this little girl and the trauma she experienced at the hands of Frank Lasalle, a 50-year-old mechanic and pedophile. Sally was not his only victim. And this same despicable creature, Frank Lasalle, inspired the narrator of Lolita. No thank you.
But Rust & Stardust is a deeply moving novel and worth the read if you’re looking for books about kidnapped and abducted children.
Such Quiet Girls by Noelle W. Ihli
Kidnapping Themes
Survival & resilience
What it’s about
Inspired by a true crime (the Chowchilla kidnapping), two men kidnap a bus full of children and hold them for ransom.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“When there were enough bad things all around you, the only choice was to move to the least bad thing.” ― Noelle W. Ihli from Such Quiet Girls
What a great premise! A bus full of children vanishes. The men responsible have buried them underground in a shipping container while they demand ransom. The biggest hook for me: this is based on a true story!
Multiple viewpoint characters tell the story, and the pacing is taut and riveting. If you're looking for a quick read, give Such Quiet Girls a look.
Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell
Kidnapping Themes
Mystery & family impacts
What it’s about
A wildly unpredictable novel about a missing girl, a desperate mother, and the bizarre lengths people will go for the people they love.
Why I Love It - Book Review
"If she could rewind the timeline, untwist it and roll it back the other way like a ball of wool, she'd see the knots in the yarn, the warning signs. Looking at it backward it was obvious all along. But back then, when she knew nothing about anything, she had not seen it coming. She had walked straight into it with her eyes open." ― Lisa Jewell from Then She Was Gone
This is an unputdownable novel. In fact, I was about 20 pages in when I realized I was going too fast and maybe, like the missing girl Ellie, I was overlooking important clues, so I went back and read from the beginning again.
I had to know what happened to Ellie, and then, bit by bit, new mysteries began to emerge. New horrors. The more I learned about Ellie and Noelle, the worse things became. The whole story became very... weird. Scary.
The relationship between Ellie’s mom and the American writer, Floyd, is where things take a turn. Floyd has a daughter who looks just like Ellie. I mean, how weird is that?
The ending was not predictable to me, and the path to reach the conclusion was not straight. I definitely loved this novel and want to read more of Lisa Jewell’s books.
Keeping Lucy by T. Greenwood
Kidnapping Themes
Identity & survival
What it’s about
A woman steals her 2-year-old daughter from a state-run institution and flees across state lines in a fight to be able to keep her.
Why I Love It - Book Review
“A body forgets, but the heart remembers.” ― T. Greenwood from Keeping Lucy
Inspired by a 1971 article about horrific conditions at the Belchertown State School for the Feeble-Minded, this thrilling historical novel by T. Greenwood explores the powerlessness of women at that time, society’s response to handicaps, and the unbreakable bond between mother and child.
After seeing an expose about the school where her daughter was taken at birth, Ginny decides to visit and see for herself. She is so shocked by the conditions that she checks out her daughter, who she is seeing for the very first time and who has Downs Syndrome, and she flees with a friend to Florida. In the thrilling journey that follows, the two women are chased, have car trouble, take shelter in a seedy motel, and run out of money.
I loved the way the author portrayed the challenges Ginny faced. She’d never driven a car in her life. Any access to money came through her husband, who expected her to follow along and not ask questions.
If you’re looking for books about kidnapping, check out this one, where a mother kidnaps her daughter. It’s not true “young adult” but does address the topic of child abduction—even if it’s for a good cause in this case.
Other YA Books about Kidnapping
If you are looking other YA books about kidnapping and child abduction, check out the YA Kidnapping and Abduction Book Lists on Goodreads.
You might also be interested in my post, Other Good Reads, which lists other reviews of YA contemporary books about tough topics for teens.
Author Bio
Khristina Chess is an award-winning author of more than a dozen young adult novels, including The Cutting Edge of Friendship, The Delinquent Hero, and Junior Missing. Her novel about eating disorders, Hollow Beauty, was named a finalist in the Next Generation Indie Book Awards. She tackles tough teen topics and writes binge-worthy books across multiple genres, including contemporary, thriller, mystery, dystopian, and adventure.
In a recent interview from her alma mater, she described how her experience in the creative writing program prepared her for success.
