Ginger Shaw, a sensible young adolescent, is the admirable protagonist of this novel. Although the suspense story is significantly plot driven, there are two key themes that Kehret develops through Ginger's actions and internal monologues.

The most accessible theme is the importance of internal character strength, of a young person's ability to summon personal resources to combat a formidable enemy— in the absence of adult assistance. Because Ginger is unwilling to share her mounting panic about the stalking, she has to reach deep within herself for the will to face Joyce's increasingly overt attempts to meet with her. Although Ginger does confide some details of the problem to her friend Karie and her sister Laura, readers see her dealing with the fear and confusion on her own. Some of her actions are a bit less than sensible, as exemplified by Ginger's chopping off...