I have another book I’m looking to find. I read it in the mid-90s. At the time, it seemed fairly new, but it could’ve been a re-issue. However, it did reference VCRs, so I’m guessing early 80s publication at the earliest. Here’s the plot:
A young teenage girl (I’m thinking 13 or 14, give or take a year) and her siblings get swept up by social services when her mom ends up in the hospital. I think Dad was out of town to start a new job, and the family was getting ready to move, but that part is fuzzy. I want to say that they lived in a trailer park, but I could be wrong. They get handed over to a foster family that already has several foster/adopted kids and one biological daughter around the age of the main character. The foster family has the kids practice going through an obstacle course without setting off any alarms, I think. The ones with good times get coins as a reward, and the kid with the best time gets to pick the afternoon’s movie (on videotape) to watch. I want to say they called the obstacle course “Sneak,” or something like that to make it sound like a game. Then they take the kids late at night to an empty house where they say they’ve arranged for a bigger version of the game. The kids sneak into the house to get valuable items. It’s not a game. They are using the children to burglarize homes. The main character realizes this. One way or another, she alerts the police, and they eventually get returned home. The other children are also returned to their rightful families, I believe. I thought the author was Willo Davis Roberts, but none of her books seem to fit. I think I’ve thought it was her book before and then realized it wasn’t when I found it again at the library. I used to know exactly where the book was located, but my library remodeled, and now everything is in a different place. Plus, I last read it a couple decades ago, at least, so it’s quite possible they don’t have it anymore! Thanks!
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