? (YA suspense/thriller set in North Korea)
an excerpt

They ran then, Mae just behind Simon, her heart thudding in her chest. They reached the shelter of the bushes and scurried behind, crouching to hide.
Breathing hard, they peered through the branches back towards the bus. No one was looking in their direction, pointing or yelling. In fact, their father and Mr. Kim hadn’t even made it all the way to the bus. They were standing midway between the restroom buildings and the parking lot. Mr. Lee and Mr. Moon had joined them. It looked as if everyone was yelling. The members of the tour group were all looking in their direction, staring. Their father was leaning forward, his hands gesturing with ferocity.
“Dad’s mad,” Mae said. Their father never got mad. “What’s happening, Simon?” Then, as they watched, a black car came careening into far end of the parking lot and sped toward them. It screeched to a halt, the doors flew open, and four men in uniform spilled out and sprinted towards their father and the guides.
“Oh!” Mae reached out and grabbed Simon’s shoulder. The soldiers took hold of her father by his arms and began to walk him back towards the black car.
“They’re arresting him,” Simon said, his voice sounding disbelieving. As the knot of men, their father in the center, neared the bus, it paused. Daniel Turner stepped forward from the group near the bus. They saw him speak, then nod. Then the soldiers continued their march, pulling their father with them. At the car, they pushed him into the back seat, one of the soldiers holding his head down, like the police did on TV when they arrested someone. The doors closed and the black car circled forward, then swept out of the parking lot.
Mae and Simon turned to look at each other. Simon’s eyes were wide, his mouth open, looking as stunned as Mae felt.
“What the –?“ Simon shook his head. “What was that about?”
Mae chewed on her bottom lip, blinking fast to stop the tears that were threatening. This was no time to cry.
“What do we do now?” she asked, staring at Simon. Her voice sounded thin and high, like a little girl’s. Her brain felt fuzzy and stupid, trying to process what she’d just seen. She’d just been trying to help Simon hide his camera. Now everything had changed.
Simon looked back toward the bus. “We’ve got to get out of here, now. They’ll be back soon, with more soldiers, looking for us.”