The logo featured on every book in the series. |
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Chasing the Falconers
The Fugitive Factor Now You See Them, Now You Don't The Stowaway Solution Public Enemies Hunting the Hunter |
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| Author | Gordon Korman |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Adventure Children's fiction |
| Publisher | Scholastic |
| Published | 2005-2006 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Followed by | Kidnapped |
On the Run is a series of children's novels written by Gordon Korman that tells a story about two children who try to clear their parents' names while on the run from the authorities themselves. The series has six books in total and was published in 2005 through 2006. The series also has a sequel series entitled Kidnapped, which follows the children after this series.
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Aiden Falconer is 15 years old. Aiden's sister Meg and him end up at Sunnydale Farm, "a minimum-security juvenile detention facility". Aiden is not very happy with that arrangement, but he decides to tolerate it because he wants to be strong for Meg. He ends up accidentally burning it down. Even though he does not want to admit it to himself, he wonders sometimes if his parents really are guilty. He has brown hair and brown eyes. In many cases, he goes by the name "Eagleson", a mixture of a convict at Sunnydale farm and Louise Falconer's maiden name.
Margaret Falconer is 11 years old and the younger sister of Aiden Falconer. She prefers to be called "Meg". Meg is very determined once she sets her mind on something. Meg only sees the good in things and is positive that her parents are innocent and that they were framed. She is better at thinking on her feet than her brother, which has helped the two Falconer siblings through plenty of situations.
Reyes is a convict who lives at Sunnydale Farm, known for being in juvie multiple times. He was committed most recently for manslaughter, because he pushed his (possibly abusive) stepfather down the stairs. It is unknown whether it was accidentally or purposely. He is mostly a minor character in the first book, in which he becomes an unlikely ally for Aiden and Meg, providing them with much knowledge on how to be a fugitive. When Meg and Aiden are sent to a high security prison in book six, it's shown that Miguel Reyes was sent there after he left the hospital. He is originally a bully towards Aiden in book one, but later Aiden considers him to be his best friend. He is captured near the end of book one when Hairless Joe mistakes him for Aiden.
Harris is the FBI agent who cracked open the case of the Falconers. He was promoted and given much praise for his success in the case. However, he lives with much guilt that he might have put the wrong people in prison. He also attempts to hunt down the Falconer kids because he feels it is his fault that they became fugitives in the first place. He is 6' 7" and has an addiction to coffee. Meg's nickname for him is "J. Edgar Giraffe". At the end of the series, Aiden's employer, a farmer named Zephraim Turnbull shoots Harris, thinking he is Hairless Joe, and the Falconers believe he is dead. At the end of the series, he returns alive and takes Aiden and Meg from prison to their parents.
John Falconer is the father of Aiden and Meg Falconer and the husband of Louise Falconer. He and his wife were both convicted of betraying their country by giving confidential information to terrorists. He also writes detective novels about a man named Mac Mulvey. Though John does not know it, Mac's stunts are duplicated by his children throughout the series, saving their lives many times. In the Kidnapped series John has to help find Meg.
Louise Falconer is the mother of Aiden and Meg Falconer and the wife of John Falconer. Both she and her husband were respected criminologists before the terrorist incident occurred. Her frequent flyer miles save the kids on numerous occasions, before the FBI begins tracking them.they are terrorist too.
Frank Lindenauer is the main antagonist of the series. He was the mysterious CIA handler of John and Louise Falconer and a good family friend of the Falconers back when Aiden and Meg were very young. Once the Falconers were accused of helping terrorists, however, he seemed to have disappeared. All the Falconer's lawyers attempted to find him, but they failed. At the end of book 5, Aiden states that he is "Hairless Joe." Frank's real name is Terrence Mackenzie, who went rogue against the CIA after he was threatened to be fired. He is shot to death at the end of the series.
Hairless Joe, nicknamed by Miguel, is a bald assassin who is first introduced at the end of book one. He is considered a "bald psycho" until Aiden and Meg figure out toward the end of book five that he is really their uncle Frank, who holds the key to getting their parents out of prison. In each of the first five books, he plots to kill the Falconers but is outsmarted. However, in the last book they seek him out to discover the truth about their parents.