Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that there's little to be concerned with here: some brands are mentioned, there's some mild fighting and use of a Taser.
Families who read this book could discuss the ideas about time travel -- the Paradox and the Ripple -- presented here. Could time travel really be possible? How could a small change in the past ripple through time? Is it possible to change anything in the past without affecting the present and future? What about the paradox -- would it be possible to stop yourself from being born?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
This has all the qualities of a B movie: hokey dialog, not entirely believable characters, and a science fiction premise where the science doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But, like a B movie, you won't care while you're reading it -- it's just too suspenseful and exciting. This is your classic can't-put-it-down, read-under-the-covers, when's-the-next-one-coming-out thriller.
Margaret Peterson Haddix, author of the popular Shadow Children series, knows a thing or two about suspense, such as how to maintain it without a lot of the usual fighting, battles, and near-death experiences that most authors seem to think are necessary. Of course she uses the usual tricks of the trade: chapter-ending cliffhangers, creepily mysterious events, gradual revelation of dire secrets, and general air of foreboding. But she uses all that in the service of a radically original and intriguing (if still somewhat fuzzy) premise. The cliffhanger ending will have kids panting for the next one.
From The Book
"Let me see," Katherine said, jostling against him and knocking the letter out of his hand.
The letter fluttered slowly down toward the threshold of the door, but Jonah had already read every single word on the page.
There were only six:
YOU ARE ONE OF THE MISSING.
Plot Summary:
Neighbors Jonah and Chip, both 13 and both adopted, both receive anonymous letters telling each that he is "one of the missing," and warning them of unspecified danger. After some investigation, they find that they were two of 36 babies found on a mysterious airplane that appeared, and then disappeared, at the airport 13 years earlier. Now they are being stalked by threatening men who can vanish at will, and who may be able to travel through time.
Related Books:
Other Books by Margaret Peterson Haddix:
Among the Hidden: Shadow Children, Book 1
Just Ella
Running Out of Time
Uprising
More SF Mysteries:
Alien Secrets by Annette Curtis Klause
The City of Ember by Jeanne DuPrau
The Mysterious Benedict Society by Trenton Lee Stewart
Under the Radar by Victor Appleton
Related Web sites:
Author's Site
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ViolenceAdults fight, one uses a Taser on another, one uses it on a child. |
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Social BehaviorThe main characters are brave, loyal, and try to do the right thing. |
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CommercialismFood, electronics, video game, store, soda brands mentioned. |
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