Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Science Fiction, Adventure

Age 10-13

Grade 5-8

Pages 314, paperback

c. 2008

              Found is the first book in an eight book series dealing with famous children that died sometime in history. By time travel they have accidentally been brought into the 21^st century. One group’s plan, the Interchronological Rescue, was to travel back in time and bring these children into the future to be adopted by parents willing to pay a lot a lot of money for a famous child. To avoid trauma they used age reversal and brought the children into the future as babies. However bringing so many children from the past into the future caused ripples. This resulted in significant changes that could alter the present and the future.  Another group, led by JB, was trying to correct this time problem and bring the children back into their original time in history.

            Found opens when an unexpected plane arrives at an airport. Inside the plane are babies but no crew. Once the babies are taken off the plane it disappears. The babies are given to different adoption agencies and eventually adopted by families. All is well for thirteen years but then mysterious, unsigned letters start appearing in the mailboxes of the adopted children. “You are one of the missing.” “Beware! They’re coming back to get you.” Suddenly Jonas, and his new friend Chip, find their normal lives turned upside down. Getting any information about their adoptions proves very difficult but they are very persistent and clever and do manage to find out quite a lot. However it is only at the very end of the book that they discover they are the missing children of history.

            This is a suspenseful, action-and-adventure science fiction story. As the story progresses you are often faced with plot twists and cliff hangers that keep you turning the pages. Jonas, Chip and Jonas’s younger sister Katherine work together to gather information and support each other. Katherine is not adopted but despite normal sibling teasing really cares about her brother. The book ends with all the missing children trapped in a cave and faced with the choice of either being sent into the future or back into history, where it is possible that they may die. In either case they will be turned into babies again and forget the life they have known for thirteen years. During  a physical struggle over a time device in which JB is attempting to send a boy named Alex and Chip back to the the 15th century, Jonas and Katherine grab onto Chip and are sent back as well. 

            Margaret Peterson Haddix has a knack for coming up with interesting and unusual storylines. I have read many of her books and have liked them. I have read the entire Missing series and plan on blogging on all the books, probably in groups of two. Besides being filled with lots of action they also contain a lot of historical information. Some of the missing children include Virginia Dare, first child born of English parents in the Americas who vanished with the rest of Roanoke Colony, the British princes who vanished from the Tower of London in 1483, Anastasia and Alex, the two youngest children of Czar Nicholas II who disappeared during the Russian Revolution, and the kidnapped Lindbergh baby.

           

Super Girls and Halos by Maria Morera Johnson

Super Girls and Halos by Maria Morera Johnson

Nonfiction, Superheroes, Saints

Age 10-13

Grade -5-8

168 pages, paperback

c. 2017

            I am really excited about this nonfiction book that discusses the cardinal virtues comparing women saints with heroines from science fiction, fantasy and comic books. I happened upon the book while looking for a confirmation gift. I think it has the potential to appeal to a wide range of girls. The author also shares insights from her own faith journey. It is funny, insightful and inspiring. She includes some well-known saints such as St. Clare of Assisi, St. Katharine Drexel, and St. Mary Magdalene, as well as some lesser known saints including St. Cunegunde, St. Marguerite d`Youville and St. Mary MacKillop.

          

  For the virtue of justice Wonder Woman is paired with St. Katharine Drexel and Ray, from Star Wars: The Force Awakens with St. Clare of Assisi. The virtue of prudence is shown by matching Black Widow, from Marvel’s Avengers comics, with St. Mary Magdalene and by matching Agent Dana Scully, from the X-Files, with St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. Fortitude is exemplified by Storm, a human mutant from the X-Men and the Avengers, being matched with St. Cunegunde, and Hermione Granger, from The Harry Potter series being matched with St. Marguerite d`Youville. For the virtue of temperance, Katniss Everdeen, from the Hunger Games series, and St. Mary MacKillop are paired along with Lt. Nyota Uhura, from the original Star Trek (a favorite of the author) and St. Kateri Tekakwitha.

I really appreciated the author’s comments about Katniss last act as the leader of the rebellion in the Hunger Games. She kills the new president in cold blood out of revenge for the massacre of the young children, including her own sister. Katniss, for all her good qualities and restraint that she exercised earlier, has no hope. Hope is a theological virtue which comes from God. Only the saints are blessed with these virtues. Thus while Johnson has fun exploring the admirable qualities of these fictional heroines she always comes back to the real, flesh and blood saintly women as the best models for a life of virtue. Fittingly she concludes the book by speaking about The Blessed Virgin Mary and specifically about Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

The False Prince by Jennifer Nielsen

Adventure

Age 10-13

Grade 5-8

342 pages, Paperback

c. 2012

            The False Prince is the first book in a three book trilogy called The Ascendance Trilogy. The second book is The Runaway King and the third book is The Shadow Throne. I plan on blogging on each book.

             Though there is plenty of action and plot twists, The False Prince is really a character driven book. The two most compelling and complex characters are Sage, who is also the narrator, and Connor, a nobleman. From the beginning to the very end they are in constant conflict with one another.

            As the story begins Sage, an orphan, is running away with a stolen roast when he is tripped by a man, rescued from the angry butcher by another man, and sold to that man by the head of the orphanage. The man who purchased Sage was Connor. Connor quickly collects three other boys whose appearances are similar to each other. Eventually he reveals his plan to them. Their country, Carthya, is on the brink of civil war. There are rumors that the entire royal family has been killed and to prevent civil war Connor plans to present one of the boys as the lost prince Jaron, who is believed to have drowned when pirates attacked his ship. The boys will be trained for two weeks and the one who does the best will become Connor’s prince. The others will be killed. Connor explains he is doing this out of love for his country and not for selfish motives.

            As the story progresses it becomes apparent that in many ways Sage is the best choice. However, Sage is determined to be his own man and not to be controlled by Connor. He is stubborn, defiant, but also very clever. This bit of dialog reveals much about both characters:

“You’re a trick to figure out, Sage. Would you ever be on my side, even if I chose you above the other boys?”

“I’m only on my side. Your trick will be convincing me that helping you helps me.”

“What if I did?” Conner asked. “How far would you go to win?”

            As time passes it becomes clear that despite being cocky and self-assured Sage is also loyal to his friends, cares for the downtrodden, keep his promises, and kill only in self-defense. He is also a survivor par excellent.

            Connor is ruthless, cruel and clever. He has carefully thought through all the details of his plan and it looks like he will be successful. At times he even appears to be dedicated to the kingdom and only doing bad things for the good of the realm. At least he seems to believe this. Sage and Connor share the skill of successful scheming but the biggest difference between them is that Sage genuinely cares for other people while Connor’s actions show him to care mostly for himself.

There is a lot in this book, action, strange friendships, court intrigue, treachery, betrayal, heartbreak, family secrets, competition, and the determination to fool and punish your enemies. It is well worth the read.