“Found,” by Margaret Peterson Haddix

“Found,” by Margaret Peterson Haddix is book one of “The Missing” series, a science fiction fantasy about a group of children who discover that they have been stolen from various time periods using advanced time travel technology.

Thirteen years ago a plane full of infants landed at jetway of Sky Trails Air. There was no pilot of flight crew on board, and after the babies were removed from the plane it disappeared. Careful scrutiny of the flight records indicated that the plane had never landed. Even the radar records show nothing at all.

The FBI quickly hushed up this strange occurrence, and now those infants have grown to be teenagers. Soon after the incident that were given birth certificates and carefully injected into adoption systems across the country. The children know nothing about their past. In fact, some of them don’t even know that they are adopted orphans.

But now, thirteen years later, the children will have to face the past again. Soon after Jonah meets his new friend Chip both boys receive a strange pair of messages. The first says “You are one of the missing.” The second says “Beware! They’re coming back to get you.”

Jonah and Chip are intrigued, and quite frightened but they start investigating their past. Soon they uncover secretive FBI records, and strange hints and clues from people who witnessed the incident thirteen years ago.

And then Jonah and Chip find a list of the children who were on the plane. Every single one of them is now living in the same area. All of them have moved recently, for a variety of different reasons. But one thing is clear. The children are being gathered together for some important reason.

“Found,” by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a very exciting start to a novel series that I feel has real potential. As in her other novels Haddix mixes high-tech science into the story line while keeping the characters personable and realistic. The time travel aspects of “Found” are interesting, though not as developed as in some other science fiction novels that I have enjoyed. However, the action and character relationships are very well choreographed, and this makes up for any obscurities that the time travel theories may introduce.

“Found” is an exciting book that I’m sure all young readers will enjoy reading.

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