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Overview
One night a plane appeared out of nowhere, the only passengers aboard: thirty-six babies. As soon as they were taken off the plane, it vanished. Now, thirteen years later, two of those children are receiving sinister messages, and they begin to investigate their past. Their quest to discover where they really came from leads them to a conspiracy that reaches from the far past to the distant future—and will take them hurtling through time. In this exciting new series, bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix brings an element of suspense that will keep readers on the edge of their seats.
Winner of the 2009-2010 Sunshine State Young Readers Award for Grades 3-5
Synopsis
Thirteen-year-old Jonah has always known that he was adopted, and he's never thought it was any big deal. Then he and a new friend, Chip, who's also adoped, begin receiving mysterious letters. The first one says, "You are one of the missing." The second one says, "Beware! They're coming back to get you."
Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, are plunged into a mystery that involves the FBI, a vast smuggling operation, an airplane that appeared out of nowhere — and people who seem to appear and disappear at will. The kids discover they are caught in a battle between two opposing forces that want very different things for Jonah and Chip's lives.
Do Jonah and Chip have any choice in the matter? And what should they choose when both alternatives are horrifying?
With Found, Margaret Peterson Haddix begins a new series that promises to be every bit as suspenseful as her Shadow Children series — which has sold more than 41/2 million copies — and proves her, once again, to be a master of the page-turner.
Publishers Weekly
In a tantalizing opener to a new series, Haddix (the Shadow Children series) taps into a common childhood fantasy-that you are really the offspring of royalty or famous people, and were somehow adopted by an ordinary family-and one-ups it by adding in time travel. As the novel begins, a brand-new airline employee experiences an event that she is later told never to talk about: a plane carrying 36 babies, and no one else, not even a pilot, shows up without warning at a nearby gate. Fast-forward 13 years, and two 13-year-old friends, Chip and Jonah, are receiving mysterious notes, with messages like "You are one of the missing" and "Beware! They're coming back to get you." Only then does Chip learn that he, like Jonah, is adopted. Joined by Jonah's sister, Katherine, the boys investigate and discover that the FBI was involved with their adoptions. These smart kids show initiative and do a great job using familiar technology (camera phones, photo-editing programs, etc.) to get information and track down other adoptees. By book's end they are trapped by some shady characters; learn that they are among the most famous missing children in history (e.g., Virginia Dare, the 15th-century English princes in the Tower); and get sent back in time. Readers will be hard-pressed to wait for the next installment. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
From Barnes & Noble
An irresistible set-up for a new series: An unidentified airplane appears out of nowhere. When the aircraft is boarded, its only occupants are babies; once they are removed, the pilotless plane vanishes. Jonah and Chip, now teenagers, discover that they were among the "airborne orphans," who seem to be somehow linked with missing children from history. Rather than forgetting the past, the two boys decide to venture into it, risking their survival to right the wrongs of time. Crisp time-travel adventure.From the Publisher
* "In a tantalizing opener to a new series, Haddix taps into a common childhood fantasy--that you are really the offspring of royalty or famous people, and were somehow adopted by an ordinary family--and one-ups it by adding in time travel...Readers will be hard-pressed to wait for the next installment."--Publishers Weekly, starred review
"Haddix admirably balances the exposition necessary to shape the first novel of a series while still providing enough life-threatening situations, governmental intrigue, and futuristic weaponry to make this an action-packed stand-alone novel. Readers will surely return for future installments...Science fiction and adventure fans will find much to enjoy in this flashy, suspensful volume."--The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"Fans of Haddix's Shadow Children books will want to jump on this time-travel adventure...The author grabs the readers' attention from the first scene...intriguing enough...to keep kids reading what promises to be an exciting trip through history."--Kirkus Reviews
"As in her Among the Hidden series, Haddix once again demonstrates her talent for penning page-turnes kids will like."--Booklist
"Haddix's latest science fiction series starts off with a bang in this nail-biter...This book's exciting premise and cliff-hanger ending will leave readers on the edge of their seats and begging for more."--School Library Journal
Publishers Weekly
In a tantalizing opener to a new series, Haddix (the Shadow Children series) taps into a common childhood fantasy-that you are really the offspring of royalty or famous people, and were somehow adopted by an ordinary family-and one-ups it by adding in time travel. As the novel begins, a brand-new airline employee experiences an event that she is later told never to talk about: a plane carrying 36 babies, and no one else, not even a pilot, shows up without warning at a nearby gate. Fast-forward 13 years, and two 13-year-old friends, Chip and Jonah, are receiving mysterious notes, with messages like "You are one of the missing" and "Beware! They're coming back to get you." Only then does Chip learn that he, like Jonah, is adopted. Joined by Jonah's sister, Katherine, the boys investigate and discover that the FBI was involved with their adoptions. These smart kids show initiative and do a great job using familiar technology (camera phones, photo-editing programs, etc.) to get information and track down other adoptees. By book's end they are trapped by some shady characters; learn that they are among the most famous missing children in history (e.g., Virginia Dare, the 15th-century English princes in the Tower); and get sent back in time. Readers will be hard-pressed to wait for the next installment. Ages 8-12. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Jennifer Lee
At the beginning of this book, the first in a new series by Haddix, an unscheduled airplane arrives with a mysterious cargo: babies fill every seat on the plane, but no pilot or crew is aboard. After the babies are taken off the plane by gate personnel, the plane vanishes. Thirteen years later, Jonah, one of the babies who had been adopted, and his friend Chip begin receiving mysterious letters. They aren't sure what to think when the first one arrives saying, "You are one of the missing." Is someone at school just playing a mean joke on them? Then there are other strange happenings, and it seems like everything is related to that airplane full of babies, which no one wants to talk about. Jonah, Chip, and Jonah's sister, Katherine, set out to solve the mystery. Where had the babies come from? Who was writing the mysterious letters? This promising new series from Haddix will keep even reluctant readers turning the pages. Reviewer: Jennifer LeeChildren's Literature -
Margaret Peterson Haddix is good with children in peril. She is also good with slightly futuristic scenarios. She melded the two in her popular "Shadow Children" series and seems set for another success in her brand new series offering, "The Missing." Book 1 sets up the premise and major characters. A planeload of babies mysteriously arrives at a Middle-western airport. Thirteen years later, the adopted children begin receiving threatening messages. Jonah, his non-adopted sister Katherine, and adopted friend Chip attempt to solve the mystery. The thirteen-year-olds soon find themselves enmeshed in an investigation as bizarre as the Watergate Affair: shadowy characters, disappearing computer files, and the convergence of all thirty-six adoptees in and around their Ohio town—not to mention the curious interest of the FBI. Can the kids find the answers before the unknown "They" come back to get them? Well gee, then there would not be a series, would there? Haddix's clever hypothesis promises a whole bunch of sequels. Reviewer: Kathleen KarrSchool Library Journal
Gr 4-8- Haddix's latest science fiction series starts off with a bang in this nail-biter. A plane arrives at an airline gate unnoticed by radar and most personnel. There are no flight attendants, no pilot, in fact no adults at all, but there are 36 passengers-each seat is inhabited by an infant. Thirteen years later in Ohio, teenage adoptees Jonah and his friend Chip begin receiving ominous messages declaring that they are among "the missing" and that someone is coming to find them. Frightened yet intrigued, the boys begin a search for their real identities with the help of Jonah's younger sister. Their search leads them to a discovery that strains credulity and leads them into danger greater than they ever imagined possible. The story is driven by an exciting plot rather than extensive character development, and the teens act independently of the adults, who appear as "bad guys" or are basically useless. If used in a classroom, the revelation of the babies' identities can be used to kick off a history lesson or two. This book's exciting premise and cliff-hanger ending will leave readers on the edge of their seats and begging for more.-Heather M. Campbell, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO