Found by Margaret Peterson HaddixThis will just be a quickie review because I'm pressed for time. Found was my first Margaret Peterson Haddix book. It begins with a prologue that describes the mysterious appearance of a plane. Angela DuPre, on her first day of work at an airport, sees a plane appear out of nowhere. Nobody saw it land. There's no record of its existence. Inside the plane, Angela makes a surprising discovery that will change her life.
After the prologue, we switch to Jonah's world. Jonah and his friend Chip have begun to receive odd letters. The first: "You are one of the missing." The only connection they can find is that both Jonah and Chip are adopted. Joined by Jonah's sister Katherine, they decide to search for clues in Jonah and Chip's adoption records in order to find out what the cryptic messages mean. I'm going to defer to the cover blurb, here:
When they begin to investigate, they find a vast conspiracy that reaches from the far past to the distant future--one that will take them hurtling through time. They don't know who to trust, or which shadowy faction to believe. Can Jonah and Chip discover the secrets of their pasts before the conspiracy catches up to them?
Found
is the first in a series and I found it incredibly absorbing. The pages absolutely flew. It unfolds slowly, with the author dropping just enough clues to keep things mysterious without driving you nuts. The ending got a little bit confusing; I had trouble figuring out whether anyone could be trusted at all and understanding the motives of the people on each side, but then it eventually became clear and . . . the ending is a cliffhanger. (muffled scream)4/5
- A little bit confusing toward the end, but otherwise wonderful. The concept of time travel is cautiously dangled for a while and then you're thrown into action head-first as the book races to its conclusion. One point off for the the confusing bit and the cliffhanger ending.I'm a sucker for time travel, so I feel compelled to continue this series in spite of being somewhat annoyed at the way it ended. I hate cliffhangers because I don't like the feeling that I'm going to have to buy another book (my library sucks -- I buy) but this one was so enjoyable that I'd rush out and buy a copy right now, if it was available in paperback. The cover above is, unfortunately, not the cover I've got. "Unfortunately" because I have a thing for airplanes. My copy has a vague-looking cover of 4 people running toward a cave. There was no hardback available where I bought mine.
In other news:
She's catching up! She's catching up! 17,636 is my word count on the Nano, as of tonight. Wahoo! Not bad for having started back at zippo on Day 9, eh?Books, books, books? Well, no:
I've only received two review books, this week, and that's a good thing as I'm shifting things in my office to prepare to paint and emptying the closet and, and, and . . . ugh. Too much, too much. I've been working on purging, but it just hasn't been enough and that means I'm going to have to declare a moratorium on review books. I'll write a review policy up, as soon as possible. It will say, "Sorry. I can't review for you."Okay, yeah, I'll make a few exceptions. In particular, I am really enjoying the Christian books and want to continue reading clean novels and uplifting nonfiction, so I'll probably continue to review those sporadically. And, I adore the occasional history book. I would probably sell my left foot to get more YA books because I love 'em, love 'em, love 'em and our YA section at the local library is beyond pitiful. Is it me or are YA books the hardest to come by? Otherwise, nope. No more tours, no more accepting books that are offered to me by email. I'm going to dedicate 2010 to reading what I want to read when I want to read it and clearing out the excess.
Remember How to Lower Your Cholesterol with French Gourmet Food? I'm going to post the pork chop recipe we fell in love with (a new favorite in this house) soon and review the nutrition part later because my husband keeps walking off with the book!!! So, stay tuned for that. We've been eating very well since this book arrived.
Gotta go. Mucho tired, here. Miss visiting your blogs.
Found is the first book by that author that I have read also. I really enjoyed it also, giving it 4/5. I recently took the second book in the series out from my library, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet. Have a nice Sunday!
ReplyDeleteI just finished a time travel novel that was disappointing. This one sound good...except :0 for the cliff hanger. I like the continuation of a series, but not being left with bated breath. Nevertheless, I think I'll look for a library copy. Thanks for the review, Nancy!
ReplyDeleteSo glad to see NaNoWriMo is going so well! Keep it up!
ReplyDeleteThat book sounds fantastic! Yeah, I have slowed down on review books as well. Congrats on the word count!!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to dedicate 2010 to reading what I want to read when I want to read it and clearing out the excess.
ReplyDeleteMe, too!!!!!
Congrats on your NaNo count!
Looking forward to the pork chop recipe. :)
This was my first Haddix, too. I liked it, but haven't got around to reading anything else by her yet.
ReplyDeleteNan,
ReplyDeleteWasn't it a fun read? I'll have to check my library for the hardback of Sent, just in case. Our library really is terrible. They don't seem to budget for a great deal of YA -- not surprising, I suppose, since it's just recently exploded in popularity amongst adults and our library hasn't got the biggest budget to begin with. Thanks, I spent most of my Sunday in bed with a virus the kiddo gave me. Blah. Wish you a great week!
Jenclair,
I love time travel, but I think it must be awfully hard to write convincingly. I'll have to see what you just read. Yep, I don't like being left hanging. I'm that way about TV, too -- in fact, that's one of the reasons I really only watch movies. I like my stories complete. :)
Kathy,
Well, Nano was going full steam till I woke up with a virus. Today was a wash. I hope to make up for it, tomorrow! Thanks! I really appreciate all your encouragement!
Krista,
ReplyDeleteIt's really good. You'd love the book I'm reading now, too: Into the Wild by Sarah Beth Durst. It's about a girl whose mother is Rapunzel and brother is Puss in Boots. She has to go into the Wild (the place where fairy tales take place) to save them.
Les,
Oh, good. We can cheerlead each other on purging. LOL I worked on the office between scenes, yesterday. Goodness, I didn't know it was possible to stuff that much into a closet!
Thanks! Tomorrow will be a Nano catch-up day, again. I'll get there. I didn't need a day off, though.
I'll try to get that pork chop recipe posted tomorrow. Today, I spent the day in bed. I'm only up briefly and then back down I'll go. Fortunately, Will had this virus and the worst of it only lasted about 48 hours.
Kelly,
I've read one other Haddix book, Among the Hidden. I liked it, but not as much as Found. Time Travel is one of my favorite escapes. I'll write about Among the Hidden sometime -- who knows when I'll get to it. It's dystopian.