I have an affiliate relationship with Bookshop.org and Malaprop's Bookstore in beautiful Asheville, NC. I will earn a small commission at no additional cost to you if you purchase merchandise through links on my site. Read more on my affiliate page.
It’s very hard to summarize this book without giving anything away. Let’s see…. Jonah Skidmore was adopted when he was three months old. Just before his thirteenth birthday, he receives a cryptic message in the mail and he starts questioning the little that he knows about his past.
Very, very bare bones there. After getting hooked by the fantastic prologue, I had a little bit of an idea as to where this might be going. I was right to an extent, but mostly I was hugely surprised by the time the ending rolled around. I woke up, started this as I ate breakfast, kept reading, and finished it in about three hours. Sure, it’s an older kids’ book and I’m a pretty fast reader, but I could not put this down. The action and discoveries didn’t stop and I just kept frantically turning pages to find out more.
Jonah is an engaging character. Not too good, not too bad–just your average seventh-grader. His actions, reactions, and interactions all felt real to me. Even his sister Katherine and his friend Chip are believable and well fleshed-out. I will say that the Skidmore parents felt a little too perfect.
Really, there are only two things keeping this from being a five-star book for me. One, it’s science fiction and I’m not really a fan of the genre. Two, by the time I got to the ending, I felt like this was mostly set up for the following book(s). There’s nothing wrong with that, and there’s nothing really wrong with this book, but I feel like there’s room for the sequel to be even better and I just want to leave some wiggle room in my ratings. If I were the author, I would feel cheated, but there you go. Four stars.
Highly recommended as a surprising page-turner for young teenagers and even those older folks who don’t allow the age of a protagonist to keep them from enjoying a great story.
Reviewed November 2, 2009
Find author Margaret Peterson Haddix on her website and Facebook.
My review of the second book in the series, Sent.
Buy Found at
Friday Flashback Reviews are a weekly feature here on The Introverted Reader. These are old reviews I wrote on GoodReads. Thanks to Angieville and her Retro Friday Reviews for the inspiration and encouragement!
I have an affiliate relationship with Malaprop’s, my local independent bookstore located in beautiful downtown Asheville, NC; and Better World Books. I will receive a small commission at no cost to you if you purchase books through links on my site. My opinions are completely my own.
