Battle of the Books: The Missing, Book One: Found

A five out of five stars review

By Riley Bissinger

Editor’s note:  Butterfield Library’s 2012 Battle of the Books team members will be reviewing each of their books. Look at the Philipstown.info archives for previous stories. 

Found, by Margaret Peterson Haddix, is a great story about two friends trying to solve a suspenseful mystery. The book was amazing: it’s one of the few books I just couldn’t put down. When 7th graders Jonah and Chip receive frightening notes (that possibly are connected with their adoption) they immediately begin to investigate. With help from Jonah’s sister, Katherine, the trio does everything in their power to figure out the story behind the notes. But little do they know they soon may be in great danger or, worse yet, hurtling through time.

Haddix did a phenomenal job writing this book. The suspense throughout the book doesn’t let you put it down. I give it 5 out of 5 stars, no doubt in my mind. The plot was well thought out, the characters all very likable, and the writing: stunning. Although this book was overall near perfect, some scenes are a little dragged-out, and others slightly hard to understand. I personally had a little trouble understanding the plot in chapters 27 and 28. Even though these chapters were filled with action, it was difficult to keep in mind who was the bad guy and who was the good guy.

My favorite part of the book was chapters 17 through 19, the scene in the library. Like the plot, I thought this scene was well thought-out and very descriptive. In the scene, Jonah, Chip, and Katherine are in the library listening to Angela DuPre, an old flight attendant at Sky Trails, who had witnessed a plane suddenly appearing out of nowhere. Then, two men suddenly appear in the room and seem to be trying to tackle one another. I don’t want to give away how Jonah, Chip, and Katherine got away, so I encourage you to read the book.

I recommend this book to people anywhere between 10 and 16. The reason being (as I said before), some scenes are difficult to understand. Also, kids under 9 or 10 who are adopted may not want to read this book because the author makes it feel as if this scenario could actually happen, and the scenario is a little bit creepy. This book also may be good for some adults. But again, I really recommend it: It was definitely one of the best Battle of the Books book so far.
Photo courtesy of R.Bissinger