I read this in one night, it was obviously written for grade 5’s and 6’s, but I really liked Margret Peterson Haddix, so I just had to read this when I found it on my friends bookshelf. I don’t know if you have read any of her other more well known books, but she wrote The Shadow Children Series, and also one of my personal favorites, Running Out of Time.
Anyways, on with the description.
Bethany has always been her parents little treasure. So when they start acting strange and Bethany finds her at an Aunt’s house that she didn’t even know, suspicion sets in easily. Nobody will tell her what is going on, her parents have fled and refuse to talk to her, and her ‘Aunt’ keeps calling her Elizabeth – another mystery which Bethany doesn’t understand.
Trying to understand who she is, and what exactly her parent’s have neglected to tell her, Bethany pries and pries, and she finds out that what she is told, isn’t what she wanted to hear at all.
I was very impressed and frustrated with this book. I don’t know what genre it was supposed be, because I don’t think mystery or suspense would do it justice. This is kind of weird book….I don’t know if it’s just Margret Peterson Haddix’s style of writing, (because I haven’t read her novels for quite some time) but I had a kind of neutral opinion on this book, and a neutral reaction. While I was reading it, I wasn’t really enjoying it….but I didn’t think it was bad either. I think it might be the writing combined with the boring plotline, but I don’t know.
The ending and beginning were both kind of crappy, I wasn’t happily reading either of them. The middle chunk line is the interesting part, so if your planning to read it then be prepared for a random beginning and a purse-da-lips- ending. And that kind of sucks because those are the most important parts! If you have a good beginner and ender then you can just do random stuff and fill in the space between. Nonononooo, don’t ever do that. ALWAYS have your climax. :D
The main character was a twelve or thirteen year old girl who did not think like a girl that age. I guess the author made it so Bethany was intelligent, but you didn’t get enough into her mind, or her behavior for the story to be good in first person. I couldn’t like or dislike Bethany as a character because it never focused on what she was really like, or her behavior (besides the fact that she was sort of spoiled because of her parents). Anyways, I think it would have been better in third person, to say the least.
There were many things left un-explained by the ending. Like why her mother was calling her Elizabeth on the phone, – which would have fit fine in the story, except for the fact that at the end her mother is just fine, not crying and calling her by her real name. I mean, this is the type of story that you don’t know what the hell is going on until the middle or the end of the story, and by then it has revealed enough things that the reader can just piece everything together. But this story leaves a lot of questions unanswered, and a lot of mysteries unsolved, which is also frustrating.
There isn’t a certain point in the book that is really hard to read through, it at least keeps you turning the pages, but I suggest taking at least a couple breaks, because you might get bored of it, I kept on going downstairs to bring back up cookies while I was reading it….. but you know, that’s probably just me.
On a good note, the idea was interesting, and things were plotted out pretty well, I really liked the Aunt’s daughter, she was a likeable character that seemed more realistic than Bethany herself. Again, this was probably written for a younger age group…..(12 year olds) I’m going to give you a break Margaret and blame the simplicity on that. XD
“A suspenseful page-turner.” – Publishers Weekly
“Gripping and Compelling.” – Kirkus Reviews
“A twisting plot and spine-tingling creepiness.” - VOYA
I will give this book a plain 3. because I do believe that it’s balanced and neutral.
You can visit Margret Peterson Haddix’s site here.
Sorry for the delay on this one, but I will have another on up as soon as two or three days, because I am a magician, thanks for asking. *wink*
Chow for now,
MRR
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