Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

“The letter fluttered slowly down toward the threshold of the door, but Jonah had already read every single word on the page. There were only six: ‘YOU ARE ONE OF THE MISSING.’” – Found

Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix is a mystery/science fiction novel about two adopted teenage boys named Jonah and Chip who are living in Liston. One day, they both get a mysterious letter in the mail that says: “You are one of the missing”. At first, they think it’s a prank, but they decide to play it safe and investigate. After many twists and turns, they come across a list of “witnesses” and “survivors”. Surprisingly, Jonah and Chip are both listed under survivors. ‘Survivors of what?’ they wonder. They call the phone numbers listed under both the witnesses and survivors list, and although they get some interesting details, they still don’t get the answers they’re looking for. However, one of the witnesses, Angela DuPre, arranges a private meeting with them at the library. At this meeting, she reveals that she was a witness of an unexplainable occurrence. Thirteen years ago, an unidentified plane with 36 babies and no pilot landed in the airport where she was working, and Jonah and Chip were two of the babies on the plane. They are in shock, and have almost all the information they need. They jump at the chance to go to an Adopted Children’s Seminar in their town. When they get there, the children realize that they are the 36 babies from the plane and also the missing children of history. They were brought into the future by two evil men who are now forcing them to make a choice. Their options are to go back to the past and resolve the problems they caused or be sent to the future. Chip decides to go back to the second century where he belongs. Jonah never figures out where he belongs; instead, he decides to travel to the past with Chip, and this is where the story ends.

Margaret Peterson Haddix is one of my favorite authors, and although science fiction isn’t my favorite genre, this is a truly fantastic book. With all of its twists and turns, it was hard for me to put it down. The concept of time travel has always interested me, and Margaret Peterson Haddix skillfully incorporates this into most of her novels. As well as time travel, Haddix includes many relatable aspects of life into her novels. An example of one of these aspects in this novel is friendship. The importance of friendship is a large contributor to the theme of Found. At the beginning of the story, Jonah and Chip have only been friends for a few weeks and are just getting to know eachother. As the story progresses, however, they become best friends. They make a promise to each other that they will help the other in any way they can. They stick with each other through all of the danger, happiness, distress, and mystery of the novel.

The novel ended very suddenly. I was wondering, what next? Thankfully there is a sequel to this book, called Sent. This will hopefully answer many of the questions I have now that I am finished reading the book. For example, why were the babies sent on a plane? Why did the men bring them into the future? Who were Chip and Jonah in the past?