Found by Margaret Peterson Haddix

While I was at the library the other day, I noticed that Margaret Peterson Haddix has a new book out, Found, the first book in a new series. So, of course, I grabbed it.

It's a fun read, with the Haddix's usual array of strengths and weaknesses.

Strengths include an intriguing mystery, an interesting premise, and strong protagonists. The brother-sister relationship between Katherine and Jonah is well done, one of the best portrayals of sibling relationships I've read recently. It starts with a bang and is a genuine page-turner, lean and strong.

Weaknesses include the too-familiar scenes of hysteria. Yes, I'd panic too if I were locked in a cave outside time, but at the same time, the response here very much resembles similar scenes in the Hidden series; she's moving toward an authorial tick. More seriously, there is also a certain hand-waving about the basic premise/solution to the mystery. It does, as I said above create a fascinating dilemma and I am looking forward to seeing how the story plays out. I also find, however, that I can't quite believe it, just as I could never quite believe the third-child persecution and hysteria in the Hidden books. There's a certain tension between wanting to let go and just enjoy the plot and not being able to get the disbelief to remain fully suspended; it keeps sticking its toes on the ground and demanding my attention.