The Readers and Writers Paradise

The real scoop on middle grade books.

Margaret Peterson Haddix

Double Identity by Margaret Peterson Haddix Review

by 1 Comment

Double Identity is a science fiction book written by Margaret Peterson Haddix that has the twists and turns typical in a Haddix story. The book has some good things and some bad things, but is anything is for sure it’s that you’re not going to get bored reading anything by this author.

Summary

The book starts out with Bethany, the main character, on a drive to visit an aunt she knows nothing about. Her mom has been crying, something is wrong, and she is shocked when her usually loving parents tell her that they are leaving her with this aunt.

Her aunt Myrlie is nice enough, but they don’t know each other at all and even Myrlie doesn’t know why she has been asked to take Bethany. Myrlie is a kindergarten teacher, but takes time off to help Bethany get acquainted with her new life.

Bethany’s dad calls once a day, but his number can’t be tracked and Bethany has no idea what’s going on. She starts hearing the name of a girl named Elizabeth, and so many people start staring at her and asking if she really is Elizabeth that she no longer wants to go out.

Bethany is desperate to discover the identity of Elizabeth, and what is really going on in her family. How come her parents who have cared for her so much have simply deserted her? What is her connection to this girl she has never heard of? Why is there a strange man around who seems to be after her?

Review

This is a good book by Haddix. The twist of Elizabeth’s identity as well as Bethany’s was a big surprise and very interesting.On the other hand, there are some flaws about the book.

The lack of action is a serious problem. The whole of the book is Bethany finding out her identity and coming to grips with it, but she doesn’t actually do a single thing throughout the entire book. If it was me writing the book, I would’ve probably sent her halfway across the world and had her almost die a bunch of times, but I guess everyone has their own style.

Part of the reason why there’s so little action is that the book kind of drags out. It takes place over a time span of only a few days, which go pretty slowly. This is quite unlike Running Out of Time, Haddix’s most popular book, where the character risked her life a couple times. Speeding up this book and giving it more action would’ve been nice. 

The characters are another thing that are lacking a little. Double Identity spends a long time developing the characters, but I still don’t really identify with them too much. Bethany tells the story first person, so we know her very well, but although I can connect with her on a human level, I didn’t really get too personally with her. To me the most interesting characters were Bethany’s parents and the villain, for going through what they did and the choices they made, but those characters aren’t featured very much.

I also think this book might be a little frightening (it certainly would’ve been to me when I was younger). Kids will always wonder about stuff in science fiction books like this, but it would’ve been nice if there had been a disclaimer somewhere in the book that said this kind of thing can’t actually happen.

The premise of this book is good, and what it’s appeal is really more that of a mystery than a science fiction as we follow Bethany along and try to find out what’s going on with her life. Double Identity is engrossing, thought-provoking, and mostly a good read, although near the end the lack of action along with the bantering and self-talk of the characters got to be super annoying.

Overall, I think it’s worth it to read this book, but I wouldn’t recommend it. There are a lot better books, including by this author.

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix Review

by 7 Comments

Running Out of Time by Margaret Peterson Haddix has been one of my favorite books since I first read it in sixth grade. It explores the very interesting idea of monsters trying to create a stronger gene pool without making it scary or anything.

This book teaches great lessons about ethics and the value of human life. Although the main character is a girl, there is no problem reading it as a boy.

Summary

Jessie believes herself to be a normal thirteen year-old girl living in Indiana in the 1840s. Jessie has to deal with all of the vicissitudes of living in the mid-19th century, and this includes disease.

Unfortunately, however, there is a huge outbreak of diphtheria. Although Jessie’s mother is a midwife and attempts to cure people, she has little success. People are dying left and right.

Jessie’s mother can’t stand to see people suffering like this anymore, and eventually she decides to take desperate measures: She reveals to Jessie that it is not actually the 1840s, but the year 1996.

Jessie can barely believe it. Her mother tells her that Clifton is a tourist attraction so that people can watch and learn about life in the 19th century. Jessie’s mother tells her to go to a man named Isaac Neeley who will give her a cure for diphtheria.

Jessie manages to escape, but Neeley may not be the nice man that he seems. In fact, he plans to kill her!

Luckily Jessie realizes this, but will she be able to get away? Is the real purpose of the village a tourist attraction, or is it actually to create a stronger gene pool? Most importantly, will Jessie be able to save them?

Review

Running Out of Time is a great book and, even though I read it for school, it still remains with me to this day. It is told in third person limited, so we get to follow the adventure with Jessie.

It is very suspenseful and also very frightening. Learning that the current year is actually 150 years ahead of what you thought!? It is a crazy idea, but Haddix deals with it in a way that makes it intriguing instead of scary.

It is unbelievable that this is the first book Haddix wrote. She is a great writer and I have enjoyed reading some of her other works.

One of her biggest skills in this book is bringing a moral point home; the value of human life. Neeley is revealed as the monster he really is. Although he is using science to justify his infliction of human suffering, nothing can justify that.

This is a great book for kids around fifth to eighth grade. It will keep them engaged and definitely keep them thinking.

Buy the Book

 

Thanks so much for reading this review. To get more reviews like these to let you know what books you should be buying your kids, just enter your email below.






Get updates!

We respect your email privacy

Email Marketing by AWeber

The 39 Clues Book 10: Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix Review

by Leave a Comment

The last book of the clue hunt, Into the Gauntlet by Margaret Peterson Haddix, was perhaps the most exciting. By this point we had already been through nine action-packed books, and this was the last one! Here all our doubts would be answered, here the hunt for the 39 clues (which had been going on for nearly years) would be over.

For those of you who don’t know, The 39 Clues is a multi-author series in which Amy (14) and Dan (11) Cahill learn that they are members of the most powerful family in human history. The source of their families power is hidden throughout the world in the form of 39 special clues.

Unfortunately, Amy and Dan aren’t the only ones who want the prize. Their ruthless relatives are willing to do anything to be the first to find all 39.

Click here to read more about The 39 Clues.

If you don’t know much about The 39 Clues, then click the link above. If you’re already a veteran clue hunter, then keep reading!

Summary

At the end of the ninth book Amy and Dan learn the truth about their Madrigal identity, and agree to keep going in the clue hunt in order to unite the rest of the family. We are told the final battle will take place in England, and that is where the action continues.

At the start of the book, however, Amy and Dan are not very motivated. They receive a message from the Madrigal leaders, but are so exhausted they don’t want to read what it says. Before they have a chance to do anything, however, Isabel Kabra’s monkey comes into their hotel room and snatches it!

Luckily, Dan has a photographic memory and is able to remember the message, which tells us that the next clue is about William Shakespeare. The whole book focuses a lot on him and you really learn a lot.

Unfortunately, all the other families are also in England and hot on Shakespeare’s case. Even the Starling triplets (who got knocked out in book 1) are back. Ted and Ned are in bad health, and Sinead wants to use the serum to make them well again.

We also see a lot more of Jonah in this book. Although he attempts to pay off a woman to lie about a crime he committed, she is an old English teacher and refuses. In the end, however, she turns out to be a big fan of his and covers for him.

Amy and Dan hide out in Stratford-upon-Avon, but everyone else is following them and they aren’t able to do anything. They pretend to leave and so does everyone else, but they secretly come back to dig up Shakespeare’s grave. Unfortunately, it’s not so secret. There is secret writing on the tombstone, and everyone knows it.

The writing leads them to the Cahill Ancestral Home, a mansion in Ireland. There is the gauntlet; the ultimate Madrigal plan to force the family together. Amy and Dan are forced to admit to everyone else their Madrigal identity, but there is no time to think about it.

In the Gauntlet the Cahill’s are forced to answer questions in order to move forward, and no one can get too far ahead because a member of each branch has to touch locked doors in order to get through. Ian and Natalie are worried, because they know something nobody else does. Could their evil mother be about to join them?

This is the ultimate battle, a showdown between Amy, Dan, and the rest of the Cahill family, against the ultimate evil; Isabel Kabra. Will Amy and Dan fail? Who will get the serum? Will Isabel take over the world?

Review

This is an awesome book, perhaps the best in the entire series. At 327 pages, it is by far the longest, but that’s because it’s action-packed with a lot of stuff.

There is great character development all around in this book, and we get to see the real side of everyone; especially Amy and Dan. The action could not be any better, the action in the gauntlet keeping you on your toes.

It’s sad that with this book the series is over. The 39 Clues was a big part of my childhood, and the second and third arcs just aren’t the same as this one.

Good job getting to this point! This book is the reward for sticking through it with the previous nine books. Enjoy it!

Thank you for reading this review and if you’d like to purchase the book you can do so through this link. You can also like my Facebook Page or enter your email below to get more book reviews.

Enter your email address: