Sent ~ Margaret Peterson Haddix
Sent (The Missing Series: Book 2) ~ Margaret Peterson Haddix
SPOILER ALERT! This book is part of a series. If you have not read Found, read on at your own risk!
In Found, part 1 of this story, Jonah and Chip learn that they are missing children from history. They are taken out of time and told they can never go back to their 21st century teenage lives as they remember them. They are told there are only two options. Do as the “baby smugglers” want them to do, and travel into the distant future to be adopted (as babies) by people wanting to save the “poor, unfortunate children” of the past (and have the bragging rights that go along with it), or do as the “time police” want them to and travel back to their proper places in history and try to survive whatever put them in danger the first time around. The choice seems impossible and the children and time travelers are at an impasse until one of the time police decides to take charge and zap Chip and another boy back into the fifteenth century. Jonah and his sister, Katherine, realize what is happening and they grab Chip and the other boy just in time to be zapped back in time along with them.
Sent begins as Jonah, Chip, Katherine, and Alex (the other boy stolen from the fifteenth century) are traveling back through time. They land in the Tower of London in the late 1400’s. They still have communication with the time agent they call “JB” through a device called an Elucidator. He tells them where they are, when they are, and more importantly who Chip and Alex are. Chip is Edward V, who has recently inherited the title of king after the death of his father, and Alex is his younger brother, Prince Richard. In the 21st century no one really knows for sure what happened to Edward and Richard, but at some point shortly after their father’s death, they disappeared. Some say they were murdered by their uncle who was next in line for the throne. Chip and Alex land in 15th century England just in time to see what really happened to them when they were King Edward V and Prince Richard. (A side note: In Found it is explained that the kids all went through age reversal when they were stolen from history. So after they crash landed into the 21st century, they all began life again as babies. They don’t remember their past lives at all.) When Edward V and Prince Richard were abducted from history it damaged time. Jonah, Katherine, Chip and Alex have one chance to “fix time,” make the past right again, and rescue Chip and Alex. If they accomplish all of that, they will all be allowed to return to the 21st century.
The plots of the books in this series are fairly complicated. Time travel stories seem to be confusing as a rule. I realize as I’m writing this that there are parts of the “how” and “why” to this story that I still don’t fully comprehend, but I let go of the need to understand every little explanation, and I found myself really enjoying the tale. This story has a lot of suspense and the pace is fairly quick, so I think a lot of kids would overlook the fact that the details of the story are a little complicated. However, I wouldn’t recommend this book for readers with weak comprehension, unless they are already really interested in the subject matter. I was very interested in the period of history in which Sent takes place. I’ve read a historical fiction book for adults by Phillipa Gregory called The White Queen. The main character is Elizabeth Woodhouse, the wife of Edward IV, Edward and Richard’s father. The two stories actually complement each other well even though Sent was written for teens.
I love historical fiction because it is one of the only ways to be transported to another time and place. And historical fiction that involves time travel is really fun because it involves someone from the present time (like me) who is actually transported through time. If the author did her research, (and she did) I get to learn a little about a historical period, and I also get to imagine what it would be like if my 21st century self were to experience that time period. For instance, the main characters in Sent have to use the translator function on the Elucidator because English in the Middle Ages was so different from the English we use now. Also, the food that Jonah and his friends find in the 15th century is totally disgusting to them because it is not at all what they are used to eating. I’m guilty of romanticizing the past when I read historical fiction, but the cool thing about time travel stories is that the characters are often confronted with the ugly parts of the past that they never learned about in the movies or in fictional books. And it forced me (the reader) to confront the parts of the past that weren’t so great as well. So, I’ll still imagine what it would be like to live in a castle, wear lovely gowns and go to great banquets, but I’ll remember that I can go to the hospital if I get sick, and I don’t have to travel for weeks on end to go visit my parents who live 1,600 miles away, etc.
The Missing is turning out to be a great series. I am already reading the third installment. It also takes place in the past life of one of the missing children from history. Because there were many children smuggled away from their places in history, it is possible that this series could go on quite a while. I, for one, am really hoping that it does!