Found (The Missing, Book 1)

Found (The Missing, Book 1)

Jonah knows that he's adopted, but he doesn't know that the past and history itself will depend on him more than he ever thought possible in this first book in Margaret Peterson Haddix's New York Times bestselling The Missing series. One night a plane appeared out of nowhere, the only passengers aboard: thirty-six babies. As soon as they were taken off the plane, it vanished. Now, thirteen years later, two of those children are receiving sinister messages, and they begin to investigate their past. Their quest to discover where they really came from leads them to a conspiracy that reaches from the far past to the distant future—and will take them hurtling through time. In this exciting new series, bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix brings an element of suspense that will keep readers on the edge of their seats. * "In a tantalizing opener to a new series, Haddix taps into a common childhood fantasy--that you are really the offspring of royalty or famous people, and were somehow adopted by an ordinary family--and one-ups it by adding in time travel...Readers will be hard-pressed to wait for the next installment."--"Publishers Weekly", starred review "As in her Among the Hidden series, Haddix once again demonstrates her talent for penning page-turnes kids will like."--"Booklist" "Fans of Haddix's Shadow Children books will want to jump on this time-travel adventure...The author grabs the readers' attention from the first scene...intriguing enough...to keep kids reading what promises to be an exciting trip through history."--"Kirkus Reviews" "Haddix admirably balances the exposition necessary to shape the first novel of a series while still providing enough life-threatening situations, governmental intrigue, and futuristic weaponry to make this an action-packed stand-alone novel. Readers will surely return for future installments...Science fiction and adventure fans will find much to enjoy in this flashy, suspensful volume."--"The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books" "Haddix's latest science fiction series starts off with a bang in this nail-biter...This book's exciting premise and cliff-hanger ending will leave readers on the edge of their seats and begging for more."--"School Library Journal" Margaret Peterson Haddix is the author of many critically and popularly acclaimed YA and middle grade novels, including the Children of Exile series, The Missing series, the Under Their Skin series, and the Shadow Children series. A graduate of Miami University (of Ohio), she worked for several years as a reporter for The Indianapolis News . She also taught at the Danville (Illinois) Area Community College. She lives with her family in Columbus, Ohio. Visit her at HaddixBooks.com. PROLOGUE It wasn't there. Then it was. Later, that was how Angela DuPre would describe the airplane -- over and over, to one investigator after another -- until she was told never to speak of it again. But when she first saw the plane that night, she wasn't thinking about mysteries or secrets. She was wondering how many mistakes she could make without getting fired, how many questions she dared ask before her supervisor, Monique, would explode, "That's it! You're too stupid to work at Sky Trails Air! Get out of here!" Angela had used a Post-it note to write down the code for standby passengers who'd received a seat assignment at the last minute, and she'd stuck it to her computer screen. She knew she had. But somehow, between the flight arriving from Saint Louis and the one leaving for Chicago, the Post-it had vanished. Any minute now, she thought, some standby passenger would show up at the counter asking for a boarding pass, and Angela would be forced to turn to Monique once more and mumble, "Uh, what was that code again?" And then Monique, who had perfect hair and perfect nails and a perfect tan and had probably been born knowing all the Sky Trails codes, would grit her teeth and narrow her eyes and repeat the code in that slow fake-patient voice she'd been using with Angela all night, the voice that said behind the words, I know you're severely mentally challenged, so I will try not to speak faster than one word per minute, but you have to realize, this is a real strain for me because I am so vastly superior.... Angela was not severely mentally challenged. She'd done fine in school and at the Sky Trails orientation. It was just, this was her first actual day on the job, and Monique had been nasty from the very start. Every one of Monique's frowns and glares and insinuations kept making Angela feel more panicky and stupid. Sighing, Angela glanced up. She needed a break from staring at the computer screen longing for a lost Post-it. She peered out at the passengers crowding the terminal: tired-looking families sprawled in seats, dark-suited businessmen sprinting down the aisle. Which one of them would be the standby flier who'd rush up to the counter and ruin Angela's life? Generally speaking, Angela had always liked