There’s a girl who loves math and science (yay!), a responsible older brother and an endearing younger brother. I really enjoyed this book, I think it’s a great middle grade read. With the help of a girl named Natalie, the three children search their home and mother’s office for clues as to where she went and why. Their mother begins acting weird and then disappears. Three siblings hear on the news that three other children with the same names and born on the same date are kidnapped. I don’t want to give many spoilers away and it’s easy to do so I won’t say much about the plot. I placed a hold on the audiobook and listened to it on my work commute. When I saw she had this new book coming out I was intrigued by the cover (yes I read book based on covers, everyone does). Flash forward twenty years or so and I’m a children’s librarian now.

I remember one of my elementary school teachers reading her book Running Out of Time out loud to my class and loving it so much I begged my mom to go to the bookstore to buy it so I could read it again. Margaret Peterson Haddix is an author that’s been around since I was a child. Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children. Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations and more than a dozen state reader’s choice awards. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Dunphrey Leaving Fishers Just Ella Turnabout Takeoffs and Landings The Girl with 500 Middle Names Because of Anya Escape from Memory Say What? The House on the Gulf Double Identity Dexter the Tough Uprising Palace of Mirrors Claim to Fame the Shadow Children series and the Missing series.

She has since written more than 25 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio.

The strangers haddix