SABOTAGED

Book three of the Missing series finds heroes 13-year-old Jonah and his sister Katherine traveling through time to rescue Virginia Dare of the Roanoke colony. Immediately, however, the children discover that their mission has been sabotaged. They lose their communication device, and they don’t know when in time they’ve landed. Suspense builds when Jonah and Katherine realize that time appears to be disturbed, perhaps endangering all of history. Worse, a new character, who may not have the safety of the children in mind, takes charge. Andrea, the real Virginia Dare, insists that she doesn’t care if things are going wrong. She wants to find her grandfather, colony governor John White, who traveled to Roanoke to try to rescue his family in 1590 only to find the colony deserted and the colonists vanished. Haddix concentrates more on the action, suspense and mystery in this book with, thankfully, less emphasis on childish tantrums than in previous installments. The plot is internally consistent, too, enhancing both pace and readers’ enjoyment. Best of the series so far. (Science fiction. 8-12)