The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix

She’s in the kitchen, Chess said, hanging his own backpack on the hook where it belonged. Your afternoon-break entertainment has arrived! If today was more of a Goldfish-crackers-and-apple-slices kind of day, that was okay with Finn.

Mom worked from home, designing websites, and sometimes she lost track of time. Finn hoped it was a prediction of how many chocolate chips would be in every cookie Mom was probably baking for them right now, for their after-school snack.įinn sniffed. There was no telling what she might have been counting. They flipped up and landed on top of the backpack-someday, Finn vowed, he would get Emma to teach him that trick. So that was what it was called, the way he had felt his entire life.Įmma, who was in fourth grade, dropped her backpack on the rug beside him and kicked off her red sneakers. Today he burst into the house calling out, Mom! We’re home! It’s time to come and adore us!Īdore had been on his second-grade spelling list two weeks ago, and it had been a great discovery for him. The three Greystone kids always raced each other home when they got off the school bus, and Finn always won.Įven he knew that his older brother and sister, Chess and Emma, let him win so he could make a grand entrance. * Winter 2018–2019 Kids' Indie Next List Pick * Indie Bestseller * Time for Kids Book Club: Top 10 Summer Reads * PW Best Books 2019 * Texas Bluebonnet Award List 2020-2021 * 2020 LITA Excellence in Children’s and Young Adult Science Fiction Notable Book: The Eleanor Cameron Notable Middle Grade Books List * Read more 'A secret-stacked, thrilling series opener about perception, personal memories, and the idiosyncrasies that form individual identities.' ( Publishers Weekly, starred review) But puzzling clues left behind lead to complex codes, hidden rooms, and a dangerous secret that will turn their world upside down. Who, exactly, are these strangers?īefore Chess, Emma, and Finn can question their mom about it, she takes off on a sudden work trip and leaves them in the care of Ms. The other kids share their same first and middle names.

They’ve been a happy family, just the three of them and their mom.īut everything changes when reports of three kidnapped children reach the Greystone kids, and they’re shocked by the startling similarities between themselves and these complete strangers. Chess has always been the protector over his younger siblings, Emma loves math, and Finn does what Finn does best-acting silly and being adored. Perfect for fans of A Wrinkle in Time and The City of Ember! New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix takes readers on a thrilling adventure filled with mysteries and plot twists aplenty in this absorbing series about family and friendships.

The Strangers by Margaret Peterson Haddix