Favorite Authors Part 2: Margaret Peterson Haddix

Now, my history with Haddix's books is rather interesting, because when I tried reading her books when I was actually a kid, I didn't like them very much! 

In middle school I tried reading Found, which is the first of her Missing series, and I found it hard to get through. The time travel stuff was also kind of confusing, and the whole book was just a set up for the rest of the series where the main characters go through time to restore history. I also tried reading Among the Hidden, the first of the Shadow Children. At the time I found it boring, but that would eventually change in the future. 

The first book I read from Haddix as an adult would become an all-time favorite, and that is Just Ella! It's a feminist retelling of Cinderella. The second book I read from her was Running Out of Time. I also loved it. I am not planning on reading the sequel, though. I thought the first book was satisfying enough

But then I did read the sequel to Just Ella, which was Palace of Mirrors, and I thought it was really bad! Like, 2 stars bad. Very disappointing. I wonder if Haddix herself even wrote that sequel. 

I gave Among the Hidden another chance and I loved it! I then read the whole series. The Shadow Children series is the only dystopian fiction series I like. 

I then proceeded to read more of her standalones, and these are the ones I read so far and how I felt about them: The School for Whatnots, I liked it fair enough. Then Double Identity, which I loved. The Remarkables, which I also loved. 

I unfortunately DNF'd Claim to Fame and The Summer of Broken Things. 

As of the making of this post, I am reading The Secret Letters, which is also the first of a trilogy. So far I'm loving it. I plan to get around to all of her books! 

Why do I love Margaret Peterson Haddix's books? Because they are all page-turning mysteries that deal with real world ethical problems. She really knows how to present serious issues to a young audience while also keeping it entertaining. She also really knows how young people think, making her characters really relatable.