Remarkables
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4.5 • 4 Ratings
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
New York Times bestselling author Margaret Peterson Haddix, the master of cliffhangers, delivers a pulse-pounding mystery perfect for fans of Jacqueline West and Kat Yeh, full of secrets, surprises, and the power of family.
One minute they’re there: laughing and having fun at the house next door. The next minute, the teens are gone. Like magic. Marin can’t believe her eyes. Who are they? Can anyone else see them? What makes them so happy?
Marin is lonely in this new town of hers and eager to figure out more. Then she meets Charley, who reveals that he knows about them, too.
He calls them the “Remarkables.” Charley warns her to stay away from the Remarkables—and him. Charley and Marin both have painful secrets they’re holding on to, but could solving the mystery of the Remarkables help them both?
In addition to building an intriguing world filled with mystery, Haddix also grounds the story with real issues that many children face. Characters deal with the complexities of bullying, the guilt children experience when parents have addiction issues, and the uplifting power found in strong families of all shapes and sizes.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Marin, 11, is looking forward to a fresh start when she moves from Illinois to Pennsylvania with her parents and infant brother and away from the friends with whom she's abruptly fallen out. While exploring the woods behind the family's new home, she becomes entranced by a group of nine teenagers in a nearby yard who seem to vanish as she watches. Marin doesn't know what to think until she meets Charley, a neighbor being raised by his grandmother. Charley can also see the enigmatic group, which he calls "the Remarkables," and theorizes that they are figments of the past from 20 years ago, just before the occurrence of a tragedy with personal ramifications for Charley's family. As the mystery of the Remarkables deepens, Marin and Charley learn about the detrimental and far-reaching consequences of guilt and, slowly, with pain and joy, find a way to move forward. As ever, Haddix plots her satisfying mystery with careful touch points and reveals. But it is her smart exploration of the past's legacy and sensitively painted family dynamics from Marin's exhausted but joyful parents to Charley's difficult family story that make this story remarkable. Ages 8 12.
