Review: Sabotaged - Margaret Peterson Haddix

Synopsis: After helping Chip and Alex survive fifteenth-century London with no preparation at all, Jonah and Katherine think that their next job will be a snap. Their mission: to help return Andrea - who is really Virginia Dare - back to the lost colony of Roanoke in the sixteenth century. They'll help her restore the balance of history, and then they can all go home.

Sounds simple, easy, and safe. But right away things start to go wrong. They lose the Elucidator and aren't sure where in time they've landed. As Jonah, Katherine, and Andrea struggle to survive without food, water, supplies, or a way to contact anyone for rescue, they try to piece together the mysterious history of Roanoke. What happened to the missing colonists? Does it have anything to do with their current predicament? And how can they help Andrea restore history if they don't even know what century they're in? The more Jonah and Katherine look for answers, the more questions they have.

Review: Like the other two, Sabotaged is weird, but interesting. I was pleased that Chip wasn't in this one; Katherine did not irritate me nearly as much because of it. And Ms. Haddix manages to make the plotline develop by immediately throwing in a twist, with plenty of others following close at its heels. The end will definitely leave you wanting to read the sequel (due to come out in a few months!).

Despite the plot-twists, I cannot say that Sabotaged was my favorite. When Ms. Haddix starts to touch on the Indians and colonist situation(s), it begins to feel very bogged down with the Author's personal opinions. In short, very preachy. And it gets in the way of the story, like really, really sticky, irritating mud impeding your walking forward. And the new villain, Second, wasn't nearly as intimidating as I was hoping. I can't say that I disliked him - he is a fairly good villain, but there seemed something not quite right with his character. Like something was missing.

Despite those complaints, Sabotaged is a good installment. Fans of JB (like me) will be especially pleased.

Overall Rating: JJJ

Others in The Missing Series:

1)Found
2)Sent
3)Sabotaged
4)Torn
5)Caught