It's All In Your Mind

There are moments when your memory fails you.  Waking up suddenly in the night can cause temporary confusion.  Going from one room to another, your mind loaded with tasks, only to discover the real reason you went to the room has left your mind.  Sometimes you will be writing along and the spelling for the simplest word has vanished from your thoughts entirely.

When joining my 93-year-old Mom for dinners in her assisted living home, I sit with her table companions listening and watching some of them struggle to put a sentence together.  You can see in their eyes as they search for the correct words to express their thoughts.  Imagine how this would be if you were only in middle school?  Kate Messner's newest title, Wake Up Missing (Walker Books for Young Readers, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc.), places six young people with head injuries, all hoping to get their normal lives back, together in circumstances where their very existence is threatened.

If you hit your head hard enough, your brain gets shaken up inside your skull.

Twelve-year-old Cat Grayson and her mom have recently arrived in the Florida Everglades to drop her off at the highly acclaimed International Center for Advanced Neurology, I-CAN.  They are taken to the former military facility by air boat along with another new patient Ben and his aunt.  Two other guests, Quentin and Sarah who have been there for two weeks already, and Dr. Mark Ames, head of I-CAN, greet them upon their arrival.  When Cat's mom and Ben's aunt leave, Cat is overwhelmed with conflicting emotions, should she be here or not.

Trent and Kaylee are in the final stages of treatment, their absence while noted by the other four, is dismissed as their first morning conversations focus on getting to know one another.  The initial inkling that something might be amiss is noticed by Cat that same day when she overhears an argument between Dr. Ames and a neurologist who specializes in genetic engineering, Dr. Gunther.  Later when Trent appears in the cafeteria, Sarah, who has spent the most time with him, insists he has changed; his personality, speech and mannerisms are altered.

Overhearing a cell phone conversation on the roof, Cat is certain she and the others are being told a distorted version of the facility's true purpose.  Sneaking into Dr. Gunther's office, she and Sarah discover even more alarming evidence.  Convincing the two boys, Quentin and Ben, is not so easy though....until they discover something and someone who are not supposed to be there.

Dead scientists' names adding up to a terrifying realization, clandestine trips into the Everglades, experiments gone wrong, kidnapping, a horrible statement overheard, drug runners and One-Eyed Lou spell serious trouble for the six.  They have become pawns in a truly frightening high stakes game reaching to the upper echelon.  In what can only be described as a tension-filled, page-turning series of events the group needs to work through their differences, find the best possible solution in multiple worse-case scenarios and search within themselves to find answers quickly.


Within the first two chapters readers will feel a sense of apprehension building.  Supported by meticulous research, in the capable hands of author Kate Messner, a sure knowledge grows that despite this being a work of fiction, it could happen.  It's this recognition combined with superb writing techniques which hooks readers, not letting them go until the final sentence is read.

We are there with Cat, Ben, Quentin, Sarah, Trent and Kaylee through conversation, thoughts, detailed descriptions of place and single potent sentences.  Supporting characters, Molly the air boat driver, Dr. Gunther, the neurologist with a less than stellar past, Gus and Eugene, the duo living on the wrong side of the law, good and bad all ring true.  Dr. Mark Ames, plotting and planning, with his eyes on the prize will stop at nothing to succeed.  Here are a few examples of her writing from this title.

I smiled back at her and reminded myself this was where I needed to be to get better.  I liked the birds.  The kids were friendly, and Dr. Ames seemed nice, too.  Like he cared about us, like he wanted to make sure we felt safe and happy.  Like we were important to him.
I guess we were, in a way.  Just not the way we thought.  

All the anxiety that had lifted from me watching the birds came back, twisting my stomach, pounding on my head from the inside.  Now I had to stay hidden; somehow, I knew I was hearing something I shouldn't.  

"Come on." Quentin offered Ben his hand.  Ben ignored it and almost fell in the water, but he caught a branch and started up the trail.  It didn't go far before the brush filled in, and we were climbing over snapping branches and mangrove roots thick as my arm.
"Did you hear that?" Sarah grabbed my arm.  We stopped and listened.
It was quiet.
I looked at Quinten.  His eyes narrowed, and I could tell he was thinking what I was thinking.
It was too quiet for the Everglades.


Kate Messner's Wake Up Missing is a science thriller jam-packed with heart-stopping action.  Precisely when you think you have all the dots connected, she throws in another tantalizing shift, a new element that changes everything.  You, like the characters, need to re-evaluate; they to survive, you to speculate on what the next turn of page will bring.  Plan on multiple copies; this is one book that will never be on the shelves.

In a detailed Author's Note, Messner outlines the spark for writing this book and the research involved.  Here is a link to the Pinterest board she has developed for this title.  My review is based upon an ARC I received from Kate Messner as part of one of her KidLit auctions.

O Say! Can You See?

Ranking up there in the top five favorite inside or outside games, at least with my students, is Capture the Flag.  Strategy, speed, and quick thinking on your feet contribute to one team being victorious over another.  Some team members enjoy guarding the flag, tagging those who would try to steal it.  Others relish the opportunity to sneak in, grab it and spirit away undetected, well, at least for awhile.

In her first book of a new series, author, Kate Messner has expanded the boundaries of the intended playing field.  Beginning in the Smithsonian Museum of American History, then to the Washington DC airport and eventually to the state of Vermont, Capture the Flag (Scholastic) is no game.  This high stakes heist has the nation's capital under high alert.

They never should have unlocked the door.

That first line is like the finger needed to gently push, setting a domino effect in motion.  As a gala event to celebrate the restoration of the flag which inspired Francis Scott Key to write The Star Spangled Banner is drawing to a close, one final group of dignitaries is taken to see this artifact.  Three seventh grade students, although strangers, are seated together on a bench close to Washington's statue, waiting for busy adults to complete their parts in the evening's activities.  Little do this girl and the two guys know, their lives are about to be connected in more ones than one.

Anna Revere-Hobbs, daughter of a TV news anchor and United States senator, had hoped to get more of a scoop for her Vermont school newspaper.  Proud of the work his mother, a textile scientist, has done on the flag, Jose McGilligan nevertheless goes back to reading his well-loved copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire anticipating the evening's end.  Having to spend time with his Aunt Lucinda while his dad is on his honeymoon with his new stepmother is not game-playing Henry Thorn's idea of a good time.

Later while these three and the rest of the evening's attendees are soundly sleeping, a hidden figure in the flag's chamber methodically folds the aged fabric, places it in a case and walks away with no one the wiser.  As circumstances would have it, the three meet again at the Washington DC airport the next morning, stranded, as are many, due to a freak snowstorm.  It is with shock they and others there hear the news of the flag's disappearance.

In short order Anna's nose for news and observations skills, piece together two important points.  The three of them have close family who are members of a secret society pledged to protect priceless world antiquities.  Second, and most critical, the stolen flag and the thieves are likely stuck in the airport too.

As the trio join forces, each with their unique skills, clues start to pile up as quickly as the snow falling outside.  Innocent people are being held as suspects, a man with a snake tattoo is stalking a presidential candidate, and their new young friend, Sinan, has disappeared.  Determination and a need to help those in trouble lead them into an off-limits arena; a room of conveyor belts, high ceilings and thousands of pieces of luggage and bags.

Nearly frantic, trying not to panic, each of them summon all their courage to do what they believe is right.  Time is not their friend nor are those who will do anything to keep their plot from being exposed.  A dangerous game of cat and mouse ensues with the outcome for our characters held in a tenuous balance as they literally speed to the conclusion.


Kate Messner's talent as a writer is her ability to hook readers with an intricately developed plot, peopled with likable characters of varying personalities and backgrounds and despicable villains, non-stop adventure, intriguing bits of history, and set among places of interest.  Each chapter ends with a sentence, thought or statement that moves readers eagerly into the next chapter.  Her descriptions of the minute by minute action are downright nail-biters.

Between her characters the dialogue is completely realistic, evoking an emotional response in the reader.  As the action progresses more of her characters' traits are revealed.  We readers get to see what really makes them tick depending on the situation.

Here are a couple sample passages.

The man counted to one thousand.  One thousand shallow breaths from behind the table.  His knees creaked when he finally stood.
He stepped forward and slipped one hand under the edge of the table until he felt the first cold metal clamp that secured the flag, on its protective backing, to the display table.
Slowly, he turned the clamp until he felt its cool weight drop into his palm.

"My responsibility is to knock out these bank robbers." Henry picked up his SuperGamePrism-5000 again. "Otherwise, I can't get to Level Ten."
Jose looked at Henry, poking at his GamePrism, and shook his head at Anna. "Sorry, I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I agree with him." He took out his book.
Anna threw her hands in the air. "You are such...boys! What is wrong with you? You spend your whole lives looking for excitement in video games and movies and books, and then when something big finally happens, you're too busy reading and poking at some SuperGameThingy to do the real, live, exciting thing right there in front of you!"


Kate Messner's Capture the Flag captures the reader's attention on page one weaving, twisting, turning and racing toward the final sentence; a sentence filled with the assurance of more excitement to come.  The second book in the Silver Jaguar Society series is slated for publication in the spring of 2013 bearing the title, Hide and Seek.  Raise your hand if you can hardly wait!


The link embedded in Kate Messner's name above takes you to her website.  This link is to her author interview about this title.  At the Scholastic web site is a link to the accompanying teaching and discussion guide.  Kate Messner has provided a Pinterest board for Capture the Flag linked here.  This final link is to the Smithsonian website for The Star Spangled Banner.