Remarkables

This was an awesome stand alone story all about friends. It’s a great middle grade book but I really appreciated it even as an adult. In this story, an 11 year old girl named Marin moves far away from her friends. There was a painful secret between those friends though and Marin second guesses if she will even be able to make friends going to middle school for the first year in a brand new area. She has gone through a lot of changes recently, including going from an only child to having a newborn brother. Marin discovers some teenagers that don’t look quite right when she explores the wooded area behind her new home. She meets a boy who is also 11 that lives next door. Together they discover these teens are time travelers and a very sad story is uncovered about the boy’s, Charlie, father. He’s being raised (along with his two brothers) by his grandmother.I highly recommend this book. I especially loved that breastfeeding is mentioned and NORMAL. The parents also wear the baby brother in a baby carrier. The family attends church and God is mentioned in a very sweet and reverent way a few times. This book isn’t over the top Christian but has a very sweet theme of friendship and family bonds throughout.

Loved this book! the twists and turns were keeping me on my toes. Haddix knows how to deliver a great book every time. My students are checking it out so fast, I have a waiting list.

My 5th graders really enjoyed this stand alone novel from Margaret Peterson Haddix. It was an enjoyable distraction with excellent cliff hangers and realistic friend drama. Definitely recommend!

Came at a record time, this book will be used as a Christmas present I’m sure she would enjoy it very much

Leaving a bad situation in Illinois, eleven-year-old Marin just moved to Pennsylvania with her parents and baby brother, Owen. It's a time for changes as her mother has been named a dean at a nursing school and her dad is currently an unemployed gym teacher. Baby Owen has his days and nights mixed up and is constantly crying. Marin becomes a baby whisperer - able to calm down Owen and put him to sleep. All she can think about is starting middle school and if she was normal. Her best friends in Illinois had turned on her - whispering and laughing at her behind her back. Her former friend Kenner criticized everything about her - even her parents. Then something unusual happens in the forest of her new home - she has visions of teens having a good time. She knows these are visions because the teens disappear into thin air when she gets close. She meets a neighbor named Charley who seems to know more about these teens whom he calls "The Remarkables." Together Marin and Charley try to figure out the mystery of the teens - why they appear and disappear. In the process they learn more about themselves, how to overcome their past mistakes or misconceptions, and, most importantly, how to make friends.

When ten-year-old Marin moves from Illinois to Pennsylvania, she's sad. Friends are left behind, damaged friendships remain broken, and there is uncertainty with what the future holds. As she explores her new home, she discovers a house behind hers. A house that seems to be the center of activity where the teenagers are happy. But then the teenagers disappear. Are they ghosts from a tragedy that occurred twenty years in the past, or are they a glimpse into the future? Marin and her new friend, Charley aim to find out.Remarkables is a complex story of hope. The main plot is the discovery of who the Remarkables are, but there are many other issues involved – the challenges of moving, dealing with bullies, friend relationships, and struggling with addictions in a family. Even though these topics are dark, ultimately, the story offers hope that things can and will get better.The story is well-written and intriguing with topics that are relate-able to many middle-grade readers.

Addresses a bunch of preteen stresses and emotional battles. Many social and family issues verycommon to new middle schoolers.

I really wanted to love this book, because I have loved many of her earlier books, but it didn’t hit me the way they did. It was good and well written, of course, like all her books are. But it didn’t hook me in. It’s aimed at younger readers, so it should have been a quick and easy read, but I found myself losing interest a couple of times before the end.I think part of the problem is it revolves around a mysterious/magical plot which is never really adequately explained. The other part was that the author wanted to introduce real issues that children face, which I applaud, but those issues became the focus of the book and they overwhelmed the ‘Remarkable’ part so that it felt superfluous.It really felt like you could have removed the whole mystery plot line and just had it be about two kids helping each other heal from past trauma and you would have ended up in the same place.

Haddix wrote a Remarkable novel, pun intended, about first frendships and hope in the future. Loved it 'til last page.