In this futuristic mystery, Cat has fallen out of a tree and has suffered traumatic brain injury. Doctors haven't given her parents any hope that she will recover from the headaches and the forgetfulness that have become part of her life, so they send her to a swamp in Florida to I-CAN, an organization that has supposedly has had success treating the type of injuries that Cat suffers from. After Cat has been there for only a day, she starts to believe that there is something wrong with what is going on at I-CAN.

This story has an interesting premise, but is fairly unbelievable. There is lots of action and suspense, but the characters are not really developed and the story is too short to really bring the story to life. Overall a fairly unremarkable read. ( )

I liked this story, but it need a little more character development to earn a higher rating. ( )

Review courtesy of Dark Faerie Tales

Quick & Dirty: Four kids at a clinic to treat head injuries, when they begin to realize something isn’t right, will they be able to save themselves before it’s too late?

Opening Sentence: “If you hit your head hard enough, your brain gets shaken up inside your skull.”

The Review:

Cat is 12 and on her way to the I-CAN clinic in order to get her life back. She fell out of a tree and sustained a concussion. Since that injury she has lost friends, time at school and the ability to do anything she used to do before the accident. Shortly after arriving at the clinic in the swamps of Florida, she meets Sarah, Ben and Quentin, who are all in various stages of treatment for head injuries.

Not long after arriving Cat overhears an odd conversation between the two doctors at the clinic, at the time she dismisses it as just a little odd. But later when Sarah tells her how much Trent has changed since his Stage three treatment. Cat begins to wonder just what is going on at the clinic. It’s not long before Sarah and Cat are trying to figure out what is going on and then stumble across some odd emails containing the DNA sequences for some pretty famous scientists.

Will they be able to figure it all out, and will they be able to save themselves in time?

I don’t usually read a lot of middle grade books, really for no other reason than it just isn’t my thing. While I didn’t love this book, I did really enjoy it and I found it a great read. In fact, I would heartily recommend this book to any parent with kids into mystery or thrillers. The premise was legit a scary concept and the author executed it flawlessly. I found myself trying to figure out what was going, and really hoping that these 12 year old’s would be able to get free. I have to say that I really like the ingenuity of the kids, and the way they worked together, and kept it together to get out of all the sticky situations. I think at 12 I wouldn’t have figured out half of what they did and I probably would have just been a big mess.

I really liked the science behind it, while it seemed a tad far fetched, it also seemed really plausible, which is why I said the premise was legit scary. I find sometimes if you can just stretch reality enough and deliver a story that really feels like it could happen it is often more scary than a regular horror novel. I think this is a story that pretty much everyone would like, but I do think it is really going to appeal to pre-teens and teens a bit more than older adults. That’s just because adults like complexity, romance, and twists. This one had complexity, and some twists but no real romance. It’s a straight forward science fiction thriller.

Notable Scenes:

“I missed who I used to be, and if this clinic in the middle of nowhere could bring me back, it was worth anything.”

“These were doctors, after all, and this was where I needed to be to get better.”

“The right group of scientists might be able to cure cancer or fix global warming or find new energy sources.”

“On a list of passengers leaving for Moscow in a few hours.”

“I wanted to go home so badly it was all I could do not to curl up on the floor of the van and cry.”

FTC Advisory: Walker Childrens/Bloomsbury provided me with a copy of Wake Up Missing. No goody bags, sponsorships, “material connections,” or bribes were exchanged for my review. ( )

This novel is a tad bit science fiction as some teens must fight to retain their identities.

Cat is basically the main character. Along with Quentin, Sarah, Ben, Trent, and Kaylee , Cat has had a head injury. The head injuries have changed their lives because they are plagued with headaches, nausea, dizziness, and personality changes. They just want to be well and go back to living their lives. There is a famous clinic in Florida that claims they can help. When Kat and Ben arrive, they find Quentin and Sarah who tell them about Kaylee and Trent. Cat is surprised by how few people are here.

After Cat overhears some suspicious conversations, she begins to question the validity of the clinic. She does feel much better and can see a way to go back to her former life. Sarah joins Cat in her doubts because Trent has changed so much. In their investigation, they discover disturbing information

It’s a solid middle school book. It’s got some adventure and interesting futuristic science experimentation. I like that the parents aren’t stupid as they often are in books and I like that the Cat has a good relationship with her mom even though the parents are in the book very little. It has a good lesson about how to find help and the resiliency that can come with adversity. There’s little depth of character, but it’s a well moving plot. ( )

Review first published on fefferbooks.com. A free advanced reader copy of this book was provided by Walker Childrens in exchange for an honest review. The review below is in no way influenced by this consideration.

Wake Up Missing is a well-written, quick-paced little morsel of a sci-fi novel. Written for tweens (wait. I hate that word. Pre-teens? Let’s roll with that.) Ahem. Written for pre-teens, its characters are smart, active, and dynamic enough to hold a slightly younger audience’s interest.

I read this book with my ten-year-old boys in mind, but I have to say that I became absorbed in it almost immediately–-Messner manages to write content that’s safe for kids, but is thoroughly engaging for adults, as well. I never felt like I was reading a “kids’ book,” which I think is a sign of a truly great one. (Remember Harry Potter?)

Messner is an award-winning author, and she certainly writes like one here. Her plot has great movement, and her characters are multi-dimensional–both the kids and the adults. I particularly loved that her young main character fought not only for her life, but to understand and have compassion for those around her. There are some good messages here about love, loyalty, and self-esteem, and Messner manages to deliver them without being cloying.

I recommend Wake Up Missing wholeheartedly for all audiences, middle grades and up, and will be passing it along to my own children.

Clean as clean can be. 5 stars.
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