What do you think?
Rate this book
Missing on Superstition Mountain #1
Missing on Superstition Mountain
It’s summer and the three Barker brothers ― Simon, Henry, and Jack ― just moved from Illinois to Arizona. Their parents have warned them repeatedly not to explore Superstition Mountain, which is near their home. But when their cat Josie goes missing, they see no other choice. There’s something unusually creepy about the mountain and after the boys find three human skulls, they grow determined to uncover the mystery. Have people really gone missing over the years, and could there be someone or some thing lurking in the woods? The Barker boys are dead-set on cracking the case even if it means putting themselves in harm’s way. Here’s the first book in an action-packed mystery series by a New York Times bestselling author.
Runtime: 4 hours, 32 minutes
Runtime: 4 hours, 32 minutes
5 pages, Audio CD
First published June 21, 2011
24 people are currently reading
595 people want to read
About the author
Elise Broach
33 books148 followersElise Broach is the New York Times bestselling author of children's books including Masterpiece, Shakespeare's Secret, Desert Crossing, Missing on Superstition Mountain (the first book in the Superstition Mountain Trilogy) as well as several picture books. Her books have been selected as ALA notable books, Junior Library Guild selections, a Publishers Weekly Best Children's Book, a New York Public Library Best Book for the Teenage, an IRA Teacher's Choice, an E.B. White Read Aloud Award, and nominated for an Edgar Award, among other distinctions. Ms. Broach holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in history from Yale University. She was born in Georgia and lives in the woods of rural Connecticut, walking distance from three farms, a library, a post office and two country stores.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/eliseb...
http://us.macmillan.com/author/eliseb...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews
October 28, 2011
I have really enjoyed Elise Broach's other books, Shakespeare's Secret and Masterpiece. So I was looking forward to reading this one. I did enjoy it. I wouldn't call it compelling exactly, but it was interesting to go with the Barker brothers and their friend Delilah on their adventures. I, being a librarian, really appreciated how Broach showed the children searching out answers in several different ways, at the library, seeking witnesses, and going right to the scene of the mysterious happenings. I loved the setting, what a great idea, a Bermuda Triangle, on land. Broach did a great job creating an intriguing setting that the reader is interested in learning more about, along with the main characters.
The writing is very good, clear and easy to follow. The illustrations added to the tension and atmosphere. The only problem I had was a couple of illustrations didn't quite match the written text. This is something I tend to notice because it bothers me. But the story was enjoyable enough that I willingly overlooked the few errors. I appreciated the author's note informing me that while the story is fiction it is based on a real place and some real events. Overall, a nice read, with plenty of discussion points if used as a read-a-loud.
The writing is very good, clear and easy to follow. The illustrations added to the tension and atmosphere. The only problem I had was a couple of illustrations didn't quite match the written text. This is something I tend to notice because it bothers me. But the story was enjoyable enough that I willingly overlooked the few errors. I appreciated the author's note informing me that while the story is fiction it is based on a real place and some real events. Overall, a nice read, with plenty of discussion points if used as a read-a-loud.
October 5, 2012
I read this for fun since the cub scouts were talking about tall tales. Many of the "missing" people are actual real people who went missing. A fun, not too scary book if you are 8-10 years old.
June 28, 2018
This is an excellent novel. I have read it four times now. This is an excellent opening to an epic saga. I loved the adventure and suspense.
August 7, 2011
I wanted to like this more than I did, but I did not find the setting, the characters, or the central mystery as compelling as I did with "Shakespeare's Secret." The characters were broadly drawn; the first chapter tells us that the oldest brother Simon is a bossy know-it-all, the middle brother Henry is a quiet reader, and the youngest brother Jack is a willful kid with a temper, and the rest of the book relies on those initial characterizations without giving us any further development.
Once the first chapter has hastily set up the premise -- the Barker brothers have just moved to Superstition, Arizona, and adults' repeated warnings to stay away from Superstition Mountain have just made them more curious about it -- the pacing moves along briskly. The boys head up the mountain twice -- once right at the beginning, in pursuit of their runaway cat, and once near the end, to try to recover three skulls that they found on their first visit. In between, they make a new friend, Delilah, who helps them to investigate the history of the mountain with trips to the library (as a librarian myself, I did enjoy the depiction of the creepy Superstition librarian) and to a local geologist.
There was a good balance of resolving one mystery/adventure while leaving overarching questions to be explored in the trilogy's other books. The author's acknowledgments state that she was hoping to create "Twin Peaks for kids," and in this attempt I did not find the book successful. An intriguing concept, but the atmosphere never got too creepy or quirky.
I must admit, I might be assessing this book a little more harshly than I otherwise would, because I just read "Well Witched," in which Hardinge so masterfully crafted true-to-life characters and a pervading sense of eerieness. An interesting question for me is which of the two books a kid would prefer -- as an adult reader, I find that "Well Witched" is far superior, but is that based on adult criteria of style and craftsmanship that would not necessarily translate to a kid perspective?
**SPOILER ALERT** Since I found some of the clues scattered throughout to be rather obvious, I would just like to predict for the record that the following will happen in the two sequels: a) Hank found the Lost Dutchman's Mine ; b) Hank's box of coins with the "surprisingly shallow trough" (167) will prove to have a secret compartment; c) Officer Myers is in search of the Lost Dutchman's Mine himself and is perhaps responsible for the gunshot heard by Henry and Delilah.
Once the first chapter has hastily set up the premise -- the Barker brothers have just moved to Superstition, Arizona, and adults' repeated warnings to stay away from Superstition Mountain have just made them more curious about it -- the pacing moves along briskly. The boys head up the mountain twice -- once right at the beginning, in pursuit of their runaway cat, and once near the end, to try to recover three skulls that they found on their first visit. In between, they make a new friend, Delilah, who helps them to investigate the history of the mountain with trips to the library (as a librarian myself, I did enjoy the depiction of the creepy Superstition librarian) and to a local geologist.
There was a good balance of resolving one mystery/adventure while leaving overarching questions to be explored in the trilogy's other books. The author's acknowledgments state that she was hoping to create "Twin Peaks for kids," and in this attempt I did not find the book successful. An intriguing concept, but the atmosphere never got too creepy or quirky.
I must admit, I might be assessing this book a little more harshly than I otherwise would, because I just read "Well Witched," in which Hardinge so masterfully crafted true-to-life characters and a pervading sense of eerieness. An interesting question for me is which of the two books a kid would prefer -- as an adult reader, I find that "Well Witched" is far superior, but is that based on adult criteria of style and craftsmanship that would not necessarily translate to a kid perspective?
**SPOILER ALERT** Since I found some of the clues scattered throughout to be rather obvious, I would just like to predict for the record that the following will happen in the two sequels: a) Hank found the Lost Dutchman's Mine ; b) Hank's box of coins with the "surprisingly shallow trough" (167) will prove to have a secret compartment; c) Officer Myers is in search of the Lost Dutchman's Mine himself and is perhaps responsible for the gunshot heard by Henry and Delilah.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 28, 2013
The three Barker boys and their parents have just moved to Superstition, Arizona, with the infamous Superstition Mountains practically in their backyard. Chasing their cat, the boys venture up into the mountains and are struck by the ominous feeling of the place--and finding those bones doesn't help. On their return, their parents and a police officer forbid them ever to go into the mountains again, which of course just makes them curious. With the help of a pushy neighbor girl, they start investigating the history of the mountains and their legends, and decide they have no choice but to return.
I felt completely cheated by this book. Up until the end, I was liking it a lot; it had a good sense of place, good characters (some a bit stereotypical, though), good pacing, an interesting series of mysteries, and a touch of middle-school appropriate horror. Then at the end... Well, all I can say is, don't worry about my putting in any spoilers, because Broach didn't either. The boys find out the answer to one of their 50 or so questions about the mountains, and the answer was the one they expected. Nothing else gets answered. Nothing. This is not a complete book. I understand cliffhanger endings to get you to read the second book, but this one did not give the reader enough to make them feel as though they'd uncovered at least part of the mystery. I kind of felt like throwing the book across the room, honestly, even though I'd liked it up until the end (which is why I gave it three stars anyway).
I felt completely cheated by this book. Up until the end, I was liking it a lot; it had a good sense of place, good characters (some a bit stereotypical, though), good pacing, an interesting series of mysteries, and a touch of middle-school appropriate horror. Then at the end... Well, all I can say is, don't worry about my putting in any spoilers, because Broach didn't either. The boys find out the answer to one of their 50 or so questions about the mountains, and the answer was the one they expected. Nothing else gets answered. Nothing. This is not a complete book. I understand cliffhanger endings to get you to read the second book, but this one did not give the reader enough to make them feel as though they'd uncovered at least part of the mystery. I kind of felt like throwing the book across the room, honestly, even though I'd liked it up until the end (which is why I gave it three stars anyway).
January 30, 2013
meh.
Elise Broach is so good at writing children's literature; close read books, and exemplars of complex text, but I couldn't love this book. She set the stage creating a spooky ambiance and interesting characters but it doesn't really go anywhere or give the reader satisfying resolutions. It is too long a book to just promise to develop more in subsequent sequels. Big build-ups without the big bang!- Kinda like this time in college.....
Elise Broach is so good at writing children's literature; close read books, and exemplars of complex text, but I couldn't love this book. She set the stage creating a spooky ambiance and interesting characters but it doesn't really go anywhere or give the reader satisfying resolutions. It is too long a book to just promise to develop more in subsequent sequels. Big build-ups without the big bang!- Kinda like this time in college.....
January 7, 2012
A solid mystery that reminded me of Peggy Parish's books about Jed, Bill, and Liza. I love that scene in juvenile mysteries where they have to go searching through old newspapers, which I first met in The Dollhouse Murders--came upon it twice in two days this week. How refreshing to have a possibly eeeevil librarian instead of a cool/hip/helpful one.
September 14, 2022
The book is about 3 boys and their cat goes missing and they discover 3 skulls on a mountain and I discover that this book will grant you about 1,000 questions and only 2 of them is solved. Merry Christmas
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 15, 2012
Nice mystery for young readers, but the story felt unfinished.
February 26, 2019
Missing on Superstition Mountain is a mystery book about 3 young boys named Jack, Henry, and Simon. Their family had just moved into a weird, small town in Arizona, sitting in the shadows of the enormous Superstition Mountain. Their parents had warned the boys about the mountain and told them to stay off, but their cat had ran away onto the mountain so the boys felt no other choice. While up on the mysterious mountain, the boys fall and roll down a hill, landing right next to three big, white, human skulls. The boys hurried their way back home to see a police officer with their parents, questioning where they were and if they were up on the mountain, to NEVER venture up it again. This just made the boys more curious, and they wondered what the real dangers of Superstition Mountain were. With the help of Delilah, a pushy girl they had met who had just moved in recently as well, they start to investigate the history of it, learning that there was supposedly a gold mine up there, and many people had been killed up on the mountain, some murdered, some stabbed, some even decapitated. The four adventurous kids decide they have to return and figure out the real problem with the mountain.
I really liked this book by Elise Broach because it has a great plot line and great characters to go along with it. The characters were super adventurous and their age was close to mine, so I felt like I could relate to them while reading. The genre for Missing on Superstition is a mystery, not particularly my type of book I read, but the nonstop action was super intriguing to me and at points in the story, I couldn't put my book down. One thing that I didn't necessarily like too much about this book was that I felt like the end was unfinished in a sense. They had tons of questions they were trying to figure out, but they only figured out one of them, and I felt like it very predictable as well. But overall, I think that this book is a must-read for all readers. It applies to many age groups and even if you aren't a fan of mystery, you'll enjoy it.
I really liked this book by Elise Broach because it has a great plot line and great characters to go along with it. The characters were super adventurous and their age was close to mine, so I felt like I could relate to them while reading. The genre for Missing on Superstition is a mystery, not particularly my type of book I read, but the nonstop action was super intriguing to me and at points in the story, I couldn't put my book down. One thing that I didn't necessarily like too much about this book was that I felt like the end was unfinished in a sense. They had tons of questions they were trying to figure out, but they only figured out one of them, and I felt like it very predictable as well. But overall, I think that this book is a must-read for all readers. It applies to many age groups and even if you aren't a fan of mystery, you'll enjoy it.
September 17, 2020
I can see the west end of the Superstitions from my house, and I have an 8-year-old who loves mysteries, so I really wanted this to be good.
You know how a lot of creepy kids' book disarm the horror aspects in the end by explaining "what really happened" at the end? This one doesn't. The kids find three human skulls, and, yep, they are just three human skulls, of other children who wandered off into the mountains. The author goes so far as to state in her afterward that the story of the three missing boys is historical (I have my doubts, but I need to get my hands on some actual history books). There's a character who lost her mind in terror after spending some nights on the mountain; also not explained or resolved.
This may not be a problem for most readers, but I want to be able to take my kid hiking in the Superstition wilderness without having to soothe abject terror.
The author is a reasonably good writer, but it's not amazing. There is a lot of exposition throughout, and she makes the mistake of bringing up Peter Pan in the first chapter. I just finished Peter Pan last weekend, and the really wonderful thing about the first chapter of that book is that Barrie introduces the whole Darling family by telling a story instead of lining them up and writing an internet dating bio. But that is how we meet the Barker family. This is even more disappointing because when the author brings in the character Delilah, she does show instead of telling, and it works very well.
Disappointing, for both thematic and literary reasons.
You know how a lot of creepy kids' book disarm the horror aspects in the end by explaining "what really happened" at the end? This one doesn't. The kids find three human skulls, and, yep, they are just three human skulls, of other children who wandered off into the mountains. The author goes so far as to state in her afterward that the story of the three missing boys is historical (I have my doubts, but I need to get my hands on some actual history books). There's a character who lost her mind in terror after spending some nights on the mountain; also not explained or resolved.
This may not be a problem for most readers, but I want to be able to take my kid hiking in the Superstition wilderness without having to soothe abject terror.
The author is a reasonably good writer, but it's not amazing. There is a lot of exposition throughout, and she makes the mistake of bringing up Peter Pan in the first chapter. I just finished Peter Pan last weekend, and the really wonderful thing about the first chapter of that book is that Barrie introduces the whole Darling family by telling a story instead of lining them up and writing an internet dating bio. But that is how we meet the Barker family. This is even more disappointing because when the author brings in the character Delilah, she does show instead of telling, and it works very well.
Disappointing, for both thematic and literary reasons.
April 24, 2021
I read this book before I gave it to my grandson. I find so many books that are for children are totally inappropriate with suicide, explicit violence and language. This book was refreshingly kid appropriate. While visiting a bookstore in Alpine, Texas I asked the owner for a book that was set in the West. Although there is mystery and some scary times in the book, the owner described the book aptly when she said those scenes were somewhat Scooby Dooish. Throughly enjoyed reading it even though it is labeled for 8-12 year olds. Planning to get our grandson the next ones in the series!
January 30, 2021
Perfect book for 5 or 5th graders. Full of adventure. Family, cats (lol had to put that in there ;) mystery and last but not least history.
I'm a 3/4th grade teacher and wrote this review with that partly in mind and the other part being I visited family in Arizona where we spent some time near Superstition mountain which drew me to the book.
Written very well to a audience of about the same ages the kids in the book are.
I'm a 3/4th grade teacher and wrote this review with that partly in mind and the other part being I visited family in Arizona where we spent some time near Superstition mountain which drew me to the book.
Written very well to a audience of about the same ages the kids in the book are.
July 9, 2017
I picked this book up because kids at the library are always asking for mystery recommendations, and I don't have many to personally recommend since that's not a genre I read often. But this book was really more of an adventure story than a mystery. I found it kind of anti-climactic. I can see the kid-appeal though.
July 8, 2017
this book was a chair gripper supenceful, funny, and quite a cliffhanger. The three brothers are quite a sight and watch out for a certain annoying braided girl. this book will leave you breathless and, in more ways than one, inspired. highly recommended
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 23, 2018
Read this book in about an hour and a half, and think it would be a great mystery recommendation for third graders. Three brothers go up a mountain to find their cat and find three skulls instead. Mystery ensues. Glad to have a mystery to recommend to this age level and glad there is more than one!
February 16, 2019
I think this book was very suspenseful, and had a lot of character. The 4 main characters working together to find treasure on Missing on Superstition Mountain was intriguing, and at some points I couldn't put the book down.
August 18, 2019
My favorite part was when Delilah was rescued after her leg broke and she couldn't go anywhere. My least favorite part was when the brothers lied to their mother and disobeyed everyone by gong up into the mountains. But, if they didn't, there wouldn't really be a climax in the story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2022
This book was okay, it was very slow, and didn’t have any character to it. It took me awhile to finish this book, not because the words were hard, but because the book was boring and slow. I liked how funny it was, I’ll give them that. This book is stuck between Horrible and Meh.
Read
September 22, 2022This book is kind of slowly paced, but near the end, the stakes become very high. I thought the ending was a little rushed with not much of a conclusion, which was disappointing. I kind of wanted more.
September 30, 2024
I am in love with this story line! I cannot wait to continue with book two!!! This novel had several references to historical and georaphical fact. It will be great to talk about when we learn about the Superstition Mountains!
March 13, 2025
This is a young ya book based loosely on the Superstition Mountain mysteries. The characters are simple but believable. The situations they encounter are true to their character stories. It was a fun read.
November 6, 2017
The book was good. I wished the book had more information about where they when it was and more information about the boys. But overall its great, I've read it twice.
September 12, 2018
Loved Loved Loved this book!! And the rest of the series! Adore the characters and setting! recommended for everyone
January 14, 2020
Really good Mystery book
May 2, 2020
A very exciting read! Excellent for kids (and adults) who love adventure and mystery.
December 19, 2020
If I were a child, I would rate this a 4- or 5-star. Modern-day mystery based on many historical facts. Quite enjoyable.
January 7, 2022
I loved this book!! It had such an entertaining and engaging plot! There were great cliff hangers and creepy aspects that made it so much fun to read! I read the whole series and recommend each book!
Read
April 29, 2024fun local children's book read aloud w bff :)
October 11, 2024
I grew up by the Superstition Mountains and this really didn't feel like the mountains I know. Also, not a fan of the story. I would not give this to my nephews to read.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 144 reviews