Sought

The Missing #3.5

by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Return to the world of The Missing with this e-only short story! Thirteen-year-old Daniella McCarthy begins receiving a series of unusual phone calls right before her family moves from Michigan to Ohio. How is it that total strangers seem to know more about her background than she does? And could it be possible that these strangers also know something about her future?

Genres: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Historical Fiction, Time Travel, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mystery

34 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 6, 2013

About the author

Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.

She has since written more than 25 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey; Leaving Fishers; Just Ella; Turnabout; Takeoffs and Landings; The Girl with 500 Middle Names; Because of Anya; Escape from Memory; Say What?; The House on the Gulf; Double Identity; Dexter the Tough; Uprising; Palace of Mirrors; Claim to Fame; the Shadow Children series; and the Missing series. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and more than a dozen state reader’s choice awards.


Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.

Reviews

[Yapha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story, Sought, is a real tease! It gives you just enough information about Danielle to put you on the edge of your seat, waiting for Risked (Missing #6) to come out! Luckily only a few more days to go. A fun and quick read. Recommended for fans of the series only.

[Olivia · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book, along with all of the other books in the series, are intriguing. Although they could of been written better, maybe giving us a little bit more on the line of minor detail, they were interesting and fun to read. They give you a new look of what could of happened to the missing children of history, even though this is highly irrational, but not impossible. These books also pay attention to these two time traveling teenagers, who have an adoptive sibling relationship. I have to admit the sibling rivalry is accurate, and I love how she did not portray them as perfect, because they are not. I was recommended this book by one of my friends, when I needed a book and I saw that one, but I would recommended it to someone a little younger, and on the lower side of the reading level. The words are easily understandable, and the way it was written, they have you rooting for the same two people the whole time.

[francesca · Rating 2 out of 5]

When Goodreads tells you this book is set between book 3 and book 4 but something doesn’t add up and then you find out it’s set between book 5 and book 6… yeah anyway I don’t care about Daniella

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an interesting short story to help fill in the blanks between books but overall it fell flat. The timing of this short story does not fit between book 3 and book 4. Daniella and Gavin don't reappear until book 6.

This short story is suppose to tell Daniella's side of her story of what she was thinking and feeling after she received Jonah and Chip's original phone calls from book 1. I was very excited when the story started but then it never went anywhere. There was no build up at all, even when the short story ended it didn't make me want to jump up and grab the next book.

I was saddened to have spent money on this short e-book.

[blue.iris · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this short installment, we see another side to an event that happened in a previous book (I like that, just like in TMI when we get to see a little of Jace's POV). We begin to get a broader sense of Gavin's place in things (if he isn't lying again) and are introduced to another, potentially important, character. I hope to see where this fits in with everything else and more importantly where Daniella fits in with history.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very short story about the circumstances involving the phone calls in the book “Sent’ between Jonah, Gavin and Daniella and her move to Ohio when she finally joins the rest of the stolen children as seen from her POV.

Footnote: 1) Is the O-H. I-O a real thing? If so it’s just weird.

Fave Scene: the passport.

[Gayle Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW

I love all books by Margaret Peterson Haddix!!! This book was a really good in between book. It explained a lot about Daniella that I didn't know before. I recommend it to everyone that is reading the missing series . You might think that oh its just a book in between its not that important, but it really explains Danielle's back story!

[sharon fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

You definitely have to read the other books before this one but this is a good bonus feature to the series! This series is good for people all ages since it also has history in made fun

[Amelia King · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not picture Daniella as such a funny prankster, but I guess it fits in with her true identity. It was nice to read this short story and I wish there were more of them for this series than just the two.

[Seth Huber · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story was okay. I may have liked it more if I had read the series more recently, but I also feel like it didn't really add anything important to the series, from what I do remember about it.

[lizsreadingjourney · Rating 5 out of 5]

AHHHHHHH! I have wondered about Daniella since book 1 and am so happy to finally get a glimpse of what her side of that whole ordeal was! But maaaan did it leave off in a cliffhanger, I need MORE from Daniella’s story! I really hope one of the next books covers her.

[Mckinley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not sure what this short novella adds to the series or how it moves it along. Published/written out of time sequence a few years later.

[Jay Miraldi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and nice how Haddix made these little short side stories to give another dimension to the main series' story line.

[Pat720 · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting read for sure, but its so short you feel cheated.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent story to fill in some storyline.

[Edwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nothing

[Kayla Squire · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was fun getting to know Daniella. She cracks me up. A quick read that leads well into the next one. There was some really great voice in this book.

[Meagan Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Only interesting because it fleshes out the world of this series, but it doesn't really add anything meaningful.

[Brandon Adams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple short to fill in the in between stuff.

[Mallori · Rating 3 out of 5]

A quick addition to the series and an insight into what one of the missing children experiences during the first book.

[Cassandra Hamm · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was helpful knowing what happened to Daniella during the books, but it felt a little lackluster. Her voice also wasn’t terribly strong. Still enjoyed it.

[Jeremiah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful short story.

[C · Rating 2 out of 5]

You can skip this one

I really love the other books by Margaret Peterson Haddix. But this book - "Sought" - is very short, with no new information- It is simply re-telling a small part of another book in "The Missing" series.

The only real difference is that it's being told from a different characters' POV. That's normally okay with me, but in this book, the new POV adds no additional information or insights, nor any unique thoughts. [---- There's not even any "Alternative Facts" ™ (KellyAnne Conway). ]

Bottom line:
You can skip this one..well, unless it's free and you *really* like the series. Because "The Sought" does not advance the story line of the "The Missing" series *at all*. Plus it will just be repetitive if you've read all of the other books in this series.

(P.S. I really really mean it -- there's nothing new in this book.)

[Julie Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

Because my middle school book club students are devouring this series, they insisted that I also read the two novellas. The protagonist is certainly an interesting and entertaining character, and it satisfies fans' need for more, more, more, but it's not an important book to read. So it gives some back story on one of the adoptive kids who go back in history to save the future, but it wasn't necessary. My students made it seem that I HAD to read this one! Had to! I have learned, from this and the novellas that accompany the Lunar Chronicles and the Dorothy Must Die series that these are just fodder for fans that can't get enough, and I'm not usually one of those readers. So no more novellas for me!

[Abby Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

This, in my opinion, works much better than Risked or Rescued. Not that the latter two were bad, but this is more on par with what I expect from Margaret Peterson Haddix.

I grew up reading Just Ella and Palace of Mirrors and Double Identity, and Daniella just struck me as much more of a typical heroine this author writes well, it feels like home turf. Gavin and Leonid... They're not the worst, but her characterization of them wasn't my favorite.

Daniella/Anastasia is funny and fits the story as the perfect narrator. I honestly would have loved to follow her for an entire novel. I was much more interested in seeing the events of Risked (or at least what led up to them) through her eyes than through those of the actual MCs of the Missing series.

[Arlene Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. Haddix lives up to her talents when writing this preview of her book "Sought". Having read all her "Missing" books, I know who Jonah and Chip are, and something about what to expect. However each of her books is different in the adventures the characters have. I'm anxious to see if she bases this one on some historical hypothesis. It adds interest. I recommend her books to children as well as young adults. It is written well with no obscenities. Her writing can spark suspense, excitement, and other emotions. Her characterization is good and how she vocalizes between characters is convincing.

[Coralie · Rating 4 out of 5]

An awesome little novella. I love seeing stories from multiple points of view. It was neat to see the loophole kid that made it possible for Katharine to jump into the plot of these books.
Wonderful and very clever little blurb addition to the series. I loved it. I loved hearing the clip of the initial story told from Daniella's point of view. She's a character that I'd very much like to learn more about. As always, I can't complain about anything coming from Haddix!

[Stephanne Stacey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh... It's a short story into Anastasia/Daniella's introduction to the world of time travel. Really something that probably could have been included into book 3 somehow, but it wasn't necessary to the story. Read it if you want to say you read all of the series. Had I known that it wasn't really something that was crucial and was so short I wouldn't have bothered.

[Vidhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not a necessary read for fans of The Missing. It's all in the perspective of Daniella, which is interesting. It can be humorous at times, and is a very quick read. Nothing remarkable occurred, which is why my rating isn't higher.

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very short. Not really even a book. It had been a while since I read the first book, so this story was vaguely familiar. It says that it is book 3.5, but it really is 4.5. It was OK. Made me a little curious about what is coming. But that was about it.