★ “[A] satisfying third-person narrative that . . . portrays the complex anxieties and internal lives of close, caring family members grappling with a single set of extraordinary circumstances—separately and together. A secret-stacked, thrilling series opener about perception, personal memories, and the idiosyncrasies that form individual identities.” —Publishers Weekly
“Maintain[s] suspense from the beginning to the cliffhanger ending . . . A high-stakes adventure full of teamwork with a multifaceted mystery and complex themes.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Bestselling Haddix launches a new middle-grade series that blends adventure and sf elements into an engrossing mystery. The kidnapping alone could have made a compelling mystery, but Haddix throws in secret rooms, alternate realities, and a cliff-hanger ending to raise the stakes and delight fans new and old.” —Booklist
The Strangers
(Greystone Secrets #1 )
Margaret Peterson Haddix
Katherine Tegen Books / 2019
What makes you you?
The Greystone kids thought they knew. Chess has always been the protector over his younger siblings, Emma loves math, and Finn does what Finn does best—acting silly and being adored. They’ve been a happy family, just the three of them and their mom.
But everything changes when reports of three kidnapped children reach the Greystone kids, and they’re shocked by the startling similarities between themselves and these complete strangers. The other kids share their same first and middle names. They’re the same ages. They even have identical birthdays. Who, exactly, are these strangers?
Before Chess, Emma, and Finn can question their mom about it, she takes off on a sudden work trip and leaves them in the care of Ms. Morales and her daughter, Natalie. But puzzling clues left behind lead to complex codes, hidden rooms, and a dangerous secret that will turn their world upside down.