Risked by Margaret Haddix - OPTIONAL

Haddix, Margaret Peterson Risked, 320 p. Simon and Schuster, 2013.  $17. 

Violence: PG-13 (graphic deaths of Romanov family described).  

Brother and sister, Jonah and Hannah, are still trying to figure out the puzzles created by their time-traveling and rescuing of children snatched from all over history – including the mystery of who Jonah actually is.  Along with their friend Chip, whom they just rescued from 1400’s England, and two new snatched children, they are sent backward through time to Russia – just before the death of the ruling family – the Romanov’s.  The new children are Princess Anastasia and Crown Prince Alexis – and if they don’t all learn to cooperate, all of them will die in this time period, not just the royals.  But Alexis (Gavin, in the modern world) has been corrupted by Jonah’s enemies; there just might not be any way to save this situation.

I guess Jonah and Hannah need some kind of closure, but I was happy after the end of the last book.  This one is much bloodier than the rest of the series – I mean REALLY bloody.  I wouldn’t buy this for an elementary school at all.  Unfortunately, it just makes me hopeful that there won’t be too many books left in the series – this is not a good way to learn about some of history’s mysteries.  Exciting, but not informative.  

MS – OPTIONAL.  Cindy, Library Teacher.