Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner is a middle grade science thriller filled with suspense and action, perhaps a bit like a Michael Crichton novel for middle graders.  Male and female characters ages twelve to thirteen give this book wide appeal.  The initial science plot premise appears a bit of a stretch, but the author’s note provides great insight to the ideas and inspiration behind elements in the book and some web references for further information.  Although resolving the major crisis of the book, some issues are left open and this is a good thing; it gives the book an element of realism and leaves the reader with a few things to think about.  Wake Up Missing is a brisk-paced read that you don’t have to be a science geek to enjoy!

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language:  2 religious exclamations.

Violence/Gore:  Animal is pulled under water by another animal, death implied; report of prior death of a character’s parents; report of injuries from accidents; verbal threats; kidnapping; animals eating other animals; minor injuries from falls and scrapes; characters come upon the body of a person who has been killed by gunshot/murder; character breaks a limb; character is killed by an animal in brief scene with some description, mention of blood.

Sex/Nudity:  None

Mature Subject Matter:

Death, murder, kidnapping, death of a parent, post-concussion syndrome, conspiracy, poaching, “drug running”. ethics of scientific experimentation.

Alcohol / Drug Use:

Reference to drug runners.