All About Middle Grade Review: Children of Exile

Children of Exile (Children of Exile, 1) by Margaret Peterson Haddix, September 13, 2016. 304 pages. Published by Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers. Source: Publisher for review.

For the past twelve years, adults called “Freds” have raised Rosi, her younger brother Bobo, and the other children of their town, saying it is too dangerous for them to stay with their parents, but now they are all being sent back. Since Rosi is the oldest, all the younger kids are looking to her with questions she doesn’t have the answers to. She’d always trusted the Freds completely, but now she’s not so sure.

And their home is nothing like she’d expected, like nothing the Freds had prepared them for. Will Rosi and the other kids be able to adjust to their new reality?

First Sentence

We weren't orphans after all.

Long time no post, I know! I ran out of scheduled posts about halfway through December and with one of the dog's needing surgery (he's fine now) I just never had the time to sit down to get more posts up and ready. Till now!

• Originally, I had thought that Children of Exile was my first Margaret Peterson Haddix book, I was mistaken. Which explains why there was something about her writing in this one that kept tugging at my memory; it was that I was mildly familiar with it. While I would not consider myself to be an expert on her writing, I did find myself enjoying the way the plot took a sharp turn for the odd near the end of the book. 

• Even though I really enjoyed the second half of the book, the first half was really, well, not too great. In the moment, the beginning of the book really bothered me; it felt like the watering down of, well, everything that has pervaded society, yet, the more I think back over it, it seems more like a covert jab at that mentality. I honestly cannot explain it any better than that. 

• I really liked the way the characters, mainly Rosi as the first book focuses mostly on her, slowly developed throughout the book. It was interesting to see how their viewpoints shifted the more they learned about what led to them growing up with Fred-Parents and not their biological parents; I really loved how well the author captured the emotions that sparked off as Rosi started learning the truth. 

• Children of Exile was quite fascinating, while it took me some time to get into the story itself, it was really something to see all the various layers of the story as they came together. Like I said, very fascinating. I am definitely hoping that the context, like a broader scope of what set of the events leading up to the children being taken away, will be addressed in the next book. 

• As far as I know, I have only read (counting this one) three books by Margaret Peterson Haddix; all of which have been vastly different from one another. I must say, her writing and storytelling, from the three I've read, is both vast and varied. Yet, she easily writes stories, from sci-fi/Dystopian to historical fiction, with such ease. 

Final Verdict: Children of Exile- I really loved how well she handled the story. It did a great job of illustrating that things are not always as clear-cut as most people assume; definitely fascinating to see Rosi deal with the two sides of the story (yes, I'm being vague *spoilers*)

A copy of this book was received for review consideration. All thoughts are my own.