CHILDREN OF EXILE, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The story: Brought in as "orphans" to be raised by the Freds, a town full of children are abruptly returned to their birth parents--people they've never met, damaged people who lived through some horrific event 12 years in the past. Longing for her adoptive parents and desperate to keep her little brother safe, Rosi struggles at first, until she realizes that she's got lots bigger problems right now...like her only friend being kidnapped. Like being put in jail for the rest of her life when she tries to help him. Like evil guards who might just be from another planet...

June Cleaver's ratings: Language G; Violence PG; Sexual content G; Nudity G; Substance abuse PG; Magic & the occult G; GLBT content G; adult themes (war, genocide, forcible relocation) PG-13; overall rating PG.

Liz's comments: The breakneck speed of the final 50 pages of this book made up for the slow, whiny pace of the first 200 pages. But I was reading it as an adult, and I'm wondering how many MS kids are going to push forward for 200 pages before stuff gets interesting. When selling it, encourage kids to think about what it would be like if all these things happened to them.