Jonah thought that after his last adventure in 1903, he and his sister Katherine would have a break from time travel for a while. For the first time, he’s willing to look into his own identity in the past, and he thinks this is his chance.
But he barely has time for a single Google search before he, Katherine, and their friend Chip are tricked and zapped back to 1918--and to the house where the Romanov family was imprisoned after the Russian Revolution. Trapped without a fully working Elucidator, the three kids still hope they can escape and save the lives of Anastasia and Alexei Romanov.
But is it possible to change time that much when modern-day scientists have identified the entire Romanov family’s remains?
Description from http://haddixbooks.com/books/risked.html.
Margaret Peterson Haddix grew up on a farm near Washington Court House, Ohio. She graduated from Miami University (of Ohio) with degrees in English/journalism, English/creative writing and history. Before her first book was published, she worked as a newspaper copy editor in Fort Wayne, Indiana; a newspaper reporter in Indianapolis; and a community college instructor and freelance writer in Danville, Illinois.
She has since written more than 25 books for kids and teens, including Running Out of Time; Don’t You Dare Read This, Mrs. Dunphrey; Leaving Fishers; Just Ella; Turnabout; Takeoffs and Landings; The Girl with 500 Middle Names; Because of Anya; Escape from Memory; Say What?; The House on the Gulf; Double Identity; Dexter the Tough; Uprising; Palace of Mirrors; Claim to Fame; the Shadow Children series; and the Missing series. She also wrote Into the Gauntlet, the tenth book in the 39 Clues series. Her books have been honored with New York Times bestseller status, the International Reading Association’s Children’s Book Award; American Library Association Best Book and Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers notations; and more than a dozen state reader’s choice awards.
Haddix and her husband, Doug, now live in Columbus, Ohio, with their two children.
When this series began Jonah was thirteen and I was twelve. Now I'm nearly seventeen and he's only aged a few months. I didn't care. Sooner or later, one of these books would be about the Romanovs. So I kept reading. I'd wait for that day. Yesterday it came. After five years of waiting. I made my friend stop texting me halfway through Risked because he wasn't talking about Russian people getting shot in 1918, thus our conversation was pointless. I've always been fascinated with the Romanovs. Let me tell you, Haddix got all her facts right in Risked. There really was a stuffed grizzly bear on the landing. The girls really did sew diamonds into their corsets. And Alexandra did order chairs to be brought in before her family was shot. Everything in this book happened. Well, except for the time travel. But I can dream. I love how . My only complaint is the cover. What's that weird little dohickey? It doesn't exist in the story. And is that St. Basil's Cathedral in the background? Why, of course. There's only one building in Russia. Just like the Eiffel Tower's the only building in France and America contains nothing but the Statue of Liberty. That said, I loved this book, because if I had a time machine I'd want to save the Romanovs too. My favorite Margaret Peterson Haddix book so far!
I liked this one almost as much as the previous one (with Einstein and his wife), which remains my favorite of the series so far. In this adventure, Jonas and Katherine travel to 1918 Russia to reunite two of the Romanov children with their family and try to save the whole family. Although Second is no longer an issue (as far as we know), old enemies do come back to haunt them. I really liked the way the author wove in what we do know about the Romanov family into this story of the time travelers and the kidnapped children. Over this series, it's been cool to see Katherine and Jonas mature and apply lessons from previous adventures, and similarly, it's been good to see that JB is continuing to learn and grow and that they are perhaps teaching the time-traveling governing body a thing or two. I was expecting some follow-up with the story of JB, but he wasn't in this book very much, so I'm hoping they'll continue to develop his story in the next book. Overall, a very solid addition to this series.
This book is AWESOME! I got this book from the library in late June, but by the time I was able to start it, I wasn't in the mood too. I only picked it up yesterday because I wanted to return it Monday. I was so surprised when I started this book and was immediately sucked into it! I changed my mind. 4 stars XD
Short and Simple Review I used to love this series and I remember being so excited for this book to come out. Yet, it has been six years since and I just now gotten around to reading this book. Why did it take so long for me to read this? I have no clue. But, even though it has been so long since I have read this series, I was surprised by how much I remembered. As each book also usually focuses on a different time period and a different missing child, it feels like a contained adventure within a larger story. In that sense, I did not have to remember every single period or missing child from the previous book which made it easy for me to jump back into this series. This specific book takes place in 1918 with Anastasia and Alexei Romanov as the missing children. I did like this book, I had difficulty putting it down and there are a lot of complicated elements nearing the end of the book. I like how Haddix always includes an author's note detailing the actual historical events and where she took liberties (and why). I did not give this one as high of a rating as the previous books but I'm not sure if that means this wasn't as great as the others or if I'm just pickier now about what books get five stars. All in all, I still really like this series and the next time I go to the library I'm definitely checking out the next two books.
Main Characters: Jonah Skidmore, a missing child from history who has been stolen from history by time travelers, along with his sister Katherine; Chip, Jonah’s best friend and another missing child from history; Daniella and Gavin, the real Anastasia and Alexei Romanov, kidnapped by time travelers; and JB, a time traveler who helps the children fix problems in history created by Gary and Hodge, the time travelers who stole the children from history.
In the sixth novel in the Missing Series, Jonah, Chip and Katherine are sent back to 1918 by Gavin, who has been tricked by Gary and Hodge into thinking he would be sent to the future. When the children arrive in 1918, it is July 17, the day that the Romanov family was to be shot. Jonah, Chip and Katherine decide it is up to them to save the Romanov family, and Gavin and Daniella, who are really Anastasia and Alexei Romanov, from being executed. They plan to turn the entire family invisible when they are about to be shot, using a device called an Elucidator. However, the Elucidator they have does not work very well, the only thing that it can do is send people to 1918, because Gary and Hodge, the time travelers who tricked Gavin into going to 1918 in the first place, have made the Elucidator basically useless. During the fight, Jonah is shot and taken to the future to heal so that he looks okay when he travels back to the 21st century. When time travelers are having a meeting about how to deal with the Romanov situation, Katherine steals an Elucidator and uses it to travel to 1918 and save the Romanovs. She succeeds in bringing back Gavin, Daniella, and Maria, one of the sisters. After Katherine saves the three children, Jonah and Gavin are given time to heal from their bullet wounds. When they are in the hospital, Jonah and Gavin talk about fate and if what they do is predetermined, and Jonah comes to the conclusion that he would rather take control over his life than to take a back seat and watch it go by.
In the beginning of the book, Jonah and Katherine are looking up missing children on the Internet to see if they can find out who Jonah was in original time when they come across the story of the Romanovs. As they are reading the article, they are interrupted by someone at the door. It is Daniella, and they talk to her as they meet her for the first time. They are walking until they come across Gavin, who grabs them and tries to send all of them to the future, but he is tricked by Gary and Hodge and the Elucidator sends them to 1918. Throughout the day, Jonah, Chip and Katherine see what nice people the Romanovs are and feel they need to save them. But when they try to save them from being assassinated, everything goes wrong and the guards start shooting. In the middle of the scuffle, Gary and Hodge freeze time and travel to 1918. They threaten the children and then leave, leaving Jonah to be shot and brought to the future, where time travelers are having a conference about what to do about the Romanovs. Should they save them? Katherine answers this question by stealing an Elucidator and going back to 1918. She comes back with Gavin, Daniella, and Maria Romanov, and though she was able to save three Romanovs, the rest of the family did not make it out. At the end of the book, Jonah and Gavin end up in the hospital with bullet wounds, but they are grateful to have made it out, unlike the rest of Gavin’s family.
I certainly liked this book, as I like many of Margaret Peterson Haddix’s books, but I think that some of the other books in this series were better, with more action and intrigue, as the plot dragged a bit due to the fact that most of the novel consisted of the characters plotting how to save the Romanovs. However, I did like the book very much overall, and I can’t wait to read the next in the series.
Cover Blurb: Yes or No? The time machine thingy is kind of awesome, but I don't particular care for the new cover art. It's a little dull, and doesn't give a big indication of where the story is going to take place; what era or location.
Characters: Jonah, Katherine, and Chip are all still very fine characters; I have no issue with them (except Chip's name). Katherine is one of the few chipper adventurers I like, and Jonah is quick and intelligent. Chip isn't so useful, but he doesn't irritate me. Danielle, quite honestly, didn't make much of an impression on me - the missing child in history that is the main focus never really does. However, the villains . . . . The villains of the piece the Reader has met before. And they are no more terrifying in Risked than they were in the previous novels. Maybe it's their names, or just that they never do anything particularly evil. They just bumble through time messing it up more and more. Their worst crime is incompetence, really, and incompetence, while alarming in reality, is only frustrating in fiction.
The Romance: There isn't any!
Plot: Jonah and Katherine are tired of not knowing anything whenever they have to go back in time, to restore a missing child in history to their rightful place, so time can be fixed. But the day Jonah decides to do research on the Romanovs, Anastasia shows up on his doorstep. Only in the 21st century, she's known as Danielle - and she doesn't know that she's Anastasia Romanov, the youngest Russian duchess who was killed by the Bolsheviks. Or so history says. And before Jonah or Katherine can tell Danielle anything, they're thrust back in time to Russia, during the Bolshevik revolution. Now it's up to Jonah and Katherine to save Danielle/Anastasia and her brother Alexei before history happens the way it says it does. So Risked is essentially just a rehash of the same old worn-out plot of the last few books. Jonah and Katherine are stranded in another time period, their Elucidator can't help them, JB can't help them, and they are woefully unprepared for being in the time period that they're in. And of course, they are handily invisible. The only real "twist" in this one was that Jonah and Katherine don't just try and save Danielle; they also try and save all of the Romanovs. Sadly, though, Risked made the same mistake that the others have been making: it's the same plotline, with hardly any variance. And the series as a whole just isn't moving.
Believability: Nothing to complain about.
Writing Style: Third person, past tense. It's fitting for the time intended age range, but the dialogue is too moment-by-moment for my liking. A character will ask a question that the Reader is conveniently thinking, and another character will likewise conveniently have the answer, and they will explain in full.
Content: None.
Conclusion: The climax actually was a little tense, and it almost saved the book. For a moment, I wasn't entirely certain that everyone was going to make it out alive. I honestly don't know how the rest of this series will go. The Author can't drag out Jonah's hidden identity much longer without it becoming downright irritating, and she really can't keep using the same plotline over and over again without running it through. I can hope the series improves, as the last book seemed to promise it would, but I'm not betting on it.
Recommended Audience: Girl-and-guy read, ten-to-thirteen, great for fans of time travel.
The second, or the third (can't remember the entire story of the first book). And it is about another missing kids in the series, but the twist here is the missing kids are confirmed dead. Plus Anastasia is quite a familiar story, thanks to The 39 Clues (The Clue Hunt): The Black Circle. The conflicts/action(?) here are heart-pounding and are somewhat impossible (reference: other time agents).
Risked plays on the whole predestination/free-will debate more throughout the book, which was interesting, but the historical situation in this book isn't as great as it was in Caught. A fun, quick read with some interesting themes, but it still got bogged down a bit in the middle.
I really liked the whole plot of the series with how famous historic children were kidnapped and brought to the 21st century for adoption while time agents are trying to get the kids back to their pasts to relive it. This would prevent the future/ present from changing. However, I have always found the time traveling very confusing because you never know what actions that you take might change the future. Also, I don't understand how you would be able to travel to the same past period more than once and all the people are still alive. Considering in this book, the tsar family were all shot and killed in the period that Jonah and his friends went back to 1918, while Gary and Hodge traveled back to 1918 before Jonah did which meant the tsar family would have been killed more than once. How can someone be shot and killed but still be alive when you travel back into the past again?
Another great book in this series by Haddix. With every book of hers I read, she moves further up my favorite authors list. :) I have to admit though, I'm getting very antsy to find out exactly who Jonah is. And I want there to be more clues in these stories so I can start figuring it out for myself, but so far, I don't really have much of an idea. I'll be waiting ever so impatiently for the next book in the series...
This one was really good! The themes are getting so deep and honestly I'm impressed that Haddix tackled the issue of time travel and God's sovereignty. This one hit me with the feels at the end which I'm not mad about 😂
(Note: this one was much more violent (though not descriptive) including a thirteen-year-old getting two bullet wounds and several people dying by bayonet)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
If I could travel anywhere in the world, I would love to visit Russia. Being able to travel back in time a bit through the book was very enjoyable.
Learning about the Romanov family when I was younger sparked my fascination of Russian royalty lineage. I was so excited to read a story about these famous missing children.
This one was about my favorite missing child from history, Anastasia Romanov. Always love to hear other people’s views of what happened to her and family.
Risked by Haddix is a fictional book is about a group of modern day kids, Jonah, Katherine, Gavin, Chip, and Daniella, getting sent back in time to 1918 and the middle of the Russian Revolution. Two of the characters, Gavin and Daniella, were originally from 1918 but got kidnapped into modern day by time criminals. The two kids were part of the tsar's family, who were overtaken and about to die. The group of kids had to try to save the family and get back to the 21st century without ruining all of time. Their mission seems to be going good until the time criminals come back and try to send the kids even farther back in time. This gets stopped by a time agent, JB, who saves only Jonah and Katherine. Katherine decides to go back to 1918 to save the rest of the kids, but also two others from 1918. The story ends without time being ruined and other time agents trying to find the criminals and making sure time doesn't get ruined. I would recommend this book because it is an action packed page turner, but I would advise you to read the previous books in the series before reading this one because without some of the things from the other books it would be easy to get lost in this book or not know what some things mean.
Interview: Me: How do you feel about time travel? Jonah: I like that we save other peoples life and the future, but I don't like how it feels right after we travel through time and how Katherine and I get so close to death all the time.
Me: What did you think when JB let Katherine go back to 1918? Jonah: I originally got mad at JB for letting her go back to 1918 because it was very dangerous and she could've died, but once she got back safely I saw that JB did what was best to save everyone.
Me: How do you feel about not knowing your real identity from the past? Jonah: I want to know what my real identity is, but I know that I shouldn't and I won't because it would ruin the future.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
This book was just as great as the others in its series. I finished it really fast and am now waiting for the next (and last) book in the series, which I think is coming out next year and is going to be called Revealed (it's not hard to guess why, if you know about this series). In this adventure, Jonah, Chip, Katherine, and two others named Daniella and Gavin go to Russia towards the end of the Russian Revolution, where they try to save the lives of the tsar and his family. The book is full of suspense and adventure, and it kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time because of all the twists and turns. I also learned more about this time period, but it wasn't like a textbook. It was a great fiction novel that educated me about something I didn't know about before.
Another children's series book and this is the only one I've read, since it dealt with the Romanovs. It was so poorly written and such nonsense that I just skimmed the last half. Basically, a group of famous children who died young were brought to the 21st century as babies and put up for adoption. Once they turned 13, they began time-traveling to discover who they really were. Obviously, a clever way to combine history with sci-fi. Not only is this totally superficial, it suffers from major sci-fi flaws, mainly overly complicated explanations for how the whole set-up works and lengthy exposition (at the end--talk talk talk talk talk) to cover anything left out. I've read and enjoyed other books by Haddix but I was not impressed by this one. Her Author's Note was the best part.
It's the PRINCESS AnaSTASIA who will HELP US FLY! You and I friend, will GO down, in HISTORY! Who else could pull it off but you and me? - A Rumor in St. Petersburg Such an interesting different perspective from the Broadway musical as an enormous fan of both, the different story of Anya, or Daniella, with some surprising similarities. The Dimitri cameo was a bit funny since he was a Bolshevik guard in this story
The best in the series by far. I've always been interested in the Anastasia Romanova story, but I didn't even know that they had confirmed the mystery yet. It was very interesting and I am glad chip was able to come back with them this time because I feel he needs more of a spotlight in the series. I mean he is Jonah's best friend and Katherine's boyfriend.
This series has become too predictable and somewhat tedious for me. While I hoped the story of the Romanov children, Anastasia & Alexei, would be more exciting, it was not. I did learn more about the family dynamics from reading the story, but that was about the only good part.
Jonah and Katherine wanted to go back to Russia for that the Romanovs were executed there but Gary and Hoge escaped out of prison so they get to the place and the elucidator is modified so that they can't go back to the present then they finally find a way to get out and get back to the present
This was a fun read. I liked it better than #5. I like how the author adds expands on interesting historical facts, and at the end, she discusses what is and isn't accurate.
I’m sorry I can’t manage to give this book more than 3 stars because the concept is really cool, but the execution isn’t my cup of tea. I can’t stand none of these children.