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230th out of 258 books
—
224 voters
The Missing Persons Le...
The Missing Persons League
by
Frank Bonham
Brian's sister and mother vanished without a trace over a year ago. It was not uncommon. People were disappearing everywhere. To brian, life had become a frightening madness. He knows that in another two years the planet will be unable to support life.
Now suddenly, his father is gone. Fighting the panic that haunts everyone, Brian resolves to find his family before it is t...more
Now suddenly, his father is gone. Fighting the panic that haunts everyone, Brian resolves to find his family before it is t...more
Paperback, 236 pages
Published
July 7th 1986
by Scholastic
(first published 1976)
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I read this book as a kid and have been haunted by it ever since. The 60s/70s/early 80s were full of sci-fi dystopian worlds that a kid could dive into: Philip K. Dick, Madeleine L'Engle, that creepily familiar-yet-alien magical realist school in The War Between the Pitiful Teachers and the Splendid Kids, where the teachers force the kids into something called the Status Quo Machine. But Bonham draws this future with such specificity that it seemed entirely plausible: world food shortages; an Am...more
One of my most beloved books! I've read this one probably 50 times since the mid-80s when I discovered it. My wish is to someday track down the rights and put it back into print. :)
I read this book with 7th - 9th graders dozens of times over the years. It is a perfect adolescent novel . . . adventure, social consciousness, romance. Frank Bonham wrote this, I believe in the 1970's, predicting what life would be like in the early 2000's. I think he did a remarkable job, as many science fictions writers have done. I can't count the number of past students who call me or run into me and ask me, "What was the name of that book we read together . . . it was my favorite book I ev...more
Jun 05, 2008
Joel Neff
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
10 year old sf fans.
Recommended to Joel by:
Cynde
I have an aunt who delights in sending me classic science fiction novels I have never heard of.
Last night I read "The Missing Persons League" by Frank Bonham. The copyright is listed as 1976; the book reads like a Heinlein juvenile, with all the good and bad that that entails.
Brian and his father are living in a post-environmental-catastrophe ridden earth, where all food is property of the state and emergency oxygen canisters are everywhere. Brian's mother and sister disappeared a year ago, just...more
Last night I read "The Missing Persons League" by Frank Bonham. The copyright is listed as 1976; the book reads like a Heinlein juvenile, with all the good and bad that that entails.
Brian and his father are living in a post-environmental-catastrophe ridden earth, where all food is property of the state and emergency oxygen canisters are everywhere. Brian's mother and sister disappeared a year ago, just...more
This may have been my first dystopian novel. I checked it out repeatedly from my elementary school library.
Based on my memories of it, untainted by an adult rereading, it ranks as my second favorite dystopian book ever. I can't believe it was written in the '70s and I read it in the '80s and it's totally spot-on about where the planet is headed in terms of food production and vegetation.
(In case you're wondering, This Perfect Day by Ira Levin is my favorite dystopian story.)
Based on my memories of it, untainted by an adult rereading, it ranks as my second favorite dystopian book ever. I can't believe it was written in the '70s and I read it in the '80s and it's totally spot-on about where the planet is headed in terms of food production and vegetation.
(In case you're wondering, This Perfect Day by Ira Levin is my favorite dystopian story.)
I found this book in a pile of Scott's old belongings from high school. Wish I would have found it sooner! This futuristic story written back in the 70's still is very appropriate for today's young teens. The main character finds unique ways to survive in a world where food is made from algae, education lacks purpose, and the government controls every thing imaginable. He finds some help along the way. You'll have to decide about what you think about the ending... is it happy? Or is it sad?
I don't think this is even in print any more, but I read this SO many times as a kid I had to add it here. It was my first introduction to fantasy/sci fi. Before Wrinkle in Time. Before anything by Ursula Le Guin. I'm not sure I would have gone on to the others had I not read this one first. (And okay, it's been a few years since I read it, and the 5 is mostly for nostalgia. But any book that could lead you to Wrinkle in Time is worth a 5, don't you think? I HAVE read it as an adult...)
The dystopia of the Missing Persons League, set in the near future, made a strong impression on me as a young teenager. I remember today the descriptions of food--a withered apple from a machine, the geletin desert that looked like frozen blood. I'm not sure that it would resonate with today's readers, who have so many more options in the fantasy/sci-fi genre.
I read this book as a pre-teen and it's always haunted me. To think that people could go hungry in the modern age is almost beyond belief! (Oh yeah - that still happens...). I think this book actually started me on the path to being environmentally conscious. I definitely want my kids to read it.
When I ordered this from a Scholastic Book club in the late seventies, my elementary school self wasn't quite ready to skip my issue of Dynamite magazine for a full-length science fiction novel. A few years later, I pulled it off the shelf and really enjoyed it. By then, I'd read Robert A. Heinlein and Larry Niven and enjoyed the heck out of this. Many books are post-apocalyptic; this is pre-apocalyptic, with the 'end' inevitable but not seen. One interesting flight of fancy I still remember: vi...more
I read this book in seventh grade and I still remember it to this day. It was the creepiest book I think I have ever read. Too bad it is out of print now.
I remember being utterly facsinated by this book's concept. It was a delight to suddenly remember it.
Mar 21, 2013
Liz Jones
marked it as to-read
Life changing book for me. Have been obsessed with the end of the world ever since...!
got it on Amazon'! I aggree with the person who said that they wanted the rights to put this book back in print. I read this book when I was younger & forgot the title but never forgot the story, then saw it mentioned in a discussion & was so thrilled to find it again. awesome story
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I read this book in sixth grade. It was okay. Kind of odd, if you ask me.
just re-read this after re-finding it from my childhood... still great!! good SF... still waiting for the sequel...
My mom and brother and I all read and loved this when I was about 9 or 10.
I didn't like it as much as I remember liking it as a kid.
A youngster's conspiracy novel.
May 12, 2013
Dave Kiersh
added it
May 06, 2013
Mary
marked it as to-read
Mar 27, 2013
Anna
marked it as to-read
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