Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner 

Wake Up Missing mixes science with science fiction: DNA manipulation, nefarious plots, and excitement.

Wake Up Missing by Kate Messner. Walker Childrens, 2013. 272 pages.

Reading Level: Middle grades, ages 10-12

Recommended For: Ages 9-12

When 12-year-old Cat suffers a concussion and brain damage after falling from her bird watching perch, nothing is quite the same. Her balance is a tad off, her memory a tad off, her concentration…you guessed it…a tad off. So when she and her mom hear about an innovative brain science institution that’s promising full recovery, they are definitely interested. The only problem? When Cat arrives at the specialized institution tucked away in a remote part of the Everglades, she discovers that things aren’t always what they seem. Why, at such a prestigious institution, aren’t there more than a handful of patients? Isn’t it odd that they are all twelve year olds with similar brain damage? Why have some of the patients mysteriously disappeared? What is really going on?

Wake Up Missing is an adrenaline pumping read for middle schoolers. A little bit of brain science, a little bit of potential DNA manipulation, a little bit about the history of some very famous scientists, and a lot of action make this book a quick and exciting read. Guys and girls both will enjoy the mixed cast of characters and the small subplots going on in the background. Anytime a book brings up such murky waters as DNA manipulation, there is much to discuss. This is not a “deep” novel, but there are great issues to pick apart. In this book, it is clear that the way each person was originally created is the way he or she should stay—even if a brain injury has complicated that original design (although Messner doesn’t phrase it quite that way, the point is there).

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5

• Worldview/Moral Rating: 4 out of 5
• Literary/Artistic Rating: 4 out of 5

Read more about our ratings here.

Related Reading From Redeemed Reader

• A Review: The Overthrow Series by Oppel raises some similar questions about DNA manipulation but combines it with aliens!
• A Reflection: Why read science fiction?
• A Resource: Mega Sci-Fi and Fantasy Book List

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