79. Moonleapers

 79. Moonleapers (Moonleapers #1) Margaret Peterson Haddix. 2025. [September] 320 pages. [Source: Review copy] [MG fiction, MG speculative fiction, 4 stars]

First sentence: "Maisie? Is that you?" Mom's voice floated down from her second-floor office as soon as Maisie pushed open the front door. 

Premise/plot: Margaret Peterson Haddix's newest book is MOONLEAPERS. Maisie, our heroine, feels 'behind' because she does not have a smart phone. The good news? She's about to receive a phone. The bad news? In return she'll be expected to babysit her brother and sister, Rufus and Dora. It is a hand-me-down phone from her GREAT-GREAT aunt. Great-Aunt Hazel is dying and the family is going to travel to visit her. Around the same time she's told of the upcoming trip, she begins receiving strange riddles on her new-to-her phone and is given a BLANK book. It seems that there will be mysteries to solve perhaps in the upcoming weeks. Mysteries that of course only deepen once they arrive at Great-Aunt Hazel's house. Two of those mysteries are a CAT and a DOG that seem more than just a cat and dog.

My thoughts: Margaret Peterson Haddix is known for her premise-driven middle grade books. I have loved, loved, loved, absolutely loved some of her series [and a few of her stand-alone novels.] I have rated many of Haddix's novels as 5 stars. I have LOVED. I have treasured. I have reread. It was impossible for me not to compare this one with previous books.

What I enjoyed: Moonleapers IS a premise-driven novel. I liked the premise. Moonleapers are people who almost transcend time and are able to communicate with the past, to influence the past and present, to reach out to other moonleapers, to make a difference. It isn't so much the idea of moonleaping that I liked but the idea of alternate realities and small changes making big differences.

I also enjoyed the magical cat and dog and how they were able to 'help' Maisie solve all the clues needed to save the day and change the world. Without the dog and cat....well....the book might have been less engaging.

What I didn't quite enjoy: I was not as impressed by the characterization as I was the development of the premise and the world-building. Not every book needs to be character-driven. This is very much a book about mysteries and puzzles.

I also thought the pacing was a on the slow side. This one had less suspense than most of the other Haddix novels I've read in the past. This one was lacking the INTENSE, engaging, compelling, suspenseful pace. There was not a strong need to keep turning pages, to read just one chapter more. It was interesting and entertaining, but it was not exactly thrilling.

© 2025 Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews