From The Shadow Children Series to The Missing Series to Running Out of Time I have loved Margaret Peterson Haddix's work. Reading Moonleapers transported me back to childhood days spent reading after school and nights reading under the covers with a flashlight. I am so excited for kids (and really anyone) to read this book!

We follow Maisie, who just got a phone (yay!) so she can babysit her siblings all summer (ugh!) while her mom takes care of her great-aunt Hazel. Maisie then starts receiving off texts and finds herself thrust into the world of Moonleapers.

Moonleapers- the first in what promises to be an incredible series- is a charming romp through time and space about the power you have to make a big difference. The characters are likeable and easy to root for/empathize with. The plot is perfectly paced with information being doled out at just the right time. Maisie was the ideal character to use to introduce the world of Moonleapers as we got to discover them alongside her. I loved the sibling dynamic between Maisie and her two younger siblings; their bond felt real and very realistic.

I cannot recommend Moonleapers highly enough. This is the start to an epic journey I am all to ready to go on. I will make sure this is on shelves at my library!

I received a copy of Moonleapers through the Camp NetGalley section. The description and cover immediately caught my attention.

The story follows a 12-year-old girl whose life is forever changed by magic and time travel. Although I’m not the intended audience as an adult reader, I truly enjoyed following Maisie’s adventures.

It’s a touching and heartwarming tale about relationships, empathy, and personal growth—woven together with exciting time-travel elements and interesting historical details.

While I was left with a few unanswered questions, I suspect these may be addressed in the next installment, as this appears to be the beginning of a series. I’m definitely looking forward to reading more about Maisie’s journey in future books.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the copy.

This is a great series opener for middle grade students will enjoy. Kids will connect with the main character and her trying to fit in.

Moonleapers is a lively, heartfelt middle grade sci-fi adventure that successfully fulfills the promise of fun, family, and meaningful themes. The book follows 12-year-old Maisie, who, after moving for the summer to help care for her great-aunt, is drawn into a secret society of “moonleapers." The Sliders-esque alternate universe journey unfolds through mysterious riddles, time shifting and sibling chaos to demonstrate how even small, personal actions can change the world.

The hero, a seemingly ordinary middle-schooler navigating the chaos of friendships, changing family dynamics and own internal and external growth, repeatedly demonstrates that courage can come in everyday decisions. This recurring theme is both inspiring and empowering, reminding readers that heroism isn’t about grand gestures but the persistence of hope and kindness.

It is as much about the sci-fi mystery as it is the everyday challenges of growing up. It skillfully explores how family histories and past events shape the present. The protagonist’s family, each member with their own quirks and secrets, must confront shared traumas and unresolved tensions. The narrative deftly weaves together sci fi mystery elements with family dynamics and personal growth for our young heroine.

Perhaps the book’s most relatable element is its honest portrayal of middle school life. Moonleapers never shies away from the awkwardness, insecurity and drama that define this age. It playfully yet poignantly affirms the universal truth that “middle school sucks for everyone,” offering both humor and catharsis.

The only downside of the book is that it does feel a bit slow at the beginning - there is a lot of background to build for this series. And many threads left tangled - again because this is the beginning of a series. I can't wait to see where it goes from here!

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.

I am leaving my honest opinion voluntarily and without coercion.

Moonleepers is fast-paced, mysterious, and so much fun. While a few questions remain unanswered by the end, I’m confident they’ll be resolved in the next installment. One of the highlights for me was watching Maisie come into her own—her growing confidence and voice felt so natural, and her relationship with her siblings was incredibly relatable.

What begins as a classic summer family trip quickly takes a thrilling turn. Maisie starts receiving strange texts, finds a mysterious book, and suddenly finds herself caught up in a secret mission filled with magic, mystery, and time travel.

The story strikes a perfect balance—it’s full of wonder and high-stakes adventure but stays grounded with sibling chaos and middle school struggles. Margaret Peterson Haddix does an outstanding job with the world-building, aligning the time jumps seamlessly, and writing young characters with all the snark and sass of today’s youth.

This is a great middle grade read for younger readers seeking adventure and a perfect palate cleanser for older readers who want a quick, entertaining story with heart.

Thank you to Netgalley, HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books, and Margaret Peterson Haddix for the advance readers' copy of this entertaining book.

Maisie lives in a world of unhappiness, and now her summer will be taken up with babysitting her brother and sister while her mom visits a great aunt no one has heard of, ever. The only positive is that Maisie receives her great aunts phone to use. Then the messages begin. This book is exciting for children while giving them a bit of history. 9-12 year olds will enjoy the adventure and characters that Margaret Peterson Harris has written about in this series.

4.5 ☆
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read and review an ARC of this book!
I chose this book to be what I read as part of Camp NetGalley. I was excited to see this book in the list because I previously read The Remarkables and The Greystone Secrets series, and I really enjoyed them! Moonleapers definitely met my eager expectations.
Moonleapers is a twist on the popular theme of time travel. Twelve year old Maisie is suddenly forced to move with her family to Maryland to care for her sick Great Aunt Hazel (or Terrible Aunt Hazel), and the only good news is that she finally gets her very own phone. However, shortly after receiving her phone (which used to be Great Aunt Hazel's), she begins receiving strange texts in the form of riddles, and she has to solve them before it's too late.
Even though this book is aimed toward a middle grade audience, I still found it very entertaining, and I couldn't seem to put the book down, haha.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5 Stars
I love a good time travel story, and Moonleapers delivered that and more. I adored how Maisie was able to rewrite her family history while also changing a major historical event, all with the help of her fellow Moonleapers—especially her great-great aunt and the mysterious Ainsley. The family relationships, particularly in the changed timeline at the end, were so heartwarming and satisfying.

This book feels like the perfect blend of genres—coming-of-age, mystery, and just the right touch of sci-fi thanks to the time travel element. It was entertaining from start to finish and kept me hooked the entire way through. Maisie and Ainsley are my favorite characters, and I cannot wait to find out what Ainsley is hiding after the way book one ended!

The worldbuilding is so rich and full of possibility that I hope this series goes on for dozens of books. It’s the perfect series starter for any fan of middle grade fiction.

#CampNetGalley #Moonleapers

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my digital copy in exchange for an honest review. This is not normally a book I would have requested but I received an email one day saying that if you read one of a list of books, you would get a badge. Now, I don't know if that is true but I am kind of a sucker for a badge or a sticker or whatever...so I chose this book out of the list of options. Since I read middle grade every now and then, it was a no brainer for me, in a way. But I actually really liked it...It took me a minute to get into it and learn the characters and to even begin to understand it but once I did, I didn't want to put it down. I feel like most middle grade kids would be interested in this one.

A great middle grade time travel adventure.

Maisie is 12 and is forced into babysitting her younger siblings all summer in a different state while her parents are busy trying to deal with the end of life decisions of a mysterious great aunt hazel that she’s never heard of. But she gets a cell phone out of the deal, so maybe it’s not all bad.
She finds a mysterious text asking her riddles and her great aunt left her things to puzzle out and mysterious books with hidden information. She has to figure out what’s going on and how to help, or the world might never change.

Doing the right thing always pays off.

This story comes with themes on grief, doing the right thing, being yourself, critical thinking, the importance of family, and how the smallest decisions and acts of kindness can change the change the world.

Maisie finally gets her own phone, but it comes with a caveat: she has to spend her summer babysitting her two chaotic younger siblings while Mom waits at a nursing home as her mysterious great aunt dies. Unable to make the best of an admittedly crummy situation, Maisie is startled to find herself involved with a mysterious texter and something called the Moonleapers.

I'd say more. I think this book has a really interesting premise. But that premise isn't revealed until halfway through the book, so it feels like a spoiler. Which is probably the one thing I had against this book: I had no idea what was going on for the first half of it, and the payoff when Maisie did figure things out didn't quite feel worth all that waiting. However, the ending was touching and clever, and the characters, especially the dog and cat, were a delight to get to know. I'm not sure I'll read the sequel, but it could be fun.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC. All opinions are my own.

This book was the perfect mix of history and fantasy! The pace was just right. I felt as if I was on a journey right there with Maisie.

Maisie thinks she's scored big when her mom tells her she's getting a phone from her great Aunt Hazel only to find out to comes with strings and mysterious texts. The strings end up being a summer away from home babysitting her younger siblings. The mysterious texts are texts are trying to lead her down her path to destiny. Faced with the impossible, she jumps in and tries to wrap her head around her mission before its too late. I loved the adventure aspects and two timeliness based on past/present changes.

I just want to start out saying I am not the age demographic for this book. I got it on NetGalley for free.

I made it 10 percent in, I love the cover and I like the idea of the book but I couldn’t get past the characters.

The 7 & 8 year old talk like 12-14 year olds and the 12 year old is supposed to baby sit them? She’s not even legally allowed to be left home alone herself. None of the characters are really likable so far and the mom is described so oddly in the beginning it felt off. And the daughter’s “scribble scrabble hair” yes, that is actually how it was described.

She’s supposed to remember someone from when she was 1? Is the mom not very intelligent? She works all day and barely has time to come out and then someone is very sick and you expect a child to remember them?
Maybe I’m thinking way too much into this.

The first text message she gets is “hey diddle diddle…. “
I know it’s referring to a children’s book but I couldn’t t get past the fact that it felt so creepy I almost double checked to make sure this was a middle grade still.

I’m not sure this book is for me but I could see how maybe an 8-10 year old might enjoy it. The excitement of getting your own phone and the pain of leaving your friends when you have to move away.

I’m giving it a 3 as a neutral rating being that I’m sure it’s not a bad book it’s just not a book intended for me but I’ve read some middle grade books that I loved and this just didn’t pull me in like some of those. Maybe I’m just not in the mood for this? I’m not sure, I’ll try again later.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free copy of the book in exchange for this honest review.

The summer after sixth-grade, twelve-year-old Maisie hopes that she can finally fit in with kids her age when she is gifted her first cellphone–a hand-me-down from her Great-Aunt Hazel. But when she begins receiving strange text messages, she finds a mystery to be solved–and maybe a chance to be special.

This was such a fun read! I grew up enjoying books by Margaret Peterson Haddix, and it was neat to get to revisit her latest work. While I remember her books as a bit dark and edgy, Moonleapers is mysterious and intriguing, while at the same time, sweet and sort of…cozy? I don’t want to give too much of the story away, but Haddix does a great job highlighting the significance of small acts of genuine love, kindness, and compassion. She handles darker themes like grief, death, and failure gently, without shying away from their presence in our world.

To me some of the dialog was a bit stilted, but I appreciated the inclusion of larger words despite the book’s target audience. There were a few chapters that meandered too much for my preference, but overall the plot, pacing, and puzzles were compelling.

This is a four star middle-grade read! If you (or the kids in your life) like cozy mysteries, puzzles, and sci-fi that focus on family, perseverance, and looking out for others, give this one a try!

Content warnings: some name-calling and unkind words, implied violence, reference to heavy historical topics (including wars, bombings, and the holocaust) and death of a loved one

#CampNetgalley

This is a fun take on time travel for the middle grade readers. Our main character is 12 and struggling with the difficulty of fitting in during middle school, so when her family leaves the state for the summer to take care of a great-aunt she doesn't even know, her alienation from everyone seems to grow. However, she is given her great-aunt's cell phone and starts getting strange text messages that lead her into an adventure. I felt her difficulty in the years between being a small child but not yet grown up and enjoyed the unusual take on time travel. I can see how much fun the series looks to be and would recommend it to readers of this age group.

The last thing twelve-year-old Maisie wants to do is to watch her younger siblings in an elderly community, while her mom watches over Great-Aunt Ethel on her deathbed. However, this is what her summer is looking like until her very strict mom hands Maisie a phone and Maisie starts receiving texts from an anonymous person. What’s even stranger is that these texts are filled with riddles that Maisie needs to solve in order to understand her new given role as a moonleaper.

Attempting to understand this new role, as well as adjusting to her new reality, Maisie has a lot to learn. Come join her in understanding how moonleaping works and learn about her great-aunt and how it will shape and change everything Maisie knows about her world.

I simply adored everything about this book! Maisie was an amazing, realistic (and not annoying) twelve-year-old girl. Her inability to give up and persistence in the task she was given was both fun and intriguing to read.

The plot flowed wonderfully. There were many moments where the I questioned what was really happening that kept me wanting to read more. It can be a challenging task to not only keep a middle grade child invested in a story, but to also keep an adult invested. I’m happy to say Haddix did just that in this book. The pets included added to the storyline as both to help advance the plot and a source of lightheartedness to the text.

Another aspect that was entertaining to read was the bits of history sprinkled within the story. Seeing bits of WWII and the effects it had on one particular person was flawless. It wasn’t quite time traveling, but it was almost at the same time. Moonleaping is such a creative term to describe what Maisie can do.

Overall, I absolutely loved “Moonleapers” and cannot find a single thing to make this book an even better read. Therefore, it’s getting a full 5 out of 5 stars from me. I recommend it to those who would enjoy following a very likable middle grade child in a light science fiction historical novel.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher (HarperCollins Children's Books | Quill Tree Books) for giving me the opportunity to read “Moonleapers”. All opinions are my own.

Margaret Peterson Haddix was such an important author of my childhood. I loved The Shadow Children series and eagerly awaited each one. I read Running Out of Time and Found. Moonleapers showed me as an adult what I loved about those books. It was fast-paced, mysterious, and exciting. I loved Maisie and how she grew more confident throughout the book. Maisie's siblings are also funny and relatable. There is something believable about the way Haddix writes her young characters. There are plenty of unanswered mysteries and I will pick up the second book whenever it comes.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollin's Children's Books for an ARC.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was so excited to see a new book by Margaret Peterson Haddix. She has been one of my favorite MG/YA authors. This book was a promising beginning to a new series.