Messner, Kate. 
WAKE UP MISSING
New York : Walker Books for Young Readers, 2013
IL 5-8, RL 4.9
ISBN 0802723144

(3 booktalks)

Booktalk #1

Concussions can be very serious, often resulting in lingering symptoms long after the fact…things like headaches, dizziness, and mental confusion. That’s why when Cat’s parents signed her up for the revolutionary I-CAN (International Center for Advanced Neurology) program in the Florida Everglades, she didn’t object….she’d do just about anything to get back to her normal self again.

When she got to the island, she discovered there were only four patients…all teens who had suffered concussions to the same area of the brain as her own. Charming Dr. Ames greeted them all warmly at the dock, but Cat already had the feeling something was amiss… and she was right! After uncovering a nefarious plot to alter their minds and their DNA, the teens found themselves involved in a harrowing quest for survival. Will they all make it back to civilization with their personalities intact?    (New Hampshire Great Stone Face Book Award nominee, 2015)

Booktalk #2

In this science fiction adventure, several teenagers are being treated at a renowned clinic for concussions.  From the start, things seem a little odd about the clinic and the teens soon realize that the doctors are not just treating their concussions.  The doctors, with evil intentions in mind, have plans to genetically alter the teens’ DNA so they will become outstanding scientists from history.  Can the teens escape before being transformed and be reunited with their families, or will the doctors succeed with their evil plan that they are willing to pursue at any cost?  (Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Award, 2015)

Booktalk #3

After suffering various head injuries that leave them with unpleasant aftereffects, four strangers seek treatment at a distinguished, isolated, neurological clinic that promises to restore their lives to normal in record time. When they begin to experience strange side-effects and grow wary of the mysterious final treatment stages, they discover a misguided plot involving their brains and those of historically significant scientists.  (Booktalk by Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Committee, 2016)