Customer Reviews

Missing You (1-800-Where-R-You, Book 5)

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Wow. I have been waiting for this book for years, and I finally got hands on it a couple days back. Once again, Meg Cabot strikes, and she strikes hard. This was an awesome, AWESOME book. Crap. I'm speechless. I just love how things turned out. The plot was very well-written, with more Jess-and-Rob adventures, and the readers once again get to experience the romance between them, and we FINALLY get to find out why Rob was on probation (and it is a very funny situation).

Yeah, well, if you liked the past four books in the series, this one definitely won't disappoint. Heck, I think this one was the best out of all the books (although I liked #4 a lot, too). So just read it. :)


Now and then,
the Gibbler

Nineteen-year-old Jessica "Jess" Mastriani has had a trying few years. First, she was struck by lightning when she was sixteen-years-old, which gave her the ability to locate missing children/people in her sleep, dubbing her "Lightning Girl," and basically making her feel like even more of an outcast than before. Then, she was dragged off to Afghanistan in the midst of the war, to help the FBI locate various people and terrorists, which did nothing more than screw-up her psyche, and leave her with night terrors. But finally, after all this time, Jess is finally starting to feel like herself again. Not only is she sleeping through the night - peacefully - but she's living in a one-bedroom apartment in New York City with her BFF Ruth, as she attends Juilliard, where she is training to be a concert flutist. But now, with the summer amongst them, Jess has decided to work with underprivileged kids, teaching them to play the flute - the only thing that actually brings her joy. But then Rob Wilkins shows up. The infamous Rob who strung Jess along for all those years, then left her alone when she needed him the most. The Rob who Jess is still crushing on. The Rob Jess left back home in Indiana. But, suddenly, Rob is standing outside her apartment door in the grimy city, asking her to help him locate his fifteen-year-old half sister, Hannah, whom he just discovered existed. Jess would do anything to help Rob in his quest to find his sister, even though he tossed her aside like yesterday's news, but with her powers long-gone, Jess knows it will be impossible to track anyone. After all, she's having a problem finding herself, how on earth can she be expected to find anyone else. But Jess, determined to help the man she loves, will do anything to support him in his quest - even if she's no longer "Lightning Girl."

It has been years since the last installment of 1-800-WHERE-R-U, but I can easily say that it was well worth the wait. MISSING YOU brings the beloved Jess Mastriani back into the hearts of readers, while at the same time giving them a glimpse of the more mature side she has developed after her time working with the U.S. Government. Sure, Jess is still brash, uncouth, and tough - but she also knows exactly when to cool her temper, and curb the urge to fight. Jess is no longer the girl who will punch someone on a whim, but has now developed the ability to trick people psychologically, always leaving her with the upper-hand. Meg Cabot has done an outstanding job bringing Jess back to life. Her descriptions of her time in Afghanistan are interesting, while at the same time slightly heart-wrenching; while her remaining feelings for Rob shine through each and every time they interact with one another, leaving the reader rooting for the lovebirds to reconnect. While I'm sad to see the series end, it was amazing to finally have some closure regarding Jess' life, and will certainly please diehard fans who have followed "Lightning Girl" through the past three years of her life. The end of an era...

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer

I loved this book. The story line focused mostly on the relationship between Jess and Rob, but there were seperate storylies (although less detailed) about Ruth, Mike, Douglas,and Rob's half-sister Hannah. I enjoyed reading the book and think that it provides closure to all the major questions in the story. Though everything did turn out a little too conviniently for all characters, I still believe this book is worth owning and reading.

After a very long wait, readers will be able to find closure with the last book in one of Meg Cabot's hit series, 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU. Ms. Cabot begins the novel almost two years after the last book. Jessica Mastriana is now at Julliard after the long, tedious days she spent helping the U.S. government find the bad guys during war. Although it did help her country, the things she saw as she was overseas took a toll on her. Instead of being able to dream about missing people, now Jess only dreams about the horrible scenes she saw during the war. This ultimately leads to her losing her powers.

But now that is all behind her. It's summer and Jess is living with her best friend, Ruth, along with Michael and Skip, and is helping to teach kids how to play a musical instrument. All Jess wants to do is to forget about the past and start over.

Unfortunately, her plans are ruined when her ex-boyfriend Rob flies all the way to New York to see her. But it's not to ask her to get back together with her--more like Rob needs Jess to help him find his sister, who just went missing. Before she knows it, all the things that Jess wanted to forget come crashing back. But with her powers supposedly gone, how can she help Rob, the one person she especially wants to forget about?

After the long wait, we expected for this series to end with a bang, and Ms. Cabot does not disappoint. MISSING YOU is the perfect ending to the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series, tying up all loose ends and resolving all problems, leaving the reader with no unanswered questions. Most characters return in the story, and even a surprise romance begins. Readers will root for Jess until the very end, while falling head-over-heels for Rob all over again. The only sad part is, now the series is completely over!

Reviewed by: Randstostipher "tallnlankyrn" Nguyen

After a year of working for the U.S. government in their war against terror, things for Jess have finally returned to some semblance of normal. Normal if you consider that Jess returned suffering from night terrors, post-traumatic stress and the loss of her lightning girl ability to find people simply by looking at a picture of them. Jess is now working hard to put the past behind her until her former boyfriend, Rob, shows up at her front door needing her help. Seeing Rob again brings many old feelings and memories back to Jess, but will it be enough to pull her all the way back to herself?

I read the first four books of the 1-800-Where-R-You series this past summer and loved them. This last book, while being much, much different, was not a disappointment. I got the impression that the author was feeling driven to write about something on the serious side of the current events without being preachy and this was her outlet. I enjoyed the story and although I was sad to see the series end, it was a satisfying resolution.

I've been reading this series since they were first released and I've been waiting four long years for the fifth and final book of this series to come out and it was so worth it. For you Meg Cabot fans out there you must read this series. It has everything a suspense YA should have. This was a great ending to a great series.

I'm 8 yrs old; my older sister read this whole book aloud to me so we could share the fun. In fact, this is the fifth book she's read aloud to me in a row (althoug I can read! very well) This book involves boys, fashion, hidden powers, kids, friendship, an engagement, humor, and Iraqi terrorists. I hope you will read When Lightening Strikes, Code Name Cassandra, Safe House, Sanctuary, and the fifth and final book, Missing You. It will be time well spent.

It's been a long time since I've read the other 1-800-Where-R-You books, so I didnt exactly remember how the previous one ended. I guess it didn't matter much because Missing You doesnt leave off where the other one ended. We get a lot of what's happened since told to us in the beginning of the book. It was a fairly quick read too.

This book wasnt as great as the others, but I can say my favorite part was the ending. It really tied everything up all nice and tidy.

It is several years after the upbeat ending of book 4 (SANCTUARY). Jess is living in New York and attending Juliard. She is no longer with Rob. She spent a year with the armed forces overseas locating people until night terrors drove her powers away. Jess just wants to be normal now. But then Rob shows up at her door asking for help to find his sister (yes, he has a sister now). He also says he is getting married soon. Neither of these things re good for Jess but she discovers her power is back. She goes back to Indiana with Rob, locates the missing sister and tries to be normal for a few days. But other things get in the way.

Jess's brother is heading a campaign to convert a closed school into an alternative school but he is opposed by a powerful businessman who has other plans for the property. Jess also learns the truth about Rob's sister and her situation. Having learned in the war that violence is not always the answer, Jess takes a different approach to help out with some of the local problems. Less violent but no less devastating. Finally Jess has to confront the situation with Rob and their feeling or lack thereof for each other. Jess needs to make some difficult decisions and do some deep soul searching. I highly approve of the ending.

I was a little disappointed to start the book and discover that Jess and Rob were not together. I sort of ruined the previous happy ending. But that aside, the new, less violent, Jess is wonderful and the story was tight and fast. As Jess is older in this book, the plot is also more adult. There is sex (heterosexual and homosexual) and plenty of adult decisions. But it is a wonderful book and was definitely worth waiting for. Check it out.

Missing You, the fifth and final book in Meg Cabot's 1-800-Where-R-You series, takes place several years after the events of the first four books. Jess, now nineteen, is at the lowest point of her life. Having agreed to use her freaky psychic power for finding people (gained when she was hit by lighting) in the service of the U.S. Government - specifically Dr. Cyrus Krantz and his group of psychic special operatives - Jess has recently returned from the war in Afghanistan exhausted, emotionally scarred and devoid of her psychic powers. Despite suffering from post-traumatic stress, Jess is relatively normal for the first time since the fateful lighting strike three years before.

Jess isn't sure what she expected when she moved to New York to study music at Juilliard, but she surely expected to be a whole lot happier than she currently is. In fact, she's not only dissatisfied, she's restless, at loose ends and not sure what she wants to do with her life. When she opens her apartment door one evening and finds her ex, Rob Wilkins (the boy Jess was once convinced was the love of her life) standing on her doorstep, Jess isn't even sure if she's happy to see him. As it turns out, Rob isn't in New York for a happy reunion. He needs Jess to try and reawaken her powers so he can find his missing sister.

Missing You is a fitting finale for this thoroughly enjoyable series. In keeping with the maturity of the characters, the themes are more adult and somewhat darker and Jess is a little less exuberant and slightly more cerebral (although no one would ever call her subdued). I love that Meg Cabot wrote this book for all of the readers who wanted to know what happened to Jess and Rob. Missing You not only delivers a wholly satisfactory ending to this series, it's a great story all on its own.