The Leaving - Softcover

Tara Altebrando

3.39

17,301 ratings by Goodreads

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1408877805 ISBN 13: 9781408877807

Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2016

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Eleven years ago, six five-year-olds went missing without a trace. After all this time, the people left behind have moved on, or tried to. Until today. Now five of those kids are back. They're sixteen, and they are ...fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mother she barely recognises, and doesn't really know who she's supposed to be, either. But she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, but they can't recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back and everyone wants answers. Addictive and unforgettable, The Leaving seethes with rich characters, tense storytelling and high stakes.

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About the Author:

Tara Altebrando is the author of several middle grade and teen novels, including Roomies, co-written with Sara Zarr. She lives in New York City with her family. www.taraaltebrando.com @TaraAltebrando

From School Library Journal:

Gr 8 Up—One day, six kindergarteners disappear without a trace. Eleven years later, five of the kids, now teenagers, return, but the mysteries have only multiplied. Though Lucas, Scarlett, Kristen, Adam, and Sarah operate on a developmentally appropriate level (speaking, reading, and writing like typical adolescents), they have no memory of anything from the last 11 years—and no explanation of why Max, who also left, isn't with them. Were they kidnapped? Abducted by aliens? Were they victims of some psychological experiment? Readers follow Lucas and Scarlett, who suspect that they might have had a romantic relationship in the past, and Avery, Max's younger sister, who clings to the hope that her brother will return and who finds herself drawn to Lucas, as the teens try to piece together just what happened and why. Depicting characters with few memories, Altebrando has effectively established an often eerie and unsettling mood, and the creative use of typography adds to the feeling of disorientation. The prose has a sense of urgency, and brief chapters will keep teens turning the pages. However, this is no mere thriller; folded into this compulsively readable work are thought-provoking themes. What is the link between identity and memory? Are we better off without painful remembrances? As the book concludes, characters—and readers—will still be contemplating these challenging questions. VERDICT Teens who enjoy engrossing, contemplative titles such as Adam Silvera's More Happy Than Not will devour this insightful musing on memory and identity.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal

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