The Leaving in What's the Name of That Book???

May 03, 2016 Jessica rated it really liked it

Shelves: mysteries, contemporary, youngadult, own

UNPUTDOWNABLE.
I was UNABLE to put this book DOWN.
GOOD GRIEF.
Super twisty mystery, not unlike GONE GIRL, without being completely repulsive, not unlike a Scandinavian crime thriller, without being totally gory. The perfect mystery/thriller, in fact for a teen looking for a great page turner! I even admired the characters I thought were horrible! And I was trying to figure out what the HECK was going on right up until the very end!

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Jun 28, 2021 Kate rated it liked it

Shelves: adult-ya-book-club, 2021, thriller, mystery

Eleven years ago, six children went missing, including Avery's brother Max. Now five of those children have returned. But none of them can remember anything about the years they've been gone, and Max is nowhere to be found. Lukas returns only to startle his father and cause him to fall and die, and nothing about Scarlett's situation feels familiar. Avery is suspicious of all of the returned kids, but is drawn to Lukas. In the spaces between their memories, the puzzle pieces begin to come togethe ...more

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Mar 07, 2016 Emma rated it it was amazing

Shelves: from-publisher

Eleven years ago six kindergartners were taken from their school and disappeared without a trace. There have been movies and conspiracy theories but nothing close to the truth; no kind of resolution for the parents and siblings left behind.

Until now.

When five of the missing children come back they sixteen-years-old and healthy. They have no memory of what happened or where they've been held. They barely remember the lives they're returning to. None of them remember the sixth victim, Max.

Scarlett Eleven years ago six kindergartners were taken from their school and disappeared without a trace. There have been movies and conspiracy theories but nothing close to the truth; no kind of resolution for the parents and siblings left behind.

Until now.

When five of the missing children come back they sixteen-years-old and healthy. They have no memory of what happened or where they've been held. They barely remember the lives they're returning to. None of them remember the sixth victim, Max.

Scarlett returns to a mother she hardly knows and a life that doesn't quite fit while Lucas finds a family that has moved on without him and threatens to shatter with his return. Avery remembers both Scarlett and Lucas as well as she remembers the day Max never came home. Now, eleven years later, she waits again for a brother who doesn't return.

Everyone wants to know what happened. Scarlett, Lucas, and the others are desperate to fill in the gaps in their memories while Avery is grasping for some trace of her still-missing brother. All five of the returned children begin to find strange clues that seem to be leading them somewhere. But only Lucas and Scarlett--with Avery's prodding--are willing to follow the clues wherever they may lead in The Leaving (2016) by Tara Altebrando.

Altebrando juggles three narrators and numerous plot lines over the course of this novel. The story alternates first person narrated chapters between Scarlett (whose narration includes unconventional formatting and patterned text), Lucas (whose barely-there memories surface as blocky black text), and Avery (who has the most conventional narration). All three of the narrators are white but from a variety of economic backgrounds which adds another dimension to their connected stories.

There is something inherently cruel about this premise which Altebrando explores with frightening detail. The prose here is sparse leaving details to the imagination that make the experiences of the kidnapped children all the more horrifying to imagine. There are no easy answers here and no clean resolution--something that gives The Leaving a lasting impact.

The Leaving is, ostensibly, a thriller. The novel is packed with suspense and razor-sharp tension in short chapters that build to a chilling conclusion. At the same time, this story is also a thoughtful character study. Who are we without our memories? Who can we become? Is a blank slate of a childhood that different from the gradual forgetting that comes as we grow older? Are the monsters we fear any less frightening if we don't remember them?

The Leaving is an ambitious work of suspense that is atmospheric, eerie, and incredibly successful. A must read.

Possible Pairings: The Devil You Know by Trish Doller, The Accident Season by Moïra Fowley-Doyle, The Midnight Dress by Karen Foxlee, False Memory by Dan Krokos, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Soulprint by Megan Miranda, Pretending to Be Erica by Michelle Painchaud, The Square Root of Summer by Harriet Reuter Hapgood, Daughter of Deep Silence by Carrie Ryan, Suicide Notes From Beautiful Girls by Lynn Weingarten

*An advance copy of this title was provided by the publisher for review consideration* ...more

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Jul 22, 2017 Hannah added it

Shelves: ya, 2017, thriller-mystery

This was a really great setup, and you can't really not be intrigued by shows and books with this premise. But those shows always seem to get canceled, and I think the impossibility of coming up with a good, fully realized explanation for everything is too hard to get at. This one is decent, but the ending is rushed and doesn't give enough explanation to truly be satisfying. ...more

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