The Leaving

This book is one of the most original novels I have read in a while. It's one of those books where you really have no idea WHY things happened and figuring it out and how it will end is nearly impossible. The author has created something unique with this novel and I am super excited to see what she comes up with next.The story is about 6 children who go missing on their first day of kindergarten and aren't found until 11 years later when they come back home with no memories of what happened over these years. It is told in alternating points of view which allows readers a glimpse into the minds of 2 of the kids who were kidnapped and one who is the sister of a kidnapped boy. Intertwined in the story is a second mystery as well. Because even though 6 children were taken only 5 of them came back. So what happened to the sixth child? Why were they taken in the first place? And who is behind everything?As far as the plot goes, I think the whole concept is very original. However, I did find the ending to be a little underwhelming as I felt like I was hanging onto the edge of my seat up until the point. That's not to say the ending was bad because it's not. But I was hoping for a bit more in terms of emotions from the characters and a little more information about the lives of these kids in the aftermath of figuring out what happened. Perhaps a nice little epilogue would have helped?Other than this, the novel is pretty fantastic. I'll admit, there were times when I thought this book was going sci-fi on me, and then I thought it was turning into a murder mystery and so on. This is all due to how the author tells the story and weaves it through readers minds. For me, this makes it so much more interesting and I couldn't be more pleased with it.So, if your looking for a unique mystery I would certainly recommend this book. It's told in a way that will leave readers anxious to know more while also adding an enjoyment factor as well. I will be looking for more of the authors work in the near future based on this novel.

I was entranced by this book from the beginning. It held my attention and I finished it in one day. Easily one of my favorites.

Altebrando picks you up and plops you down in what feels like a hazy, distorted view of the world. She has done an excellent job of portraying the feelings and emotions of her characters, and making you feel just as confused and scared as they are. While I appreciated the fresh take on the classic case of missing children that come back after years away, I did feel that the ending left a lot to the imagination and was not wrapped up in a way that felt satisfying. I applaud the creativity and thought provoking beginning and middle of the book, but sometimes it is important to remember that endings are not always happy or as they seem like they should be.

This is one of those books you need a break after reading. You can't put it down, can't separate yourself from the emotion. When it's over, you need time to recover. Those are the plusses.The minuses...unrealistic police drama. I found myself very frustrated with weak, almost non-existent police characters. (Spoilers) Police don't pick up a kid that's been missing 11 years at the scene of a suspicious death, question him for a short period and then dump him back at the scene with orders to show up for medical and psychological exams the next day. And they don't then just call up the rest of the kids and say hey show up. And they don't take no for an answer.While I loved the plot and the emotion, I had a really hard time buying the narrative of the investigation or lack thereof.

I am going to keep this spoiler free.This follows the sudden arrival/return of five teenagers who had disappeared eleven years prior. They have miniscule memory of their time during The Leaving (coined by one of the missing kids and explained eventually), each possessing one specific memory, different from all the rest. But missing is the sixth kid, who had disappeared with them and who none of them remember.The book is told in the POV of three characters: Lucas and Scarlett, who are two of the just returned kids, and Avery who is the sister of the kid still missing. Each voice is very unique. Scarlett is very disjointed and almost poetic in her thoughts while Lucas is more grounded but has bursts of emotion. Avery is the most normal. The author does a very good job of portraying their mental states with clever formatting and unconventional phrasing.This is a very slow burn with lots of 'What is going ON?!' moments. The final explanation blossoms off camera and feels slightly rushed but that's realistic I suppose. In reality the kids aren't going to do all the work while the cops sit on their thumbs.The premise is a little out there but of don't know enough about that kind of thing to say how plausible it is. It is a very interesting book and I do recommend it

Takes a little work to get into, but the mystery takes hold and the end is worth the read. Great discussions could be had on the topics brought up.

This was a very interesting premise, and a good read even though the ruminations on what memories are and how long they last periodically got a bit too preachy. The different perspectives of the main carriers of the story thread provided variety between those who had left and those left behind. As the returning children tried to figure out what had happened, they also had to try to figure out who they were, and navigate the relationships between themselves that they no longer had a direct memory of. Each came back with a unique skill or talent that they were able to use as an aid in understanding and solving the puzzle. By the end we know who did this to them, and why. What we don't ever find out is the details of how it was done, beyond the original abduction; and there are a couple of characters (one in particular) introduced in the story that obviously had some significance that we never see resolved. None of these gaps take away from the overall story, but may be frustrating for some readers.

Six children, all aged five, go missing. Eleven years later, five come home. They have no idea where they have been for eleven years, or how they returned - but they are determined to find out what happened, and where the sixth went.This was an interesting premise and one I've not seen before in a YA book - I liked the mystery element and the collective amnesia meant we were finding things out at the same time as the characters. The story is told from three POVs - Lucas, Scarlett (both have returned after 11 years) and Avery (the sister of one of the missing).It wasn't massively exciting - the story plodded along, but it was a good enough read. The chapters were short (1-2 mins long each) so it was easy to get through. There were formatting issues for me - different fonts and lines were used at times to convey how the characters were feeling when they thought they remembered something or when they were worried and I felt that was gimmicky and unnecessary, I thought there was something wrong with my copy at first.Overall it was good - I felt like it ended just as it was getting started and I'd love to know more about the missing years but it wasn't as disappointing as some reviews here would have led me to believe. I only had one real eye-rolling moment that involved something one of the children said when they were five, but other than that it was fine. I'd definitely recommend it if you'd like to read something fresh and different.

I was recommended this book by a friend because she knew how much I loved 'We were liars' and she had heard it was a similar type of book. It is similar in a way, with regards to going on the journey with the characters and discovering things as they do, but it's not as good.The book is very gripping, I didn't want to put it down and kept trying to squeeze one more chapter in instead of doing other stuff. Most of the characters are likeable and engaging, and you are desperate to find out that happened to them all those years ago and where they have been.However, for me two things let it down. 1) Was the chapters written from the point of view of Avery. She was such an irritating and unrelatable character, those chapters kind of spoiled the flow of the story for me. I understand that the author wanted to show how the event affected the people left behind just as much, but she could of chosen a better way to do this. 2) I felt a little bit cheated by the pay off. Not to spoil it for anyone, but for me personally the build up was much better than the reveal of where the kids had been and what had happened to them that i was let down. It kind of felt like the author has this great idea for most of a book but didn't really put much thought into how it was going to end.Overall it's a good little book and I would recommend it. However, i think it could have been better.

I loved the sound of the plot before buying this book... the story of a group of childen who go missing for many years and don't come back, but oh dear what a dissapointment. The book alternates chapters, written in the third person, from only two of the missing children's perspectives plus the sister of one of the others. It is so lacklustre and long that I had to speed read great chunks of it, not out of excitment, but simply in the hope that something interesting would happen. The ending is a disaster. Will not spoil it for you but let's just say that the book develops an identity crisis in terms of "genre"!

I am struggling to express how much I loved this book. The writing is beautiful and lyrical, though straight to the point as well so that it has a fabulous pace about it. The vocabulary, the clever red herrings, the characterisation, the multi-sensory appeal...all fantastic. Thank you so much, Tara Altebrando. I read it on holiday, and I'm glad I did, so that I could continue to read it without having to stop and work.

Ending was a bit underwhelming. Good story line at the start however lost it half way through. Disappointing ending to the story.