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The Leaving
Nov. 27th, 2016 10:03 pmSomeone I follow on YouTube did a book review of The Leaving by Tara Altebrando, and then I had to read it to find out what the answer to the central mystery was.
It's about a town where six kids go missing aged five - then, eleven years later, five of them turn up again, but can't remember where they've been or what happened to the sixth one.
The book follows three main characters - two of the returned kids, and the sister of the one that's still missing - with each chapter being alternately from their point of view.
It's well constructed, and kept me intrigued and guessing throughout. The teenage love triangle aspect was a bit tedious (but then I always think that about teenage love triangles - and I guess I'm not exactly their target audience), some of the odd typesetting and formatting choices got a bit wearing after a while, and the whole thing was possibly stretched out just a bit too long. However, the central mystery was fascinating, several of the characters were engaging, the reactions of the various families to the kids' return were very well portrayed, and I find the final reveal quite interesting. Other reviews I've read suggest a lot of readers are disappointed by the end, but I thought I was built up well enough that it made sense without being obvious, and certain aspects of it were quite impactful.
So, considering the only reason I read the book was because it was the only way to find out the answer to the mystery, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Not necessarily one I'd recommend enthusiastically to everyone I meet, but a good solid tale, generally well told.
It's about a town where six kids go missing aged five - then, eleven years later, five of them turn up again, but can't remember where they've been or what happened to the sixth one.
The book follows three main characters - two of the returned kids, and the sister of the one that's still missing - with each chapter being alternately from their point of view.
It's well constructed, and kept me intrigued and guessing throughout. The teenage love triangle aspect was a bit tedious (but then I always think that about teenage love triangles - and I guess I'm not exactly their target audience), some of the odd typesetting and formatting choices got a bit wearing after a while, and the whole thing was possibly stretched out just a bit too long. However, the central mystery was fascinating, several of the characters were engaging, the reactions of the various families to the kids' return were very well portrayed, and I find the final reveal quite interesting. Other reviews I've read suggest a lot of readers are disappointed by the end, but I thought I was built up well enough that it made sense without being obvious, and certain aspects of it were quite impactful.
So, considering the only reason I read the book was because it was the only way to find out the answer to the mystery, I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Not necessarily one I'd recommend enthusiastically to everyone I meet, but a good solid tale, generally well told.
