Review: The Leaving

Title: The Leaving
Author: Tara Altebrando
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Childrens
Year published: 2016
How I got this book: Bough it online at BookDepository
My rating: 5 stars

Goodreads synopsis:
Six were taken. Even years later, five come back -- with noe idea of where they've been.

Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners went missing without a trace. After all that time, the people left behind moved on, or tried to.

Until today. Today five of those kids return. They're sixteen, and they are... fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they're entirely unable to recall where they've been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max. He doesn't come back. Everyone wants answers. Most of All Max's sister Avery, who needs to find her brother - dead or alive - and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story.

My thoughts:
*this is a spoiler-free review, so I will not be able to say that much abut the book*

This is my first book by Tara Altebrando, and based on this one, I want to read more! 

We follow three characters; Scarlett, Lucas and Avery. Scarlett and Lucas are two of the missing children, and Avery is Max's brother, the one who doesn't return. They were all written differently, and I especially enjoyed reading Scarlett's chapters as they were written with a bit of poetic prose, not just as a novel. I felt that this really captured her thoughts and emotions. 

Without spoiling anything, I have to say that I did not like Avery at all. I could not understand her thought process, and how she reacted to things. She was, to me, extremely unlikable, and she ended up just annoying me. I have read several reviews, and it seems that I am not the only one who feels this way. However, this did not really ruin the book for me, as I still gave it five stars.

This is not extremely fast paced, but it kept my interest nonetheless. I could not put it down, and could not read it before going to bed. I would have stayed up all night. It was never boring, and the characters were interesting enough that it did not really matter.

I will definitely recommend this book to several of my friends, and my mum. Though this is a YA-book, I feel like older people can enjoy it as well, if they like mysteries. If this book sounds interesting, you should give it a try!

Buy this book?
Amazon (US)
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