The Leaving

by Tara Altebrando

Overview

Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back—with no idea of where they've been. A riveting mystery for fans of We Were Liars.

Eleven years ago, six kindergartners 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—the only one who hasn’t come back. Which leaves Max's sister, Avery, wanting answers. She wants to find her brother—dead or alive—and isn’t buying this whole memory-loss story. But as details of the disappearance begin to unfold, no one is prepared for the truth.

This unforgettable novel—with its rich characters, high stakes, and plot twists—will leave readers breathless.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781681194035
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	06/06/2017
Pages:	448
Sales rank:	3,855
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.30(d)
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Tara Altebrando is the author of several middle grade and teen novels, including Roomies, an ALA 2014 Best Fiction for Young Adults pick, co-written with Sara Zarr. She lives in New York City with her family.
www.taraaltebrando.com
@TaraAltebrando

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/04/2016
In a twisting, harrowing story set over a few weeks, Altebrando (My Life in Dioramas) brings readers to a small town where six kindergartners disappeared without a trace and left an entire community grieving. The story begins on the day that five of the six return, 11 years later, their memories gone. Two of the five, Lucas and Scarlett, narrate, along with Avery, the sister of the child still missing; their alternating voices begin to piece together the mystery behind the “Leaving” and try to heal wounds of anger and loss among those left behind. In order to represent the teens’ fractured memories, Altebrando toys with the formatting and layout of the text: Scarlett’s words rise and fall in places, stretch, and are broken up by scatterings of slash marks, and Lucas’s thoughts are repeatedly interrupted by fragmented images (“bloody backpack gun carousel”) set in capitalized white text in black boxes. It’s engrossing, both as a thriller and a meditation on memory—its limits, its loss, and the ways it deceives and constructs identity. Ages 13–up. Agent: David Dunton, Harvey Klinger. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"This is no mere thriller; folded into this compulsively readable work are thought-provoking themes. . . . Teens who enjoy engrossing, contemplative titles such as Adam Silvera's More Happy Than Not will devour this insightful musing on memory and identity." —School Library Journal Starred Review

From the Publisher

★ 06/01/2016
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

School Library Journal

2016-03-16
Five teens who were part of a group of six that vanished as kindergartners reappear as mysteriously as they went missing in this thriller. Scarlett, Lucas, Sarah, Adam, and Kristen are dropped off in a park, each with a map to their respective homes tucked into their pockets. None of them has any memory of how they got there, who was driving the van that dropped them off, nor where they've been for the past 11 years. The agony experienced by their families has taken its toll, and the homes they return to are troubled places. This is only further complicated by the fact that Max, the sixth boy who disappeared with them, has not returned, and none of them has any memory of who he is. This multilayered story is told from the perspectives of Scarlett, Lucas, and Max's younger sister, Avery, all of whom come from white families, though of varying economic backgrounds. Their voices are distinct from one another, with Scarlett's narrative employing the most unconventional structure: sentences curve into various shapes on the page, and typed slashes evocatively illustrate how her mind reels. The eventual reveal is intricate and a long time coming, but it will satisfy. A twisting and turning mystery that will grip readers even if it is at times a bit difficult to follow. (Thriller. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews

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