Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: The Disappearances
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: http://www.emilybainmurphy.com/
CITY: San Francisco
STATE: CA
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2016065715
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2016065715
HEADING: Murphy, Emily Bain
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035 __ |a (OCoLC)oca10650453
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |c DLC |e rda |d UPB
053 _0 |a PS3613.U7285
100 1_ |a Murphy, Emily Bain
374 __ |a Authors |2 lcsh
375 __ |a Females |2 lcdgt
377 __ |a eng
670 __ |a The disappearances, 2017: |b ECIP title page (Emily Bain Murphy)
670 __ |a Emily Bain Murphy, via WWW, February 6, 2017 |b (Emily Bain Murphy grew up in Indiana, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, and has also called Massachusetts and Connecticut home; she loves books, Japanese karaoke, exploring new cities, and anything with Nutella; her debut YA fantasy, The Disappearances, was published by HMH Books for Young Readers and Pushkin Press in 2017)
PERSONAL
Female.
EDUCATION:Tufts University, B.A.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer and novelist.
AVOCATIONS:Books, Japanese karaoke, travel to new cities.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Emily Bain Murphy is a writer and novelist living in San Francisco, California. During her childhood, she lived in several U.S. states, including Indiana, California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts. She also lived overseas in Hong Kong and Japan, noted a writer on the Emily Bain Murphy Website.
The Disappearances is Murphy’s debut novel. The story is set in New England in 1942, where sixteen-year-old Aila Quinn and her younger brother Miles are still feeling the effects of a double tragedy. First, their mother, Juliet, has recently died. Second, their father has been called up to serve in the military and fight during World War II. As a result, the two are sent to live with family friends in their mother’s hometown of Sterling, Connecticut, a small New England village with plenty of secrets and mystery to offer.
Aila and Miles arrive at the home of their hosts, the Cliftons. Malcolm and Matilda Clifton and their son Will are welcoming and friendly, but Aila soon discovers that others in the town are not as cordial toward the new arrivals. She also begins to notice that there are strange things going on in the town. It doesn’t take long for her to discover the “Sterling Curse,” a mysterious and completely unexplainable disappearances that has plagued the town and its residents for years. The disappearances are not of people, however, but of small elements of daily life, such as the ability to see the stars, or to taste food, or to recognize colors. Moving away from Sterling doesn’t help; the disappearances follow everyone who leaves. Every seven years, another disappearance occurs, and another one is due soon after Aila and Miles move into town.
Aila discovers that Malcolm Clifton is working on a magical solution to the problem. She and all the other residents of Sterling will need all the help he can provide, however, as the rate of disappearances increases significantly after Aila and Miles arrive. She also finds out that the people of Sterling blame her mother for the disappearances since they started the year Juliet was born. Aila delves into Juliet’s past in Sterling in an attempt to not only understand why she’s being held responsible for the town’s misfortune but to also find out why Juliet seems to have been the only one to escape the Sterling Curse. The secret seems to lie in a book of Juliet’s, an annotated version of Shakespeare’s plays. With time running out, and with an unexpected attraction growing between her and Will Clifton, Aila seeks a way to decipher the clues in the book, reverse the curse. and restore what the townspeople have lost.
In an interview on the website Adventures in YA Publishing, Murphy revealed what she hoped readers would take away from her book. “That life is hard but it is also beautiful. Sometimes you have to fight to find the beauty in it. That’s a skill in and of itself—sort of like a muscle you can build up. If I can help someone find a little bit of beauty and magic in their own lives even after they put the book down—that is my greatest hope for what readers will take away.”
Murphy also derived many benefits from the publication of her novel, and described in an interview with Megan LaCroix on the website Megan Write Now what she has found to be her most rewarding experience so far. “Holding my finished book in my hands was so amazing, but I think even more than that, the most rewarding experience I’ve had so far is finding “my people.” I’ve gotten to know other authors and bloggers and readers in this community, and it’s so life-giving to be surrounded by others who love reading and the magic of books as much as I do.” In the same interview, Murphy advised hopeful writers to “find your people. By that I mean someone who loves your writing and also won’t let you rest on something that is merely good, but will make you dig down deep to find the real gold that will set it apart.”
Murphy’s fictional world “is a place many readers will happily disappear into,” observed Briana Shemroske in a Booklist review. Locus contributor Colleen Mondor observed: “Readers will fly through the pages as they follow the clues with their determined protagonist, and the nefarious nature of the ‘Sterling curse’ is fully revealed.”
BookPage contributor Jennifer Bruer Kitchel called The Disappearances a “delicious mix of mystery, fantasy and romance.” In this book, Murphy “has created a genuinely fresh and original supernatural romance with content that manages to be both intelligent and compelling,” commented Voice of Youth Advocates writer Sean Rapacki. A Publishers Weekly reviewer concluded: “Sumptuous worldbuilding, richly developed characters, and a swoon-worthy romance elevate this delightful, fantasy-tinged mystery.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, June, 2017, Briana Shemroske, review of The Disappearances, p. 91.
BookPage, July, 2017. Jennifer Bruer Kitchel, review of The Disappearances, p. 27.
Kirkus Reviews, May 15, 2017, review of The Disappearances.
Locus, December, 2017, Colleen Mondor, review of The Disappearances.
Publishers Weekly, May 8, 2017, review of The Disappearances, p. 61.
Voice of Youth Advocates, June, 2017. Sean Rapacki, review of The Disappearances, p. 81; December, 2017. Pam Spencer Holley, “Whodunits: A Roundup of 2017 YA Mystery Titles,” review of The Disappearances, p. 10.
ONLINE
Adventures in YA Publishing, http://www.adventuresinyapublishing.com/ (July 8, 2017), “Emily Bain Murphy, Author of The Disappearances, on Fighting to Find the Beauty in Life,” interview with Emily Bain Murphy.
Emily Bain Murphy Website, http://www.emilybainmurphy.com (April 15, 2018).
Megan Write Now, http://www.meganwritenow.com/ (July 6, 2017), Megan LaCroix, “Author Spotlight: Emily Bain Murphy Talks The Disappearances,” interview with Emily Bain Murphy.
RT Book Reviews, https://www.rtbookreviews.com/ (April 15, 2018), Susannah Balch, review of The Disappearances.
TeenReads, http://www.teenreads.com/ (April 15, 2018), biography of Emily Bain Murphy.
About
Emily Bain Murphy grew up in Indiana, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, and has also called California, Connecticut, and Massachusetts home.
She loves books, Japanese karaoke, exploring new cities, and anything with Nutella. Her debut YA fantasy, THE DISAPPEARANCES, is available from HMH Books for Young Readers and Pushkin Press.
Murphy is represented by Peter Knapp at Park Literary & Media.
She currently lives in the St. Louis area with her family and is at work on her second novel.
Emily Bain Murphy
Emily Bain Murphy grew up in Indiana, Tokyo and Hong Kong, graduated from Tufts with a major in creative writing and now lives in San Francisco with her family. Visit her at emilybainmurphy.com and on Twitter at @EBain.
Saturday, July 8, 2017
0Emily Bain Murphy, author of THE DISAPPEARANCES, on fighting to find the beauty in life
We are delighted to have Emily Bain Murphy join us today to share more about her debut novel, THE DISAPPEARANCES.
Emily, what scene was really hard for you to write and why, and is that the one of which you are most proud? Or is there another scene you particularly love?
I cried when I wrote a certain scene of Aila remembering her mother. I’ve heard that if you don’t shed tears when you’re writing then you can’t expect readers to when they’re reading—so I really allowed myself to plumb the difficult depths of those feelings that day.
There’s also a certain kissing scene that I love—but those are actually really hard to write! Hopefully, if I’ve done it right, both of those high and low point scenes will give readers the full range of feels.
What book or books would most resonate with readers who love your book--or visa versa?
I think readers who enjoy something with a more classic feel will enjoy this. Some of my favorite books growing up definitely influence my writing, like The Secret Garden, Narnia, Anne of Green Gables—all where the protagonist comes from an outside world and finds a new, magical world full of beauty and challenges to overcome.
What did this book teach you about writing or about yourself?
Oh wow, did this book teach me about perseverance and revision! I’ve heard it said that sometimes the only difference sometimes between a published author and an unpublished one can be perseverance—and I think all told, this book took me about eight years from brainstorming to publication. I had a lot to learn!! Perhaps I should have stopped working on this one and gone on to work on something else during some of those middle years, but I just fell so in love with the idea, and I kept chipping away at it until its potential started becoming more of a reality. Stephanie Garber, who wrote CARAVAL, said that we should approach revision less like we’re trying to put a little makeup on our story and more like major plastic surgery. Some days it was really hard to keep coming back to work on the same book again and again, but I think it taught me that digging deep is how you find the gold in your story. I really want to encourage anyone out there who might be writing and struggling right now: keep going! I think the perseverance you’re learning is a really valuable trait that is important for areas of our lives even outside of writing.
What do you hope readers will take away from THE DISAPPEARANCES?
That life is hard but it is also beautiful. Sometimes you have to fight to find the beauty in it. That’s a skill in and of itself—sort of like a muscle you can build up. If I can help someone find a little bit of beauty and magic in their own lives even after they put the book down—that is my greatest hope for what readers will take away.
Was there an AHA! moment along your road to publication where something suddenly sank in and you felt you had the key to writing a novel? What was it?
I remember there was this particular knot in the story that I was trying to work out, and at the time I was living in Connecticut and driving up the Massachusetts Turnpike. I do my best thinking and brainstorming on the highway, actually, where I have a long stretch of road, and I’m not directly focusing on writing, but my subconscious is sort of working it out at the periphery. I had this major AHA! moment about the whole crux of the meaning behind what was happening to set off the town’s Disappearances, and I remember feeling this huge smile spread across my face and sense of relief and thinking, Yes!! Yes, that is it!
And then I drove home, rolled up my sleeves, and started to rework the bones of the story again, knowing this time that I really might have something different and special.
What are you working on now?
I’m working on another young adult novel with elements of snow, ballet, and magic in it that I can’t say too much about yet, but I’m absolutely loving the atmosphere in it and I’m hoping someday soon I can share it with all of you.
ABOUT THE BOOK
The Disappearances
by Emily Bain Murphy
Hardcover
HMH Books for Young Readers
Released 7/4/2017
What if the ordinary things in life suddenly…disappeared?
Aila Quinn’s mother, Juliet, has always been a mystery: vibrant yet guarded, she keeps her secrets beyond Aila’s reach. When Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to live in Sterling, a rural town far from home--and the place where Juliet grew up.
Sterling is a place with mysteries of its own. A place where the experiences that weave life together--scents of flowers and food, reflections from mirrors and lakes, even the ability to dream--vanish every seven years.
No one knows what caused these “Disappearances,” or what will slip away next. But Sterling always suspected that Juliet Quinn was somehow responsible--and Aila must bear the brunt of their blame while she follows the chain of literary clues her mother left behind.
As the next Disappearance nears, Aila begins to unravel the dual mystery of why the Disappearances happen and who her mother truly was. One thing is clear: Sterling isn’t going to hold on to anyone's secrets for long before it starts giving them up.
Purchase The Disappearances at Amazon
Purchase The Disappearances at IndieBound
View The Disappearances on Goodreads
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Image result for emily bain murphyEmily Bain Murphy grew up in Indiana, Hong Kong, and Tokyo, and has also called Massachusetts and Connecticut home.
She loves books, Japanese karaoke, exploring new cities, and anything with Nutella. Her debut YA fantasy, THE DISAPPEARANCES, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2017.
Murphy currently lives in San Francisco with her family and is at work on her second novel.
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Have you had a chance to read THE DISAPPEARANCES yet? Are you continuing to persevere through your writing and your writing journey? Does driving help you work out plot issues? Share your thoughts about the interview in the comments!
Happy reading,
Emily, Jocelyn, Anisaa, Sam, Martina, Erin, Susan, Shelly, Kelly, Laura, and Lori Ann
Author Spotlight: Emily Bain Murphy talks The Disappearances
July 6, 2017
|
Megan LaCroix
Pardon the squeeing, but today I have author Emily Bain Murphy on the blog! Her debut novel has already been racking up rave reviews. Described by Kirkus as “delightfully whimsical and unsettling . . . a story bursting with color and originality”, The Disappearances has been named a Bookish Must Read YA Book of the Summer, and a Barnes & Noble Teen Most Anticipated Book of the Second Half of 2017. And it's definitely sitting at the top of my TBR! Click here to read the first two chapters posted by HMH Teen.
And now, here's my chat with Emily!
Hi, Emily! Congrats on your debut, The Disappearances ! Can you tell us a little about the story and what inspired it?
Thank you! The Disappearances is a story about a sixteen-year-old girl named Aila Quinn who moves to a new town after the death of her mother, Juliet, and discovers why her mother never spoke of growing up there. Every seven years, something disappears—the scent of flowers, the stars in the sky, the ability to dream—and no one knows why, but they think Juliet might somehow be to blame. When Aila stumbles upon a breadcrumb trail of clues left behind in Juliet’s old Shakespeare book, she has to use the clues to try to solve the mystery—but it may mean learning things that will change the way she sees her mother forever.
The story was really inspired initially by the idea of the disappearances themselves. When I started writing it, I was spending a lot of time blogging and learning about child trafficking and exploitation and doing some volunteer work with an organization that focuses on prevention and aftercare solutions. I was learning about such dark and bleak things that I had to be very intentional about also seeking out the lovely, beautiful, and magical in the world. At first it was just about trying to stop and notice those things, and then I had the idea—what if those things systematically started to disappear? How would people react, and what would they pay to get them back? What would be causing these disappearances to happen? And the story began to knit into something bigger from there.
Who was your favorite character to write? And which character gave you the most trouble?
I adore the girl who becomes Aila’s good friend, named Beas Fogg. She’s so loyal and lovely and is completely her own person, from inking different lines of poetry above her knee to playing beautiful music on her violin. The most challenging character to write was probably Aila’s mother because she is complex and flawed, and we aren’t hearing any of the story from her perspective. We’re just seeing her through the biased viewpoints and memories of other people. So that was an interesting challenge, sort of like trying to paint an object using only negative space.
Publishers Weekly gave The Disappearances a starred review, calling its world building sumptuous. As a fantasy writer, I’m always interested in world building. Do you have tips for writers who may be struggling to create a cohesive setting?
Thank you so much! This is definitely something I worked at. I’m such a visual person, so it really helps me to find representative images and to make secret Pinterest boards. I pin pictures to capture the feel of the setting and mood I’m trying to evoke—am I going for warm and cozy? Sleek and futuristic? Creepy and atmospheric? Old-time Western? What is everyone wearing? Does that change based on their income level? What currency do they use? What do they eat? Do they have any special dishes they make or unique traditions they celebrate? Because The Disappearances takes place during a real historical time period, there were certain boundaries I had to function within to be historically accurate, but at the same time, that could be helpful—like a set of girders already in place for a building. I did a lot of research on specific slang used at the time, what popular music they were listening to in the U.S. that year, what headlines were in the newspapers, what styles were fashionable, and even samples of advertisements that would hang in the train stations about brands of sugar. I think it can be helpful to sit down and ask yourself a lot of specific questions so you can get a real vision for your world before (and during) your drafting. My agent would ask me to do homework assignments, like draw a map of the town, and even print off a calendar and write down what events were happening on what day. The more specifics you can nail down, the more that world will start to feel three-dimensional and alive, and something you can walk around in and populate with your characters.
What part of the writing process do you find most challenging and how do you tackle it?
Just getting that full first draft down can be so hard for me, because I’m such a perfectionist and I want it to come pouring out perfectly. Instead, I find that when I write stories, it’s sort of like baking a cake with a lot of layers. By the time I get to the end—aka, the top layer—the cake is usually starting to lean dangerously to one side or it’s already fallen over, and it never looks quite how I wanted it to. But I just need to bake those layers anyway, and then I can take a step back and see what needs to be fixed and adjusted. I need actual material to get my hands on, not just air. Then I keep going back, remixing ingredients and playing with portions and getting other “taste-testers,” if you will, until the end result gets closer and closer. All the reader sees is the end product—but there was a lot of messy work that went into it before it turned out that way!
There are many vanishings in The Disappearances. Without giving any spoilers, what’s the biggest difference between the published version vs. your earlier drafts? Did anything you love have to ‘vanish’ in revisions?
So much changed! But that was a good thing, because I know that every revision made it better. I took out or reworked characters, invented a sport and got rid of it, changed the narrative perspective from third person to first, and changed the entire ending. I did love all of those things at one point, and a few of my darlings were painful to kill off, but at the end of the day, I really don’t miss any of them—because this is the way the book was supposed to turn out, and I love it.
What are you reading, or otherwise currently obsessed with?
I just finished ILLUMINAE and GEMINA and I am eagerly awaiting the third book in the installment, OBSIDIO. I absolutely loved Anna Priemaza’s upcoming KAT AND MEG CONQUER THE WORLD. I’m currently reading WHEN DIMPLE MET RISHI by Sandhya Menon, THE COLOR PROJECT by Sierra Abrams, THE SECRET OF A HEART NOTE by Stacey Lee, and I just got my hands on WONDER WOMAN: WARBRINGER, by my all-time favorite, Leigh Bardugo.
What has been your most rewarding experience as an author so far?
Holding my finished book in my hands was so amazing, but I think even more than that, the most rewarding experience I’ve had so far is finding “my people.” I’ve gotten to know other authors and bloggers and readers in this community, and it’s so life-giving to be surrounded by others who love reading and the magic of books as much as I do. I have a couple of emails I’ve saved from a few readers in particular who told me that after all those years of work, I’d written something that they just needed to read at that exact moment in their lives. I think that will be the pinnacle—and honestly, anything else that happens after this is just gravy.
And finally, what’s one steadfast piece of advice you would give to other writers?
Don’t give up! Celebrate every little success you see—finishing a draft, feeling good about a revision, signing with an agent—because it will help you get through the rough patches. And find your people. By that I mean someone who loves your writing and also won’t let you rest on something that is merely good, but will make you dig down deep to find the real gold that will set it apart. That might be an agent or a friend or a critique group or writing instructor. This journey needs equal parts support, encouragement, and pushing—and as it turns out, writing a book is more of a team sport than I ever could have guessed before I did it.
Thank you for having me and The Disappearances on the blog! I appreciate it so much and I enjoyed being here with you.
I hope you enjoyed this interview with Emily as much as I did! I want to thank her for taking the time to craft such thoughtful answers to these questions, as well as sharing actionable tips for creating three-dimensional worlds. Be sure to add Emily's mysterious debut to your Goodreads list, or order your copy RIGHT NOW from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or your local indie.
And don't forget! The Disappearances is a featured title in the #BookRave giveaway for July! The rafflecopter for #BookRave opens on July 12, so be sure to enter for a chance to win this amazing new release from Emily Bain Murphy! For more info, see the post here: Get Raving for #BookRave in July!
If you benefited from any of the advice Emily gave in her interview, or if you just can't contain your excitement for The Disappearances, please hop on over to Twitter to tweet Emily directly at @EBain. And for more information, check out her lovely author website at emilybainmurphy.com.
And, as always,
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Print Marked Items
Murphy, Emily Bain: THE
DISAPPEARANCES
Kirkus Reviews.
(May 15, 2017):
COPYRIGHT 2017 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Murphy, Emily Bain THE DISAPPEARANCES HMH Books (Children's Fiction) $17.99 7, 4 ISBN: 978-0-
544-87936-2
At the center of Murphy's debut novel is a small town shrouded in mystery.At first, everyone lost their
senses of smell, then their reflections, followed by colors and other invaluable aspects of life. In the town of
Sterling, something unexpected disappears every seven years, and no one knows why. Seventeen-year-old
Aila and her younger brother, Miles, are plunged into the thick of it all when they're sent to Sterling
following their mother's death. Here, in their mother's hometown, the two grapple with the secrets she left
behind. Guided by her mother's handwritten annotations in a collection of Shakespeare's works, Aila makes
it her mission to figure out why the Disappearances happen and how they can be stopped. While readers can
easily get lost in Aila's world, nestled within her narrative is a more fascinating storyline in the form of a
journal kept by an unknown writer, full of twists and surprises. Murphy's novel is delightfully whimsical
and unsettling but loses some momentum with a tenuous Shakespeare connection. Set in rural Connecticut
in 1942, the novel features a cast of white characters. While there are a few snags in the storytelling,
overall, a story bursting with color and originality. (Historical suspense. 12-18)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Murphy, Emily Bain: THE DISAPPEARANCES." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2017. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491934126/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=dfad6a55.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A491934126
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The Disappearances
Jennifer Bruer Kitchel
BookPage.
(July 2017): p27.
COPYRIGHT 2017 BookPage
http://bookpage.com/
Full Text:
By Emily Bain Murphy
[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]
HMH $17.99, 400 pages
ISBN 9780544879362 Audio, eBook available Ages 12 and up
MYSTERY
Set in early 1940s New England, Emily Bain Murphy's debut novel, The Disappearances, follows 16-yearold
Aila Quinn and her younger brother, Miles. The two are struggling after the recent death of their mother,
Juliet, and their father's departure to fight in World War II. Left alone, they must travel to their mother's
mysterious hometown of Sterling, Connecticut, to stay with family friends.
When they arrive, Aila discovers the townspeople have been suffering "Disappearances" every seven years.
These fantastical losses include the ability to smell, to see the stars and to see their own reflections. Aila and
Miles don't understand why everyone blames their mother until Aila begins to unravel Juliet's mysterious
past. Why was she able to break free of the curse? Why did Juliet leave notes in a book of William
Shakespeare's works?
Bain deftly weaves these threads together as Aila discovers not only her mother's secrets but also her own
identity. By setting the novel in a time before the internet, Bain thoroughly conveys the sense of strange
isolation of Sterling's residents and their troubles. In the end, The Disappearances is a delicious mix of
mystery, fantasy and romance.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Kitchel, Jennifer Bruer. "The Disappearances." BookPage, July 2017, p. 27. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A497099107/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e8908721.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
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Murphy, Emily Bain. The Disappearances
Sean Rapacki
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.2 (June 2017): p81.
COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
5Q * 4P * M * J * S (a)
Murphy, Emily Bain. The Disappearances. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017. 400p. $17.99. 978-0-544-
87936-2.
It is 1942, and when Aila's mother dies and her father has to go to Hawaii for the war, she and her brother
get shipped off to live with Mrs. Clifton, an old friend of her mothers. Her mother never talked much about
her hometown of Sterling, and Aila almost immediately notices odd things about the town. The town and
two neighboring cities are cursed: every seven years, all the residents inexplicably lose sense of something--
the taste of food, ability to see colors or the stars in the sky. Mrs. Clifton's husband works to develop what
they call Variants, a scientific sort of magic that helps the people of Sterling once again experience some of
what they have lost. When the Disappearances accelerate soon after her and her brother's arrival, Aila must
crack the mystery behind the curse, while also negotiating an attraction to the Clifton's handsome son, Will.
Debut novelist Murphy has created a genuinely fresh and original supernatural romance with content that
manages to be both intelligent and compelling without scandalizing those looking for a relatively "clean"
read. This is a highly recommended purchase for libraries serving young adults. --Sean Rapacki.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Rapacki, Sean. "Murphy, Emily Bain. The Disappearances." Voice of Youth Advocates, June 2017, p. 81.
General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A497860395/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=7ab9dac3. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A497860395
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The Disappearances
Publishers Weekly.
264.19 (May 8, 2017): p61+.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
* The Disappearances
Emily Bain Murphy. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, $17.99 (400p) ISBN 978-0-544-87936-2
Set in New England in 1942, Murphy's debut novel opens with 16-year-old Aila Quinn and her younger
brother, Miles, saying farewell to their father, who has been drafted. Their mother, Juliet, died recently, so
Aila and Miles must move to Sterling to live with Juliet's childhood friends, the Clifftons. Malcolm,
Matilda, and their son are gracious hosts, but other residents of Juliet's hometown prove less than
welcoming, and it's not long before the siblings find out why. Every seven years, the townspeople lose
something, such as the ability to see reflections or smell. Nobody knows why the "Disappearances" happen,
but they started the year Juliet was born, and she's the only one to have shed their effects upon leaving
Sterling, so many believe that she's somehow responsible. With the next Disappearance Day rapidly
approaching, Aila vows to discover the curse's cause, vindicate her family, and end the Disappearances for
good. Sumptuous worldbuilding, richly developed characters, and a swoon-worthy romance elevate this
delightful, fantasy-tinged mystery. Ages 12-up. Agent: Peter Knapp, Park Literary & Media. (July)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"The Disappearances." Publishers Weekly, 8 May 2017, p. 61+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A491949161/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=21577c2e.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
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The Disappearances
Briana Shemroske
Booklist.
113.19-20 (June 2017): p91.
COPYRIGHT 2017 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
The Disappearances. By Emily Bain Murphy. July 2017.400p. HMH, $17.99 (9780544879362). Gr. 9-12.
Scents were the first to go. Then reflections, stars--even dreams. Every seven years, the town of Sterling
experiences a "Disappearance." Aila and Miles Quinn, arriving in town after the death of their mother,
Juliet, are just in time for the latest departure. Even though Juliet grew up beneath Sterling's starless skies,
this is the first the Quinn siblings are hearing of the town's curse--or their mother's alleged involvement in
it. Lucky for Sterling, Aila is armed with Juliet's cryptically annotated volume of Shakespeare's plays and
poems, and she's discovering that within its many riddles may be precisely the answers the town needs.
With its bewitching brew of magic realism, romance, historical detail, and alternating narratives and time
lines--all set against the dread of WWII--Murphy's debut is no doubt ambitious. And while its considerable
scope often comes at the expense of pacing and character development, Murphy's expertly woven world,
spun with secrets, lush with literary allusion, and shimmering with magic (quite literally), is a place many
readers will happily disappear into.--Briana Shemroske
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Shemroske, Briana. "The Disappearances." Booklist, June 2017, p. 91. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A498582822/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=f7c385fb.
Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A498582822
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Whodunits: A Roundup of 2017 YA
Mystery Titles
Pam Spencer Holley
Voice of Youth Advocates.
40.5 (Dec. 2017): p10+.
COPYRIGHT 2017 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
Some unusual characters appear in mysteries this year, including a highly skilled gorilla and a family of
Sasquatch, along with a female teen poker player, an unidentified skeleton, and a "truther" dad. Stories are
scattered around the world, in England and Scotland, Kenya and Europe, as well as closer to home in
various states in America. Although there is one section of books where friendship is the main theme,
readers will discover the importance of friendship in many other titles as well. For those new to the mystery
world, many titles also have a touch of romance, paranormal, or true crime. Hopefully, your school or
public library will have copies of the titles below or will order them soon.
FAMILY
Anderson, Natalie C. City of Saints & Thieves. Putnam/Penguin Random House, January 2017. 432p.
$18.99. 978-0-399-54758-4. A refugee from the Congo, Tina is convinced her mother was killed by her
employer, wealthy Roland Greyhill, and joins a Kenyan street gang to collect information and plan her
revenge against him. After she is caught trespassing in Greyhill's home, his son Michael becomes an
unexpected co-conspirator as they search for the actual murderer.
Giles, Lamar. Overturned. Scholastic, March 2017. 352p. $17.99. 978-0-545-81250-4. VOYA February
2017. 4Q 4P J S R
Nikki's father returns home from prison claiming his innocence but is murdered almost immediately. During
her father's imprisonment, Nikki has overseen his Las Vegas casino and honed her sleight-of-hand skills and
bluffing abilities, traits that will aid in locating her fathers killer. MacCready, Robin Merrow. A Lie for a
Lie. Henry Holt/Macmillan, February 2017. 208p. $16.99. 978-0-8050-9109-0. VOYA April 2017. 3Q 3P J
S
Kendra decides this is the summer she will conquer the panic attacks that began after a boating accident
when she almost drowned. Her plans take a backseat when she learns of her father's extramarital affair and
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she begins collecting evidence, snapping photos every time she sees the two together. Why is her father
lying, who is this woman, and will Kendra ever control her anxiety?
Park, Jennifer. The Shadows We Know by Heart. Simon Pulse, March 2017. 304p. $17.99. 978-1-4814-
6351-5. VOYA February 2017. 3Q3PJS
Ten years ago, Leah's brother Sam was killed in the woods behind her home and, though forbidden by her
preacher father to do so, she enters these woods to ease her grief. One day she finds a feral boy living with a
Sasquatch family and thinks he could be a connection to her deceased brother with information that might
reunite her still-grieving parents.
Scarborough, Sheryl. To Catch a Killer. Tor Teen/Macmillan, February 2017. 320p. $17.99. 978-0-7653-
8191-0. VOYA February 2017. 4Q3P JS
As a toddler, Erin was alone for three days with the body of her murdered mother; older now, she stumbles
over another corpse, that of her biology teacher, an expert in forensics. Erin and her friend, Journey, find
and follow clues to locate the murderer, little realizing the increasing danger.
Wein. Elizabeth. The Pearl Thief. Hyperion, May 2017. 336p. $18.99. 978-1-4847-1716-5. VOYA April
2017. 5Q 4P J S
Home early from school to help with the sale of her family's estate, Julia is attacked alongside the banks of
a river where she and her grandfather had often fished. Unable to remember what happened, she later learns
that on the day of her assault, fresh water pearls were taken and an Oxford scholar was found murdered in
this prequel to Code Name Verity (Macmillan, 2012/VOYA April 2012).
FRIENDSHIP
Belcamino, Kristi. City of Angels. Polis, May 2017. 304p. $18.99. 978-1-943818-43-3. VOYA June 2017.
4Q 4P S R
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Lured to Hollywood for possible work as a photographer, teen Nikki rescues twelve-year-old Rain as she
escapes from a Hollywood porn director's home. Nikki finds an apartment and a job, but Rain goes missing.
Certain that she's been taken by the sleazy director, Nikki needs to find Rain before she's forced to appear in
one of his films. Moracho, Cristina. A Good Idea. Viking/Penguin Random House, February 2017. 368p.
$18.99. 978-0-451-47624-1. VOYA December 2016. 4Q 4P S
Finley's school year in New York City ends and she returns to Maine to learn how and why her best friend,
Betty, died. She traces Betty's connections and locates a drug dealer; a probable suspect, who's also the
mayors son; and even a witness who saw Betty the day she vanished, but no one seems willing to talk to
Finley.
Savage, Kim. Beautiful Broken Girls. Farrar Straus Giroux/ Macmillan, February 2017. 336p. $17.99. 978-
0374-30059-3. VOYA February 2017. 3Q 3P S
Ben is devastated when his girlfriend Mira and her sister end their lives in the waters of a contaminated
quarry. Mira leaves Ben a letter that sends him to the seven different locations where he touched her body
on seven different places. At each spot, there is a note for Ben that adds pieces to the puzzle of why these
sisters would end their lives together.
Wegelius, Jakob. The Murderer's Ape. Trans, by Peter Graves. Delacorte/Penguin Random House, January
2017. 624p. $17.99. 978-1101-93175-2.
When her friend, Captain Henry Koskela, better known as Chief, is charged with murder, Sally assembles
clues to prove Chief s innocence. This may prove difficult because, although Sally is a capable engineer and
shipmate, she is also a gorilla and unable to speak. Her skill with machinery and her previous world
journeys aid in her searches for the missing "victim," the man needed to free Chief.
HISTORICAL
Child, Lauren. Pick Your Poison: Ruby Redfort, Book 5. Candlewick, April 2017. 528p. $16.99. 978-
07636-5471-9.
An agent for Spectrum 8 who excels at code breaking, Ruby is the "Nancy Drew" of 1970s Southern
California. Taking the blame for someone else, Rubys punishment entails babysitting a one-year-old child
and performing community service. When she spots something weird on a billboard advertising a new soft
drink, however, her investigative skills kick in.
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Landman, Tanya. Hell & High Water. Candlewick, June 2017. 320p. $17.99. 978-07636-8875-2.
In 18th-century England, biracial Caleb and his father travel from city to city with their Punch and Judy
puppet show. When his father is arrested on a trumped-up charge and thrown in jail, Caleb moves in with
the aunt he's never known. Strangely, his father's corpse washes up on the shore near his new home, and
Caleb discovers his aunt knows secrets that could reveal the corruption in the town.
Latham, Jennifer. Dreamland Burning. Little, Brown, February 2017. 384p. $18.99. 978-0-316-38493-3.
VOYA February 2017. 4Q 2P J S
Two teens, living years apart, are connected by a skeleton found in Rowan's back yard in present-day Tulsa.
Rowan's attempt to identify the skeleton is revealed in an alternating story with William, a teen who
befriended black teenager Joseph, just prior to the 1921 Tulsa race riots. Shankman, Adam, and Laura L.
Sullivan.
Murder among the Stars: A Lulu Kelly Mystery, Book 2. Atheneum/Simon 8c Schuster, June 2017. 320p.
$17.99. 978-1-4814-4790-4. VOYA June 2017. 2Q 2P J S
Interested in becoming a movie star, Lulu Kelly doesn't hesitate to attend a casting party at Hearst Castle,
accompanied by Freddie, her boyfriend who is now a private eye. Lulu is one of twenty other actresses
vying for a role in a new movie, but when one of the actresses is murdered, Lulu switches to her detecting
role in this sequel to Girl about Town (2016).
Wolf, Allan. Who Killed Christopher Goodman? Candlewick, March 2017. 288p. $16.99. 978-0-7636-
5613-3. VOYA February 2017. 5Q 4P M J S
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Doc and his friends wonder if they could have averted Christopher Goodman's death during the town's
Deadwood Days in 1979. Six friends narrate this story, based on an incident from the author's teen years,
using a combination of prose and poetry to describe events that led to the fatal gunshot.
MAGIC IN THE MYSTERY
Altebrando, Tara. The Possible. Bloomsbury, June 2017. 304p. $17.99. 978-1-61963-805-1.
All her life Kaylee wonders if she inherited the telekinetic powers of her mother, a power that led to the
murder of Kaylee's two-year-old brother. A reporter wants to explore this phenomenon in a podcast and
Kaylee agrees, but only if she's allowed to visit her mother. Actually, Kaylee wants to learn if her mother
has telekinetic ability or if rage alone led to the murder.
Amato, Danielle Mages. The Hidden Memory of Objects. Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, March 2017. 978-
0-06244588-9. VOYA February 2017. 2Q 2P S
After her brother's death, collage artist Megan is surprised that touching objects he owned conjures up
visions of his last moments with them. Convinced the police are wrong about his death from an overdose,
she puts her findings to use and discovers a strange link between Tyler's death and Lincoln's assassination.
Arsenault, Emily. The Leaf Reader. Soho Teen, June 2017. 240p. $18.99. 978-1-61695-782-7. VOYA June
2017. 3Q 3P J S
Who would have thought that reading tea leaves could help solve the disappearance of missing Andrea
Quinley? Marnie is shocked when Andrea's friend, Matt, asks for help in finding her, but her tea leaf
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readings match some of the police findings. Are these results magical or just a case of luck?
Cosimano, Elle. The Suffering Tree. Hyperion/Disney, June 2017. 368p. $17.99. 978-1-4847-2659-4.
VOYA June 2017. 4Q 4P J S
Tori and her family inherit a house in Chaptico, Maryland, not realizing that their new home is cursed, a
graveyard lies behind the house, and the Slaughter family claims the house is theirs. Tori spots a centuriesold
indentured slave climbing from his grave and, with Tori's help, they attempt to destroy the curse.
Murphy, Emily Bain. The Disappearances. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, July 2017. 400p. $17.99. 978-0-
544-87936-2. VOYA June 2017. 5Q 4P M J S
Their mother dies, their father leaves to fight in World War II, and Aila and her brother Miles are sent to
stay in nearby Sterling. They learn that every seven years something disappears from the townspeople.
First, they lost their sense of taste, then memories, and now the seventh year approaches. Cryptic writings in
the annotated version of their mothers book of Shakespeare's plays may hold the key to removing the town's
curse.
MISSING PERSONS
Alpine, Rachele. A Void the Size of the World. Simon Pulse, July 2017. 368p. $17.99. 978-14814-8571-5.
VOYA October 2017. 3Q 3P J S R
At a party one night, Rhylee kisses Tommy, which turns out to be a big mistake because Tommy is her older
sister Abby's boyfriend. Abby sees them kiss and immediately runs off into the woods. Deciding to
apologize in the morning, Rhylee waits and waits and waits for Abby, wondering if she will ever return.
Armstrong, Kelley. Missing. Crown/Penguin Random House, April 2017. 384p. $17.99. 978-0-399-55032-
4. VOYA April 2017. 5Q 4P S
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Smart Winter Crane, living in impoverished Reeve's End, Kentucky, wants to escape her alcoholic father
and become a medical doctor. Other teens have escaped from this small town, but no one knows where they
might be--until Winter searches and figures out she's living in the middle of a serious kidnapping problem.
Dawn, Sasha. Splinter. Carolrhoda Lab/Lerner, March 2017. 304p. $18.99. 978-1-5124-1151-5. VOYA
August 2017. 5Q 4P M J S NA
Her mother went missing ten years ago, and Sami has just learned that an ex-wife of her father vanished at
the same time. Convinced her mother is still alive because of postcards she receives with personal messages
and hoping her father is not responsible for the disappearance, Sami winds through a maze of new clues.
Destefano, Merrie. Lost Girls. Entangled Teens, January 2017. 360p. $9.99 Trade pb. 978-1-63375-605-2.
Rachel cannot remember any events of the last year, even though she is found after being missing for only
two weeks. Working with FBI agent Ryan Bennett, she discovers she's the only one of many missing girls
who has returned home. Can any of her slowly returning memories help her remember who she is? And
help find the other missing girls?
Flanagan, Liz. Eden Summer. Fickling/ Scholastic, June 2017. 288p. $18.99. 978-1338-12120-9.
On the first day of school in Yorkshire, Jess learns that her good friend is gone and she is determined to find
her. Alternating tales reveal the secrets held by each girl, including loss of a sister, parties when parents are
away, and romantic entanglements, told over the course of a time-stamped day.
Morrill, Stephanie. The Lost Girl of Astor Street. Blink/ HarperCollins, February 2017. 352p. $17.99. 978-
0-310-75838-9. VOYA February 2017. 4Q 4P M J S
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In 1920s Chicago, Piper Sail is distraught when her good friend and fellow socialite Lydia DeVine vanishes.
Calling on family, friends, and the police for help, Piper follows her own instincts as she searches
everywhere, even in neighborhoods far removed from her upscale Gold Coast environs in this period
romance/mystery.
Oakes, Stephanie. The Arsonist. Dial/Penguin Random House, August 2017. 496p. $17.99. 978-0-8037-
4071-6. VOYA August 2017. 4Q5PJS
Deciding to spend the summer searching for her mother, who she doesn't believe died in East Berlin, Molly
needs the help of her friend, Pepper. The two head to Europe, planning their journey based on comments
found in her mother's diary, and learn that her mother may not be the person she claimed to be.
SERIES SECONDS
Brown, Jennifer. Dare You: Shade Me, Book 2. Katherine Tegen/ HarperCollins, February 2017. 480p.
$17.99 9780-06-232446-7. VOYA February 2017. 3Q 3P S
Nikki Kill is still hunting for Peyton Hollis's murderer, a search that intensified when she learned that
Peyton was her half-sister. Each girl has synesthesia, which causes colors to form for different emotions,
and Nikki is sure the purple clues she sees are from Peyton. Detective Martinez continues with the case and
Nikki hopes he might notice her, in this sequel to Shade Me (HarperCollins, 2016/VOYA April 2016).
Cavallaro, Brittany. The Last of August: Charlotte Holmes, Book 2. Katherine Tegen/ HarperCollins,
February 2017. 336p. $17.99. 978-0-06-239894-9. VOYA February 2017. 4Q 4P S
The sequel to A Study in Charlotte (HarperCollins, 2016) begins with Holmes and Watson enjoying their
Christmas break at the Holmes estate in Sussex. Problems arise when Charlotte's mother is poisoned and her
uncle Leander goes missing, two mishaps that are somehow connected. Holmes and Watson take off for
Berlin, where Leander may have been involved in a German art forgery ring. In their search, they cross
paths with the nefarious Moriarty family.
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Hartley, A. J. Firebrand: Steeplejack, Book 2. Tor Teen/Macmillan, June 2017. 336p. $17.99. 9780-7653-
8813-1. VOYA April 2017. 4Q 4P S
In this sequel to Steeplejack (Macmillan, 2016), Anglet helps politician Josiah Willinghouse locate a stolen
plan for a secret weapon. Entering the exclusive social club Elitus, she learns that stolen weapon plans are
only the tip of the affairs that occur in this club for the wealthy.
Noel, Alyson. Blacklist: Beautiful Idols, Book 2. Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins, April 2017. 448p. $17.99.
978-0-06-232455-9. VOYA April 2017. 2Q 2P S
When Aster was accused of killing Madison Brooks, fellow nightclub promoters Layla, Tommy, and Ryan
united to defend their good friend. Because Layla receives messages detailing some of Madison's secrets,
she wonders if she might be alive. The fame and notoriety of these friends help keep the Brooks controversy
in the news in this page-turning sequel to Unrivaled (HarperCollins, 2016/VOYA June 2016).
THRILLERS
Bergstrom, Scott. The Cruelty. Feiwel & Friends/Macmillan, February 2017. 384p. $18.99. 978-1-250-
10818-0. VOYA February 2017. 4Q 4P S NA
Gwendolyn's father is kidnapped by thugs when he is on assignment in Europe, and it's the first time that
she realizes her father is a spy. No one seems to know, or even care, where he is, so she enters the realm of
criminals to rescue him. After learning self-defense techniques, Gwendolyn employs her newly acquired
skills in fighting as she searches across Europe for her father.
Girard, Geoffrey. Truthers. Carolrhoda Lab/ Lerner, August 2017. 360p. $17.99. 978-1-5124-27790.
Katie's father is institutionalized because of his ravings about 9/11 conspiracy theories, forcing her to learn
more about the "Truther" movement to help him. Speaking to her father's military contacts, Truther
believers, and government officials, Katie attempts to sort fact from fiction in this highly charged political
work.
Rollins, Danielle. Breaking. Bloomsbury, June 2017. 304p. $17.99. 978-1-61963-740-5. VOYA June 2017.
4Q 3P J S
Ariel and Devon are Charlotte's best friends at Underhill Preparatory Institute where, within the space of
one month, each commits suicide. Convinced that her friends would never leave her, Charlotte uncovers a
series of clues from them and winds up in a research center, horrified at what she discovers in her mother's
lab
Werlin, Nancy. And Then There Were Four. Dial/Penguin Random House, June 2017. 416p. $18.99. 978-0-
8037-4072-3. VOYA June 2017. 3Q 4P J S
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After almost dying when a roof caves in during a meeting, accidents continue until one of the five students
is killed in an automobile crash. The teens are convinced one of their parents is trying to kill them, and the
foursome unites to outsmart and outmaneuver the assassin stalking them.
Former biology teacher, librarian, and library coordinator for Fairfax County Public Schools (VA), Pam
Spencer Holley has remained active in the library world since her retirement. She reviews audiobooks for
Booklist and currently serves on RUSAs Listen List.
Caption: PHOTO CREDIT: RICK HOLLEY
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Holley, Pam Spencer. "Whodunits: A Roundup of 2017 YA Mystery Titles." Voice of Youth Advocates, Dec.
2017, p. 10+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A522759368/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e99bbf5a. Accessed 24 Mar. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A522759368
Colleen Mondor Reviews The Disappearances by Emily Bain Murphy
January 21, 2018 Colleen Mondor
The Disappearances, Emily Bain Murphy (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 978-0-544-87936-2, $17.99, 385pp, hc) July 2017.
Initially, Emily Bain Murphy’s The Disappearances reads as straightforward historical fiction. It’s 1942 and teenage Aila is facing the stark reality of life in the wake of her mother’s recent death. To make matters worse, her father is off to the war in the Pacific and she and her younger brother Miles must go live with their mother’s oldest friend in Sterling, CT, where she grew up. Aila knows very little about her mother’s childhood but is resigned to doing her best to fit in. Readers will feel immediate empathy for these children and their predicament, but likely expect little in the way of fantasy from reading the first few pages. Then Aila and Miles arrive in their new home with the Clifton family and, in spite of the pouring rain that greets them, Aila is stunned to notice that Matilda Clifton remains completely dry. Clearly, everything in the seemingly dull town of Sterling is not as it appears.
Thankfully, Bain doesn’t play coy with her readers and the mystery unfolds very quickly. The Cliftons do not bother trying to keep Sterling’s secrets from the newcomers and Aila and Miles are soon clued into the fact that every seven years something significant “disappears” from the people of not only their small town, but three other towns nearby. First it was a sense of smell, then the stars in the sky, their ability to see their own reflections, etc. The disappearances affect not only current residents but even those who have moved away. In fact, they impact everyone except Aila’s mother, who somehow always beats the curse. This distinction made the locals suspicious of Julia Quinn in the past and now that her children have returned home they are, of course, suspicious of them as well.
What grounds The Disappearances is detective work. While the mystery certainly involves something supernatural (how else to explain entire towns losing the stars?), Aila’s approach to getting to the bottom of things (and proving her mother blameless) is right out of Agatha Christie. The biggest clue is a literary one, which makes things very interesting, yet potential red herrings abound, especially when Murphy introduces a second narrative, from another former Sterling resident who seems to be up to no good and has an unexplained attachment to Julia Quinn. When a new, and especially devastating disappearance occurs, the tension is ratcheted through the roof and Aila feels the pressure to get the bottom of things before life goes to hell in a hand basket. Readers will fly through the pages as they follow the clues with their determined protagonist, and the nefarious nature of the “Sterling curse” is fully revealed.
The Disappearances is in many ways good old-fashioned fun that manages to retain a modern sensibility. Because it is set in the 1940s, it is entirely believable that a few small rural towns could keep quiet about something like the disappearances, and the palpable isolation that Aila feels is entirely believable. But the prose is not dated and the mystery itself is timeless. Honestly, it’s nice to see a well-crafted mystery for teens that doesn’t rely on technology (faulty or otherwise) to keep the narrative hopping. Conducting research the old fashioned way, by hunting down passages in books, makes for a rather unique read these days, and the tension and sense of foreboding remain high. Mystery fans are going to love this one; it’s tailor-made for a long winter night.
Colleen Mondor, Contributing Editor, is a writer, historian, and reviewer who co-owns an aircraft leasing company with her husband. She is the author of “The Map of My Dead Pilots: The Dangerous Game of Flying in Alaska” and reviews regularly for the ALA’s Booklist. Currently at work on a book about the 1932 Mt. McKinley Cosmic Ray Expedition, she and her family reside in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. More info can be found on her website: www.colleenmondor.com.
This review and more like it in the December 2017 issue of Locus.
While you are here, please take a moment to support Locus with a one-time or recurring donation. We rely on reader donations to keep the magazine and site going, and would like to keep the site paywall free, but WE NEED YOUR FINANCIAL SUPPORT to continue.
Young Adult / Historical
Image of The Disappearances
RT Rating:
Genre:
Young Adult, Historical, Mystery
Published:
July 4 2017
Publisher:
HMH Books for Young Readers
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BOOK REVIEWS
All Genres
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Contemporary Romance
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RT Review Source
RT RATINGS GUIDE
5 GOLD: Phenomenal. In a class by itself.
4 1/2: TOP PICK. Fantastic. A keeper.
4: Compelling. A page-turner.
3: Enjoyable. A pleasant read.
2: Problematic. May struggle to finish.
1: Severely Flawed. Pass on this one.
THE DISAPPEARANCES
Author(s): Emily Bain Murphy
Murphy’s YA debut is a fascinating read that crosses multiple genres and will appeal to a wide range of readers. With wonderful, compelling characters and an intriguing plot you won’t soon forget, The Disappearances is a clear 2017 YA standout. Fans of Shakespeare will delight in all of the literary references to his work and how Murphy purposefully and cleverly weaves them through her story. This is not a tale that is easily predictable, but one where the mystery is revealed in slow, page-turning increments. Well researched and well done, The Disappearances will have readers anxiously awaiting Murphy’s next tale.
Aila Quinn’s mother recently died and her father has just been drafted to fight in the war. This leaves Aila and her younger brother Miles in need of a place to stay. So they are sent to live with their mother’s childhood friend in the town of Sterling. Not too soon after, Aila and her brother start to realize that something strange is going on in Sterling — the Disappearances. They also find out that their mother may have been the catalyst for the strange phenomenon taking place. With the help of new friends and her host’s cute son, will Aila be able to figure out just what is causing these Disappearances before the next one? (HARCOURT, Jul., 400 pp., $17.99, HC, 12 & Up)
Reviewed by:
Susannah Balch