Audiobook9 hours
The Leaving
Written by Tara Altebrando
Narrated by Karissa Vacker
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
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 listeners breathless.
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 listeners breathless.
Author
Tara Altebrando
Tara Altebrando is the author of several middle grade and teen novels, including The Leaving and 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
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Reviews for The Leaving
Rating: 3.434782660869565 out of 5 stars
3.5/5
115 ratings14 reviews
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Too long no real answers to the mystery. Audiobook cuts off early every chapter.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A great thriller. I was absorbed in to the story that I just wanted to know what happened next. I found the characters likeable and I really liked that alternate chapters shared the story from each of the different main characters. I did not pick the ending and I found that the story was wrapped up quite nicely.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I loved this book! It got me attached so quickly! (Spoiler) I was a little disappointed that Lucas and Scarlet didn’t end up together, but other than that, I was hooked! Definitely recommend!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5wasted potential.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5teen fiction (psychological/suspense). Scarlett's concrete poetry is a little annoying (an attempt to differentiate her character which doesn't quite work for me), but it is an engrossing story that I think teens will enjoy - plus it is a quick read, so an easy one to recommend.
Not the best book I've read this year, but decent. - Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5A quote from the book is the ultimate unintentional meta-joke the author did not intend, BUT applies to this book too perfectly and my exact feelings about reading this book:"So Avery went up to her room and lay down on her bed and started reading. Which was something she generally liked to do.But this book was painful.The same way old movies sometimes were, with their incredibly long opening credit sequences and slow starts.She started to skim.Then tried to get herself to stop, to focus.Then started to skim.Then focused.Then finally hit the meat of the story and powered through."I slogged through this book that had a very stilted writing style, one-note characters, and extremely jarring artistic license to make the text look like 90s WordArt and do crazy grammar and punctuation art (?) all over the pages. What was the purpose? This is a bad rip-off of trying to make an impact à la House of Leaves. The beginning starts off strong for the first 50 pages and then suddenly it's just a bore-fest of teen drama and romance for over 300 pages. WHAT HAPPENED TO THE CHILDREN? The whole middle was unnecessary and the ending was so unimaginative leaving you with more questions.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5I gave my library copy to one of my students to read because she thought it looked great and I knew I had a NetGalley copy on my kindle (thanks NetGalley). She loved, loved, loved this one. Me--not so much. Entitled teen, plot moving to fast for some things, (Hey, I just met you... romance, maybe?) and too slow for others. (Give me information please!) Perhaps I had too much Mom in me while I read this. But my students do like it. H is a great hand seller of this one.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I liked this book quite a lot. There seemed to be a lot of extra people and information that didn't need to be there but it was very interesting and unique. The three different narratives worked well and Scarlett's was fun with her unique formatting. It passed the time pretty well.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5A good and yet confusing book. The question of "why were they taken?" "why where they returned?" and "where is the 6th one?" is what the book is all about answering. There aren't all happy endings, although fortunately we do find the answers to those three questions.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Great premise (6 kids disappear - 11 years later, 5 return). It was slow in the middle but the ending made it all worthwhile.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book was not what I expected. I felt like it skipped around too much for my liking. overall the storyline was great.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Six kindergarteners were taken. Eleven years later, five come back--with no idea of where they've been. No one remembers the sixth victim, Max. Avery, Max's sister, needs to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Loved the idea behind 6 kids going missing and then 5 returning eleven years late so that is what made me purchase the book. Sadly I found the book just dragged while trying to create a conclusion. There were also too many unexplained events such as how or why did each abductee seem to have a specialty? Also, the first place they thought the kids had been... who arranged all of that setup? Too many loose ends for me to really love it and too many confusing relationships. Having finished the book, I still don't know if Lucas and Scarlett were ever actually together.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Coincidentally, this is the second book I have just read dealing with an experimental medication given to people to make them forget an awful event in their lives. In this book six kindergarten students go to their first day of school, but six are kidnapped. Eleven years later five return, but they remember almost nothing about those lost years. This novel discussed their attempts to discover the truth, and the truth makes for a compelling tale. However, the book dragged in many parts, so I stopped and started reading it several times, until the last hundred pages where the action finally picked up.