The Disappearances

I loved Emily Bain Murphy's debut novel! The plot was engaging and kept me guessing as the mystery of the disappearances unfurled. I liked the narrative frame of the novel, with two parallel story lines ultimately converging at the end. Stefan's narrative arc had me asking tons of questions that with patience were answered. Ultimately, I liked the delayed development of his back story. The characters' voices feel authentic, including the teenage characters, which in my opinion is often difficult for adult writers to capture. I thought the cover (beautifully rendered) and the use of multiple fonts/visual stylistic effects complimented the words on the page. My favorite part of the novel was Bain Murphy's voice. I loved her use of word choice, detail, and imagery throughout. One such example is the recurring "finishing word" throughout the novel. I highly recommend you pick this up for yourself or your teen reader!

When Aila's mother Juliet dies and her father is drafted for the war, she and her brother Miles pack up and move to the city of Sterling to stay with her mother's best friend. Sterling is also the city her mother grew up in, and it's full of mysteries.Not long after arriving, Aila and Miles find out that in the city of Sterling something new disappears every 7 years. Things like reflections, scent, and the stars are gone, and there are rumors that Aila's mother was the catalyst for the disappearances starting. Aila is determined to take her mother's notes and solve the mystery of Sterling and its disappearances once and for all.The Disappearances was told in alternating POVs, between Aila and an ominous third party who is up to no good, however we don't know who they are yet. Overall, I enjoyed the story and thought it was very unique! I've never read anything quite like this book, and Shakespeare was incorporated in the book pretty heavily, which I loved.The one small qualm I had was around the pacing - I did feel like there were some parts in the middle that started to drag, and I felt like the relationship that occurred between Aila and a boy named Will could have been developed a little better. I felt more like I was being told that they liked each other rather than shown until the very end of the book. I absolutely loved the last third of the book. Everything fell together, and a lot of things were revealed and the pace picked up a lot. I was really curious about how the book would end, and I enjoyed the ending a lot.The Disappearances was set in the 1940s, and I think the author did a great job of capturing the atmosphere and ambiance, and the writing was spot on. Overall, this was an impressive debut novel from Ms. Murphy, and I'm excited to see what she writes in the future! Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Emily Bain Murphy for an advanced copy of the book. It was my pleasure to provide an honest review.

This story is magical. I just finished reading The Disappearances over the span of 3 days and may have neglected to take care of my kids (kidding!!) because I did not want to put this book down. I knew nothing about the book prior to reading it and was captivated by such a beautiful and well-written book. Loved the 1940's setting with the Shakespeare references throughout. In my mind, I could see the characters come alive and could feel my own senses heightened anytime the characters came across a Variant. Love this book!!!

This book was so good! I couldn't put it down! There were some great unexpected twists in there that tied together the story beautifully. Even though this book fell more into the realm of fantasy, the characters were so relateable that it felt like it could have happened. I'm a fan of some YA but often find the genre too sappy or over the top — this was neither, just a beautifully crafted story that pulled me back to it until the end. I can't wait to see what this author comes up with next!

This book is as beautiful inside as it is outside (because, seriously, how gorgeous is that cover??). Bain Murphy has the most gorgeous turns of phrases that strike true and never read as 'purple' (or whatever it is that we call overwritten prose these days). I was drawn in by sentences that described the "steadying" support of a brick house, the "bright and jagged" earrings of a mother, and a dress that sets off the wearer's auburn hair in a "river of dark copper." And amid all this beauty was masterful plot and characterization--so, basically, this is an amazing book and you should read it!!

Only three stars because I'm not fond of fantasy. But it's well-written, and I had to see how it came out. The last chapter pushed me to four stars, but my biases kept me at three.

This book was really good! The only thing stopping me from giving 5 stars was that the beginning was a little slow. It did take me several chapters to get into the story, but once I did, I loved it! Sterling, CT sounds like such a cool, little New England town! Aila and Miles are a bit moody, but they did just lose their mother so it wasn’t too bad. And once the story became clearer, little elements started to fascinate me. If you’re an overly practical person, you might want to turn your practical thinking gears off, because not everything is going to make tons of sense. Shakespeare plays a huge role, so there’s also a lot of suspension of disbelief. The role of literature in this story is awesome! When you find out more about the curse and what caused it, you’ll delve into a mystery you didn’t even know existed! Add in a little teenage drama and angst, and you get The Disappearances. It was also nice to see that little Southern towns aren’t the only ones getting picked on for “closemindedness”, apparently Yankees suffer from it as well. Sorry, that’s my Southerner coming out! 😊

I had the distinct pleasure of reading The Disappearances. Emily Bain Murphy crafts characters that are easy to become attached to, and as a reader you are eager to learn where they are headed next. The story is unique and holds the reader's attention. If I had the chance, I would have read this all in one sitting. I absolutely recommend this book. Adults, young adults, or any person who wants a book to take them away.

I chose the rating based on the fact that I actually read the whole entire book and didn't get bored of what was going to happen next. I found myself been treating a lot and this book. I would recommend this book two young teens because I feel like you learn about Shakespeare in school and it would be a good read for them.

I pick this as my fav. YA book I read this year. I recommend it to so many people.