The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

Do you like mystery? Do you like drama? Do you like a book full of suspense? This is most certainly the book for you! To the naked eye the cover of The Leaving is plain, boring and bleak but once you dive into the depths of the book the understanding comes to light and the cover becomes clear and meaningful.

" Six five-year-olds go missing without A trace.
   Eleven years later, five come back - with no memory of 
   where they've been. Or who took them. Or why."
  
   This is the thrilling quote on the back of the cover which
   made me pick the book up in the first place (because lets face it
   the cover did nothing to encourage me to read it). :)






Unlike the normal books about kidnappings, in this book the children (bar one) return to their homes after eleven years of their past that not one of them can remember. The sixth child, Max does not return and one aspect of the plot in the book is finding out what happens to him. The book is narrated in the third person. Instead of chapters the story is told using the names of the three main characters as subheadings, written in their point of view. I think this is very effective way to
    write as you get the thoughts and opinions of three characters instead of one.


    Recommended for teens aged 13 and upwards this book is definitely one for all you mystery
    lovers out there as the plot takes many unexpected twists and turns on its journey to solve the
    mystery. Although as I said before, the cover put me off the book in the beginning ( which I know
    is a bad thing to say as you are never supposed to judge a book by its cover ) the blurb is filled
    with questions that for me, I needed to know the answers to. I genuinely couldn't wait to see what
    happens in the end and I ended up finishing the book in two days as I wasn't able to put it down.
    (that's fast enough as the book has 421 pages)

    If you are a fan of books by Sophie McKenzie (name same!!!!) like
    Sister Missing and The Murder Notebooks this book is definitely one for you. There was never a
    dull moment in the book or a moment when I wanted to stop reading.

     So what are you all waiting for. Go and buy it!!!!!