I received this book at no cost from the publisher
The Disappearance of Emily H. by Barrie Summy ISBN: 9780385739436
Published by Random House Children's Books on May 12th 2015
Genres: Fantasy, General, Mystery & Detective, Young Adult
Pages: 256
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher
Goodreads
A girl who can see the past tries to save the future in this compelling tween mystery.
A girl is missing. Three girls are lying. One girl can get to the truth.Emily Huvar vanished without a trace. And the clues are right beneath Raine’s fingertips. Literally. Raine isn’t like other eighth graders. One touch of a glittering sparkle that only Raine can see, and she’s swept into a memory from the past. If she touches enough sparkles, she can piece together what happened to Emily.
When Raine realizes that the cliquey group of girls making her life miserable know more than they’re letting on about Emily’s disappearance, she has to do something. She’ll use her supernatural gift for good . . . to fight evil.
But is it too late to save Emily?
MY THOUGHTS
Raine has moved again, which is her mother’s way of coping when things get rough. She starts at a new school, again, and luckily, she can see other’s memories in a sparkle and that helps her connect to make new friends. When she discovers that Emily is missing and used to live in new house, she starts collecting information through the sparkles to figure out what happened to Emily. The same bully, Jennifer, that abused Emily is now abusing Raine. As she tries to find out what makes Jennifer tick, the story only grows more suspenseful. As Raine joins the cross-country team and makes peaceful overtures to Jennifer who control the team, small things add up to a lot.
Now before you think the “sparkles” are weird, the are just a certain twinkle that attach to objects that only Raine can see and gain insight to the ones who have touched it. In that light, it makes perfect sense for her to see her gift as a sparkle. I thought that was quite ingenuous of the author. The girls in the story are just finding out who they are and testing the waters. I thought it was most realistic even with the bit of paranormal involved. The ending works, but it was just a bit too sudden for me. Parents: This is a clean book for middle grade and older that deals with important topics like first romance and bullies.
“The Disappearance of Emily H. has everything–a quirky, believable heroine, a complex mystery that keeps you guessing, and even a touch of the paranormal. Readers won’t put this one down until the final sparkle.” ~Gordon Korman, #1 New York Times bestselling author
“Magic exposes the extent of vicious school bullying in this arresting middle school mystery.” ~Kirkus Reviews
“In this mild action-adventure, readers will value the captivating, emotional roller coaster young girls experience with friendships and new beginnings.”
~School Library Journal
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barrie Summy grew up in Canada on a steady diet of books and tobogganing. She tries to read a book a week and always breaks for tea and cookies at three oclock.
Barrie lives in California with her husband, their four children, a veiled chameleon, and Dorothy the Dog.
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GIVEAWAY
1 Grand Prize Winner: copy of The Disappearance of Emily H., bookmark, signed bookplate, t-shirt and tote bag from the i so don’t do series.
3 runners up: a copy each of The Disappearance of Emily H., bookmark, signed bookplate
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I would rather see the past. I don’t want to know my future.
I’m always freaking out when I have to decide something, so I guess I’d choose the future to be able to see the consequences of my actions so I can make the right choice! 😉
I think the past would be the best option for me. I often want to know how things got the way they are and being able to look back would be the best way. Looking into the future would freak mt out.
I would love to see the past. Of when I was first born, birthday parties that I don’t remember, etc
Thank you for the lovely review! It was tough getting those sparkles just right, and I’m glad it worked for you. Thank you!
Thanks Barrie – I could almost see those sparkles myself!
Awww….
Maybe see the past. I could see the parts I can’t remember like those first few years and then relive some of the other times.
future- see what happens
I would rather see the past because the future is supposed to stay unseen until you get there
The future. I would want to see what new and exciting things have been invented.
I’d choose the future to better help me make decisions now.
The future…. i’d like to avoid the dangerous parts of life please.