disappearances

Judge A Book By Its Cover

Book Reviews and Synopses

Disappearances

Jude Watson

Watson, Jude. Disappearance. Scholastic Inc. New York, New York. 2005.

Disappearance is a tale of a deadly curse with some very unsuspected surprises. This New York Times best seller has proven that a complex plot doesn’t have to be confusing. Even a 5th grader could understand this book as the author perfectly blends the complication with simplicity.

A little girl by the name of Sarah, was born on the day her father and grandfather died. Shortly after her birth, her mother suddenly disappears from the hospital room. The footage from the security tape shows nothing but the color red. The entire lens seems to have been covered with what seems to be some sort of dark red paint.

Sarah is taken to a nearby orphanage day-care. The owner of the day-care is a very nice old man who has a lot of experience with kids. He is known to welcome anyone who does not have a home inside the day-care. After several months, the death of the old man was reported. The death is a not a cause of his health as he had recently been checked to be quite healthy. When the video footage is reviewed, there seems to be no sign of a murder as all the lenses had been blocked by a shade of dark red.

Sarah is soon transported to a different, much larger day-care. This day-care happens to be run by a team of ladies who only wish to help the needy. They receive donations from all over the country as they are one of the largest day-cares around. Sarah remains there for the first two years of her life. However, the day-care facility had to be abruptly closed down due to a sudden lack of donations and support. Thankfully, she gets adopted by a large family in the same town.

One day, all of the male members of the family go out to a bar as they had an appointment with some of their friends. That left only the mother of the family and her other two daughters. Little do they know that Sarah has a surprise in store for them.

Disappearance is a fantastic book with many surprises, mysteries, and action. The book provides an excellent plot that is very easy to understand yet its also quite complex. This is a great book for anyone who loves surprising endings.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Contributed by B. Shrestha

May 16 2011