The Leaving

Cover image and summary from Goodreads:

Six were taken. Eleven years later, five come back--with no idea of where they've been.

Eleven years ago, six kindergarteners 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. He doesn't come back. Everyone wants answers. Most of all Max's sister Avery, who needs to find her brother--dead or alive--and isn't buying this whole memory-loss story.

I was excited to read this because the blurbs made it sound really good and twisty, and said it was for fans of We Were Liars, which I loved.

I really liked the way this story started, with the five teens returning with no memory of where they’d been. I liked reading about them trying to fit back into their old lives.

However, as the reason behind ‘the leaving’ was revealed, I was less interested. I guess this is one of those stories where the mystery was the fun part, and the reveal was a little disappointing for me.

Still a fairly fun read, and quick considering the page count (400+ pages for the copy I borrowed from the library).