Miranda: I mean, there were days I really wished you would disappear, but I had no idea you felt that way too! Ginger: I don't. The interesting fact is the way of disappearance of Noelle reminds of her the way of disappearance of her own daughter. When her daughter's bones are discovered years later, Laurel feels she can finally move on with her life. She meets a man at a cafe not long after the burial of her favorite child. The book opens from Ellie’s point of view ten years earlier. Life is going great for Ellie. She’s doing well in school and the boy she’s had her eye on seems to like her too. Her future is bright. Since I was a little boy, I have dreamt of what mystery was around the next corner, or what quest lay over the hill. If I couldn’t find an adventure, one usually found me, and now I weave those tales into my stories. I am blessed to have written over twenty novels.

The absence of twists might irritate some of the readers. But the author's writing skills, narrative style, and the way Ellie was crafted will compensate for it easily. Ginger writes a poem for a competition called " And She Was Gone", about a girl that wants to disappear. When Ms. Zorski reads it, she becomes concerned with the strong feelings put into it and forces Ginger to visit the school psychologist out of worry. It's only a matter of time before the student body becomes convinced she's depressed. Meanwhile, Carl tests his disappearing potion on Noelle Sussman, who he thinks is a nobody. But when Noelle really does disappear, Carl deeply regrets it. For this review and our full Traveling Sister review please visit Brenda and Norma’s fabulous blog: I thoroughly enjoyed this story and the ending was very touching and satisfying for me. Would recommend!The characters are very ordinary people. They are not rich, nor particularly successful. They don't marry millionaires and live happily ever after. They are ordinary people with ordinary worries who have ordinary awful things happen, and who react like I imagine that I, or any of my friends, would react should a child of mine go missing. And in this very 'ordinaryness' Jewell creates compelling characters that we come to love and empathise with, and addictive reads. From the New York Times bestselling author of Invisible Girl and The Truth About Melody Browne comes a “riveting” ( PopSugar) and “acutely observed family drama” ( People) that delves into the lingering aftermath of a young girl’s disappearance. As Laurel continued to dig more, she will reach to a dangerous point of no return and she’ll wish to stop before taking more steps.

For much of the book, Laurel and her daughter Hanna have a fraught relationship as Laurel fails to let go of unfavorable comparisons between Hanna and Ellie. Do you think it’s normal to have a favorite child? How should parents handle these feelings if they arise? A tasty, if not always tasteful, tale of supernatural mayhem that fans of King and Crichton alike will enjoy. It is said by Carl that Noelle was born in Portugal while he and Hodsey are in the doghouse looking at things they collected from Noelle.

Part Two

I'll admit, I figured out the plot of Then She Was Gone fairly soon into the book. While it did detract a bit from my enjoyment of the book as the story continued to unfold, I was still captivated by the way Lisa Jewell teased out the suspense, making you wonder what surprises might pop up. Having never read any of Jewell's books before, I worried she might throw in some outrageous or melodramatic plot elements, and I was pleased that she didn't do that. From Laurel's perspective, in the present) Laurel talks to Paul about Hanna and Theo, and he says he's known for months. Paul says Hanna is cold to Laurel because she knows Laurel always wished Ellie was the one who'd survived. Laurel calls Hanna to says she loves her. Laurel is doing her best to move on with her life. Her teenage daughter went missing years ago, triggering an avalanche of misfortune. The family splintered. Laurel and Paul divorcing. And now, their two remaining children are leaving home at the first chance they get - anxious to live their own lives, away from the oppressive tension within their home. Stacy Shaw has her whole life ahead of her: new job, new house, a baby on the way and a doting husband. After working late one night, she disappears in the dark. Floyd is kind and sensitive and has a young daughter named Poppy, who looks inexplicably like Ellie.