After a stream of mixed reviews from my friends and YouTube favourites hit my dashboard, I knew that I had to give this one a go and see what I thought of it for myself. But from the very first page I knew that The Leaving and I were not going to get along. Altebrando’s writing style did work for me. I honestly tried so hard not to be affected by it but she was obviously trying so hard to be poetic and it did. not. work! I’m hardly the biggest fan of verse books (there’s nothing wrong with them, there’s just not my cup of tea) so making my way through Scarlett’s POV, in particular, was painful. Her chapters were written in an unusual style - similar to Magonia, actually - that was just plain old confusing. The character occasionally spoke/thought in patterns of slashes and I had no idea what it was meant to mean. Certain words were also emphasized in weird typography…. I honestly was just so confused by what it all.

I didn’t help that I could not connect to any of the main characters. Lucas seemed okay at the beginning but he randomly started having anger management issues halfway through the book and I wasn’t sure how to feel about him after that. I also found Avery pretty bland. Again, at first she seemed to be the most realistic of the characters but she was just got more and more dramatic and whiny towards the end. I wish her emotions surrounding her brother were explored in depth more. I also had no idea what her problem with Ryan and Emma was - did she really need to be so rude to them?

On top of that, the romance was abysmal. I still have no idea if Lucas and Scarlett were meant to be a couple or not. Avery and Lucas also had something going on and I just didn’t know if they were relationships or crushes. The make out scene was so vague that I was not sure what was happening or even if it was happening or just a fantasy in Scarlett’s imagination? There were also these mentions of “connections” between Scarlett/Lucas and Avery/Lucas but I didn’t really understand why. Were they just saying that they were attracted to each other or was there something truly otherworldly about them? The whole thing was blown out of proportion and made to more dramatic than it needed to be. In fact, it should have just been cut out.

The plotline in itself was all over the place. The beginning was so goddamn slow but I will admit that it slowly built up as the story progressed. There were moments where I was truly caught up in the mystery. From about halfway until just before before the ending, I was enthralled, completely caught up in the chase. I needed answers. I was invested. I was anxiously flipping the pages, waiting to see how it would all tie together… and then the ending happened.

The ending was anticlimactic to say the least. I mean, we barely got any answers! The entire point of this book was the Leaving. Six little kids went missing. Five of them came back eleven years later with no memories. We want to know what happened in those eleven years! It only seems fair, right? But the book just randomly peters out just as we were getting to the good stuff. There was one moment where a certain reveal was made and I was sure things would pick up and end on a terrific high note afterwards… but nothing came out of it. I’m honestly so disappointed by now chill and uneventful the ending was. I really needed more! I cannot believe that it ended without wrapping up the mystery properly.

I didn’t feel that the police/investigation aspect of the novel was particularly believable either. For one, Chambers was the only one investigating the case and he didn’t seem to take a very formal position within the investigation. He rang the victims to give them insights into the case and I don’t think this is how the police/detectives would actually work a case? I don’t know the ins and outs of abduction/murder investigations but none of it rang particularly realistic. It wasn’t formal enough and there just didn’t seem to be much police work happening at all.

Overall?

Another book that I think has gotten more attention than it deserves. While the premise and mystery itself was unique and undeniably fascinating, the writing style and poor characterisation made the reading experience more of a chore than anything. I did not enjoy the romance or feel satisfied by the meager explanations we are given at the end of the book. I’m not sure that I’ll eagerly be anticipating anything else by this author.