The Disappearance of Emily H.

Reviewed by: Carla McAllister - New Gloucester Public Library, New Gloucester, Maine, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: July 30, 2015

Review

Raine is entering the 8th grade and, once again, she is at a new school. She finds, as usual, a really mean girl at her school who loves to trod on anyone not part of her adoring clique. Raine discovers that she and her Mom are renting a house recently the home of a girl her own age named Emily Huvar who disappeared a few months before they moved in. Some assume she is dead. Everyone but Raine's Mom is unaware that Raine has an amazing talent she got from your grandmother...she can grab sparkles from people or objects and, usually, see a memory attached to the sparkle. Raine sets out to find out what happened to Emily H. and to make the mean girl pay for her actions toward Emily H. and Raine's only new friend, Shirlee. This story incorporates Raine's unusual talent, the ubiquitous mean girl of middle schools everywhere, and social media to solve a mystery and give mean girls their due. This is a nice change from vampires, werewolves, myriad teenage talents galore and dystopian societies. Consider this for tween collections.

Overall Book Score: good