The Disappearance of Emily H.

by Barrie Summy

A girl who can see the past tries to save the future in this compelling tween mystery.
 
A girl is missing. Three girls are lying. One girl can get to the truth.
 
Emily Huvar vanished without a trace. And the clues are right beneath Raine’s fingertips. Literally. Raine isn’t like other eighth graders. One touch of a glittering sparkle that only Raine can see, and she’s swept into a memory from the past. If she touches enough sparkles, she can piece together what happened to Emily.
 
When Raine realizes that the cliquey group of girls making her life miserable know more than they’re letting on about Emily’s disappearance, she has to do something. She’ll use her supernatural gift for good . . . to fight evil.
 
But is it too late to save Emily?

Genres: Middle Grade, Mystery, Fantasy, Fiction, Magical Realism, Paranormal, Young Adult

256 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 12, 2015

About the author

Barrie Summy grew up in Canada on a steady diet of books and tobogganing. She tries to read a book a week and always breaks for tea and cookies at three oclock.

Barrie lives in California with her husband, their four children, a veiled chameleon, and Dorothy the Dog.

Reviews

[Rashika (is tired) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual Rating 3.5

What makes this book so tricky is my grown up mind (at least in comparison to the intended audience). It’s absolutely adorable but I also felt like it was trying to be more mature than it was because it was dealing with so many important issues. There were some pretty intense plot twists but I found myself giggling instead of being shocked because the book is too cute for me to gasp at yet if I were younger, I would definitely be gasping and thinking about how frickin awesome the book was.

There are a lot of stereotypical aspects to this book. We have terms like “the mean girl”, and “the mean girl’s accessories” being used, we have a main character who is introduced to us as the stereotypical “beautiful but doesn’t know it” and that worried me. I was worried that this book would turn out to be one big cliché but after these initial cliché-like introductions, the characters were fleshed out (including one of the mean girls to a certain degree).

Raine is an interesting main character, she has the ability to extract memories from sparkles. Before you laugh, sparkles are just the things that appear on certain objects that only Raine can see and thus only Raine (and her grandmother could) can read. I thought this was an interesting paranormal addition to the story although it made me wonder about the sparkles. Why sparkles? Why not just plain ole touching of objects?

Raine also happens to be surprisingly mature. There are things she has gone through that make her more mature than her peers but at the same time, she also acts her age, she will throw a fit and she will say something stupid or do something stupid. What I also liked about her that even though she started making new friends right away, she never forgot about Shirlee, who wasn’t as cool or popular.

This book deals with bullying and that worried me too! I was scared that maybe the book wouldn’t manage to pull it off or would portray it in some offensive way or even go down the lane of some really cruel revenge. Bullying is such a touchy topic in general but also specifically for me and while I won’t give the book an A+ with the way it dealt with it, I will say that it does manage to tackle bullying in a very healthy and not uncomfortable way.

There is also a slight romance in the book which I thought was absolutely adorable. I wish I could quote my favorite line (in terms of the romance) but alas it would kind of be a spoiler. You should know though that the romance isn't about falling in love but about having a crush!

I loved the plot in this book. This may be a book for kids but I become just as invested. None of the twists caught me off guard but I know, I KNOW that kid me would have adored this book and would have genuinely been taken in by those twists. The problem is that the predictability made it harder for me to take what was happening as seriously as I should have been taking it.

This book ended up being pretty intense for a middle grade novel and I had a lot of fun reading it. It may not be perfect but it is enjoyable and one I would say that you should give a shot if you’re looking for a light, adventurous, surprising, middle grade read.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was really surprised how well thought out and executed this book was. It's meant for middle grade readers, but my way adult mind was intrigued with the story and the way that children thought out a solution that brought about the capture of a criminal. A fun addition is a unique skill that Raine, the main character has. She can see sparkles that no one else can. When she holds the sparkle she can "see" a memory attached to it. This is an asset in the story but not so much in Raine's life.

Raine is a new 8th grade student at Yielding Middle School. She has done it so many times before- a new start when her mother had to get away from a loser boyfriend. She has done it all- the always present mean girls, but these girls are different. She learns that a girl named Emily was the target of the mean girls. Emily has been missing for a long while. And Raine is living in her house. Through touching sparkles Raine gets a sense of what happened to Emily. But can she save her?

I wish this book had a sequel but I don't think it does.

[Jillyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll admit it to you here, the reasons why I picked this book up are more personal than anything. My girlfriend's name is in fact Emily H. I took it as a sign to read this one. In short, it's a cute, quick read that I think younger audiences than me would appreciate more.

One of the big things that this book has going for it is the blending of realistic fiction and fantasy. It's really detailed and well-written as a realistic fiction. That is, there's a girl who is missing and a mystery to solve. Likewise, there's a clique-ish cast of girls who are mean bullies. It's a very real situation to believe, on the surface.

But then there's Raine. Raine has these "sparkles" or little touches that were passed on through her family that allow her to see pieces of the past. She wants to use her gift for the greater good in order to help find out for once and for all what happened to Emily. This gift is a cool touch, but is one that I feel isn't very well explained. I got the overall concept and it works on some level, but lacked a bit of information. Regardless, it was this gift that gave this story a nice fantastical pop.

There's also a little bit of romance, but I appreciated that it wasn't a main focus of the plot. It was sweet to read about though.

This book tackles a lot, sometimes more than enough at once. Despite that overload, the theme of bullying in this book is an important and a clear one. It's a little sad how many books on bullying have come my way lately, but I understand their importance in the world. I've been Raine's age and it can be a nightmare. I think while it's dealing with tough stuff, the author keeps a good balance of serious and less serious, both of which balance well to create a well-paced, fairly cohesive story.

I think that readers that are closer to Raine's age- that is, 8th grade- will really enjoy this one. It's got a well-written, well-paced story that deals with issues like bullying that are prominent throughout junior high. It has a nice blend of relatability and paranormal aspects, with a touch of romance and cuteness.

I was provided a copy in exchange for my honest review. This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raine's mom is a mover. When things get tough, she gets moving. This did not affect Raine who lived with her grandmother until she was 6, when Grandma died. Then a stable life slipped away from Raine as her mom swept in and took her along for the ride.

One thing Raine shared with Grandma is a magical ability to read memories that can linger on objects. Raine's fingers tingle to touch the 'sparkles' of memory that she sees all around her. Obviously she does not want this to be common knowledge or to have people suspect she is gathering memories when she touches an item holding a 'sparkle'. Mom knows but does not share the gift.

As Raine and Mom settle into their new town of Yielding a mystery surfaces; they have moved into the house of a girl who disappeared weeks ago. As Raine realizes that the A-List bully-girls know something about the missing girl Raine realizes she will have to risk the sights of the bullies to get to the bottom of the mystery. As she delves into memories she learns enough to get started solving the disappearance causing perilous affects to ripple from her efforts to get to the bottom of Emily H's location and why she slipped from sight.

Themes of family communication and trust, bullying: in person and online are included in the plot. I can't really get behind the part of the story where Raine dishes out what she did not like taking as an anti bully strategy- at the same time we all struggle with the question of what Will stop someone dedicated to bullying others?

[Sarah Laurence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This easy-to-read mystery is set at a realistic middle school, but the clues are paranormal. It delivers a strong lesson about the dangers of bullying. The well paced plot was stacked with clues that will keep kids turning the pages to the scary climax.

The Disappearance of Emily H. has an entertaining cast of kids. The mean girl was a bit too generic, but the other characters were well developed and multifaceted. I especially liked the inclusion of a formerly homeschooled girl and children from less advantaged backgrounds. For a paranormal book, it was surprisingly realistic but not too predictable. There were some unexpected plot twists.

Witty observations added humor to the dark mystery:

"Shirlee chats about Yielding. She's one of those people who can handle both sides of a conversation. Works for me."

"Like sunflowers turning toward the sun, everyone at the table suddenly tunes in to our conversation."

Raine is a strong, likable protagonist, who makes a fine role model. The narrative includes a sweet romance, but brave Raine doesn't need help from boys to solve her mystery. Magic reveals clues without resolving the underlying problems. Raine turns instead to social media to teach the bullies an important lesson. The content is still innocent enough for elementary school children. I predict this magical mystery will be a big hit among young readers.

Full Review on my blog: http://blog.sarahlaurence.com/2015/05...

Disclosure: author is a blog buddy.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this quick read. It was suspenseful and emotional and funny. Will be a very good addition to my middle school library!

[Lydia · Rating 4 out of 5]

BASIC INFORMATION:
explicitness: 0.5/5 (sex: none)
-the main character and their mother are constantly moving because the mother is running away from ex after ex.
violence: 1/5
-petty kicking and tormenting from middle school children
language: 1/5
-"d*mn" used once or twice
alcohol/drugs/smoking: 0.5/5
-the mother uses sleeping pills for the first few weeks at their new home because she has trouble sleeping.
inetsne scenes: 2.5/5
-a bullied girl is presumed dead
-a teenager attempts to burn two middle schoolers alive
-a teenager feeds a dog rat poison and its implied the dog died
-a teenager threatens to kill a girl's sister
age rating: 11-12+

REVIEW

“For once I’d like to go to a school with a really unique mascot. Like a garden gnome. Or a three-toed sloth. Or a geoduck.”

Summary
Emily H. is missing. She was missing before Raine even moved into the neighborhood, and now people are speculating that it might be too late. But Raine, having moved into Emily’s old home, is set on finding the elusive girl. She may only be in eighth grade, but Raine has something better than luck on her side. Raine has a peculiar power. She can see glimpses into the past. Using the memories she finds, Raine discovers this new, small town is hiding something, and she’s determined to figure out what it is to save Emily.

Strengths and Weaknesses
-The chapters dragged on at times and were mildly inconsistent in length.
-There was somewhat of a disconnect between the writing, the material, and the target demographic. Considering the darker themes of the book, I expected it to be written for upper elementary (just under the cusp of young adult), and while it definitely was at times, it was also a little too kiddy. If I had to guess, I would’ve assumed this was the author’s first time writing for this age group because while it wasn’t jarring, something was a little off.
-Coming off the previously stated point, the characters acted a little older than their age. They were more ninth graders than eighth graders. I’m aware that’s only a year difference, but in my experience, there is a great maturity gap between these two groups. (perhaps this was just a me thing since I seem to encounter it with many of the books I read, but I’m not sure.)

-The mystery aspect and the darker undertones were exceptionally done especially for middle-grade fiction. There was a slight Sherlock Holmes vibe throughout the story that (as a Doyle fan) was very much appreciated.
-My friend told me not to read this book at night. I did not heed this warning, and I survived. So, while I wouldn’t say that, there were definitely moments when I had to check on the door and window real quick. It wasn’t necessarily scary, but it was haunting. It was suspicious. It made you wonder if something like that could happen to you. Also, unstable high school boys are creepy. I think everyone can agree with that.
-I’m glad this book was short. Summy did a brilliant job of focusing on her story instead of trying to reach a certain word limit. I mean, this book is over two hundred pages so it’s not a novella, but I know other authors that would’ve tried to drag out this book much longer than it needed to be.

Characters
Our main character and narrator for this novel is Raine. Other notable characters include Shirlee and Emily. (I forgot all their last names so… do with that what you will.)

Raine
As Raine so kindly points out in the first chapter, she was indeed named Raine because of weather conditions during her birth. At first, she was giving “not-like-other-girls” and “pretty-but-she-doesn’t-know-it” which was… alarming… but that was pretty much gone by the second chapter. She’s very independent and doesn’t like being pushed around. However, she’d also rather stay off the radar when possible. Her character wasn’t revolutionary, but it was unique to some degree. I enjoyed reading from her perspective.

Shirlee
Shirlee is Raine’s bestie. Normally, I wouldn’t have a problem with her character. She’s definitely quirky, but it wasn’t over the top. She was kind and supportive, ready to back up her new friend when everyone else abandoned her. My only complaint is that she seemed to be the only “quirky” character, and she was also the only (previously) homeschooled character. This did feel like an offensive stereotype. I was able to look past it cause her character is just so darn cute, but I don’t know. It never fully sat right with me.

Emily
We really don’t get to see that much of Emily considering her name is in the title. I could’ve done an analysis of one of the mean girls or another side character, but I felt like Emily deserved this spot. The poor girl has already been through enough. Speaking of which, these eighth-grade girls are savage. Using a gullible girl for their own benefit because (it’s implied) that she’s a little not-skinny? And then casually having death threats for her and her sister. Like- The whole plot twist of her going into hiding the catch the bad boy and stop him from burning down everything was intriguing don’t get me wrong! But kids, in case it wasn’t clear, don’t try this at home. She survived because she had plot armor. Don’t be an Emily.

Plot
Was the plot believable? No. Absolutely not. But a plot does not have to be realistic in order for it to be enjoyable. Summy really let her imagination run wild, and it worked. And like I said, unstable high school boys are scary. I was not expecting the story to take that turn, but it did and I was pleasantly surprised.

Writing and Pacing
As mentioned before, there was a disconnect with the writing. It didn’t match the subject matter and the anticipated audience. That being said, the writing itself wasn’t terrible. Summy did an incredible job of holding onto tension. The pacing was fine. The middle did feel a little repetitive and boring, but overall it was readable.

Conclusion
This book may be middle-grade fiction, but that should not stop anyone from reading it. The mystery was compelling and the suspension was well-done. It was the perfect amount of pages and makes for a thrilling quick read.

MY RATING
-Plot: 4/5
-Characters: 3.5/5
-Writing: 3/5
-Pacing: 3/5
Overall: 13.5/20;
3.5 STARS

[Barbara Senteney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was shocked at how well thought out this story is, since it was written for middle school. It was a better mystery than some I have read for adults. Yes it is a thriller, and it definitely got some omg moments that will surprise you. Raine moves into a house where a little girl used to live that is missing.her name was Emily. Emily letf home one evening to go to a slumber party and was never see again. She was also picked on by bullies at the same school Raine now attends. Raine sees memories, through things she calls sparkles, imprints of memories left by people.
Shirlee and Raine are now the target of Emily's old tormentors. Raine sets out to find the truth behind Emily's disappearance.

[Becky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading through my middle grade lenses, this book works. It might be really good for kids who are enduring bullying at school.
It’s a tale of revenge. The mystery isn’t violent, but it could have turned out that way.
Docked one star because the magical element didn’t really develop, although she came to a new peace with it - but I do think it might play a bigger part in a sequel.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first middle grade book I've read in a while. I was pleasantly surprised. The story was darker than I would have thought, and full of on the edge of my seat moments.

[Mitzi Moshiri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Well written, great plot and a terrific mystery. I wasn't sold on the ending, however, I read this in a couple days, so it was quite a page turner.

[Julianne · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was such a good mystery. There was so many twists and turns so that you couldn´t figure how the story was going to end until you got there.

[Tracie Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

[Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book! It was full of twists and turns and I was intrigued the whole way through. The mystery kept on surprising me and scared me at times. But was a great mystery!!

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the first two-thirds of this book, but then my enjoyment lessened during the last portion as various unlikely events occurred. Eighth grader Raine is sick of moving from town to town as her mother leaves behind a series of bad relationships with me. Although she hopes this latest move from Detroit to Yielding will be the last one, she is pretty doubtful that this will be the case. While keeping one eye on her mother in case she falls into yet another unhealthy relationship, Raine finds some good friends at the middle school. She also makes an enemy out of Jennifer, a talented runner who likes to pick on those around her. When Raine picks up some disturbing memories from the sparkles around her, she is determined to figure out where Emily Huvar has gone. The girl's family once lived in her house, and she is sure that somehow Jennifer and the others were involved in her disappearance. But Raine and her friend Shirlee must cope with Jennifer's extreme bullying at school and some unexpected complications as they plot to embarrass Jennifer and bring down the Queen Bee. In the end, although this one started off strong, all the added details of a pyromaniac who threatens to hurt a little girl, and Emily's plan to hide until she can catch Michael in the act of starting a fire became too much for me. I could buy Raine's ability to read those sparkles, but I cannot imagine Emily's decision to pretend to be dead or missing for so long. It's too bad, really, since there are so many interesting layers to consider in this book--for instance, the behavior of Avalon and Raine's own mother who seems to have taken stock in her own life and decided to make some changes.

[C. Lewis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book!! I bought a copy of it at Mysterious Galaxy in San Diego during their anniversary celebration. I also got the opportunity to meet the author!! What an awesome person!! This is the first grade school book I've read and I have to say it is written better than some of the adult books I've read. I liked the main character Raine (and not just because that is the name of my character in my book...LOL). I like how she was able to stand up to the mean girls not only for herself, but for her friend Shirlee as well. The mystery kept me guessing for quite some time and when it is finally revealed, it honestly made me sad. And when you read it, you will understand. I like the touches of magic in the story. Not overdone. Overall I would really recommend this book. Even for adult readers!!

[Fleur Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Confession: I haven't read this book yet--my tween daughter snatched it away before I could. She's a huge fan of Summy's "I So Don't Do.." series, and loved this book too. She loved the mix of paranormal and mystery, and how it all unfolded. She was up late reading the book, and couldn't put it down the next day.

So this is a direct from a tween reader quick review, rather than from an adult, which I think makes it that much more valuable. The Disappearance of Emily H. is highly recommended :-)

(Goodreads First Reads review)

[Carolyn Deas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raine and her mother move around a lot. After being in 5 different schools in 3 years, Raine hopes that Yielding is a place that will stick. They move into a bright pink house that is full of mystery. The family that lived there before suffered a loss - their daughter Emily disappeared one night on her way to a sleepover. Raine is special, though. She collects memories that she finds all over town in an attempt to solve the mystery that has been plaguing the town for months.

SPOILERS AHEAD!

Emily isn't missing and she isn't dead. Using her powers and tips from neighbors and classmates, the discovers that Emily has been living in her basement this whole time! She's been hiding from a high school arsonist that is out to get her because she knows his secret. Raine uses her abilities to help her out but it's not before they are both put in a terribly dangerous situation.

My favorite part of this book was the mystery. With all of the sneaking about and the small hints at Emily's fate, it's hard not to be involved with the case. The subtle hints about the fires and the small memories that seem like nothing can easily draw you in once you start connecting the dots.

You can never go wrong with stories about overcoming bullies, too. Jennifer (the bully) is an awful person and even though we don't really know why, we do find her weakness and Raine and her new friend, Shirlee, take matters into their own hands to bring her down.

Despite this being a mystery/sci-fi kind of story, it also has heart. Raine is standoffish at first, trying her best to make no friends because she thinks her mom will make them move again after her next boyfriend messes things up, but by the end she's created friendships with people that she didn't even realize would be important to her.

The whole collecting memories thing was actually pretty cool, but I wish there would have been more of a backstory to that, other than her grandmother having that ability too. I want to know more about the origins and how and why it came about.

Overall, I rated this book 4 out of 5 stars.

[Amanda R Sims · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love when books have their own stories to tell. ✨

I joined NetGalley in 2015. I requested a bunch of titles, but got impatient waiting for replies, logged off, and forgot the site existed until 2023, when I finished the second book in Melissa Blair's Halfling Saga and needed to immediately find the third. I found it on NetGalley, along with a whole backlog of books from 2015 I had never read. Over the past year, I've obtained the entire backlog through libraries and second-hand purchases, and I've been slowly working through in addition to my current reads. 

The Disappearance of Emily H. By Barrie Summy is one of those 2015 titles. I bought a copy from a used bookstore out of Utah via Amazon in February 2024 for $6.36. I put it on my desk at work, where it eventually found itself at the bottom of a stack of books. Today, I carefully extracted it from the bottom of the pile, and began to read. I got about a third of the way through before I noticed the writing on the title page shown here. Signed by the author, the sweet inscription is addressed to Isaac. It reads: "Isaac...such a pleasure...getting to meet (oops) you on the set in T.O. love you as Ruben!" with lots of drawn stars, which reflect the main character, Raine's, special ability to see sparkles ✨ which are the remnants of memories. 

I read this book in one day, cover to cover. It is a bit different than I expected based on the summary, but the story was engaging. There are TWO villains, a missing girl, and a poisoning of a dog. I don't remember trigger warnings being big in 2015, but I was sad about the dog and wanted to mention it. Disability rep is also pretty terrible as a girl's sister is described as "not all there." 

There are plenty of cringey teen moments to make this perfectly very young YA, maybe even Middle Grade since the characters are eighth graders, and there are zero seriously controversial topics addressed.

Rounding up 3.5 ✨

Huge thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children's for putting this novel on my list to be read a decade later. I apologize for the belated review!

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

When 13-year-old Raine transfers to her eighth school in five years (thanks to her mom's penchant for dating losers then leaving town when things inevitably go bad), she becomes one of the targets of the mean girl clique. But because Raine has the ability to see the memories of other people, she quickly learns that the mean girls know more about the disappearance of their classmate Emily Hovar than they're saying. While Raine privately tries to solve the mystery of what became of Emily, she also teams up with her new friend Shirlee to take down the mean girls.

Aside from the supernatural aspect, this was a pretty realistic depiction of what it's like to be in middle school today (which is why I'm glad that I was an eighth-grader during dinosaur times), but it turns improbably dark in the last third of the book and the ending was not all that believable. Some of the characters were a little thin as well; Jennifer (Jessica? it's only been a couple of hours since I finished the book and I've already forgotten her name) is the stereotypical nasty queen bee, her followers don't have personalities to speak of, and the biggest villain is revealed but never explained. Even so, I really liked this; it was an undemanding page-turner centered around a good mystery with some interesting twists.

[Lyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Raine and her mother move frequently so Raine is used to being the new girl at school. This time they've moved from Detroit to Yielding, New York. Raine is a runner so at least she always has the track team to hook up with.

On the first day at Yielding Middle School Raine meets another new student. Shirlee's always been home-schooled so this is the first regular school she's ever attended. It takes less than an hour for Shirlee to become the target of the school's queen bee and her followers.

The house Raine and her mother moved into has a history. It once belonged to the Huvar family whose daughter Emily went missing. Emily is still missing. It's hard for Raine not to think about Emily since she's sleeping in her one-time bedroom. Her team mates tell her the girl was a loner. She was smart, but she didn't make friends easily. Strangely enough, Emily disappeared while waking to a slumber party with school mates.

Raine has a gift. She's able to pick up memories. She tries to pick up sparkles of memories left in the house, hoping she'll get information that would help find Emily, but she can't find any memories that are helpful. She sees a crying mother one time and a demanding father with a pot belly anther time.

Although this book is very readable and Raine is likable, the plot isn't unique. Mean girls often show up in books for this grade level and disappearing teenagers aren't rare either. But Raine does have an interesting gift and this book is worth reading if you're in the mood for something light.

Review first appeared on www.bookloons.com

[Jenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall the book was interesting. I read it in 2 days, but honestly it was just a super easy read. I may be too old for this book, in that it takes place in a middle school setting with middle school characters. If I was in middle school, I may have thought this book was amazing. Overall there were some suspenseful parts that I was not expecting.

I found it interesting that she could read memories, I just feel as if the author could have found a way to make it less child-like.... sparkles? I think the main character portrayed her mom as a bad person, when her mom actually seemed like a decent human being, apart from her mistakes. Sometimes I forgot I was reading a middle-school book and they would say something like "my mom will drop us off" or along those lines.

If the book were written as an adult book, or even late high school, and let her read anything but sparkles, I could see myself enjoying this book more.

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another Louisiana Young Readers' Choice nominee that was picked for our fall book club by 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students. This read like a typical LYRC nominee to me -- a young girl who is dealing with far too much for her age also has some sort of magical power that will help her solve a crazy mystery. I died of secondhand embarrassment every time Raine reached out to grab a 'sparkle' off of someone. Also, I think I would have enjoyed this more if it hadn't gone from zero to sixty in the last hundred pages. Where the heck did Michael the arsonist come from?! Wtf happened with Jennifer, Alyssa, and Danielle? Emily and Raine survive this crazy thing at the end of the book and all we get is a hospital wrap-up scene with Raine and her mom? What about Emily H.?? SHE'S IN THE TITLE OF THE BOOK. Also, why were there all these hints that Danielle was actually a really nice person hanging with the wrong crowd if that plot point wasn't going to go anywhere??? I have so many questions.

[brightredglow · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite liked this book. The plot set up was done very well. I'm glad that I've been reading old Barbara Michaels books because her heroines prove that the main character doesn't need to always be likable, the MC just has to be interesting. The point for that is that there are times that I found Raine to be sketchy with some of her actions even if it was for a 'good' purpose. The behavior helped add to the tension which is a fairly simple and familiar plot.

Basically, a girl from the school where Raine is now a new student went missing. To add to that, Raine is now living in that girl's house.

Raine has an ability to glean memories from objects and little by little, she begins to put together what happened to Emily H.

What I really liked is that the twists and turns are really well done. The author gives room for empathy in unexpected places. Honestly, it was a very refreshing read.

I picked up the book at my local library's book sale for $1.00. Well worth it.

[Shayne Domingo · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading The Disappearance of Emily H., I'm happy to say that I have absolutely nothing negative to say about it! I usually have trouble holding my attention when reading but I was hooked. The story line was clear and very interesting but I think the main reason my attention was held was the fact that I could relate to a lot of characters in this story. Furthermore, the book was incredibly detailed which made it easy for me to visualize what was happening throughout the story. Overall an amazing book! I truly recommend.

[Robert Mullarky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this with my daughter, and really enjoyed the “what would you do?” discussions we had after many of the chapters. Bullies, fitting in, what to do in dangerous or frightening situations - we had some good conversations. It was engaging and paced fast enough to hold her interest, with a main character she really enjoyed. Raine’s special powers was a good hook, and an interesting way to explore the difficulties of fitting in when you are different … and, really, in middle school everyone is different.

[Ciclali · Rating 4 out of 5]

the disappearance of Emily.h is a good book its fun to read if you like mystery. it's not the best because something that it has in the book and I don't want to spoil so I won't but there is some things in the book that just don't make sense. there are parts that are good and some that there is not. there is alos some inpropite things in this book that should not be readed but a little kid. this is more of a middle schooler boook than it is for a little kid

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the main character, Raine, her spunk, her drive, her working with the memories, and the pace of the book kept me turning pages.

Because of the mean girl situations and one in particular even more frightening than those, this will be one I'll hold out for awhile on for my own girls.

[Sinead · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay i understood the girl had the gift and so did her grandmother but it didn't say how she came by this and why her mother didn't have it but thats not the point of this review i enjoyed it, it was good i was like in love with it. it did have some turns in it and thankfully was not written from "i was"

would i read it again no
would i read something else from this Author: meh

[Amanda Stenli · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although this was a young adult book I throughly enjoyed it! It was detailed and kept me wanting more! My only complaint is that I felt like once I got to the end and kind of knew what was going to happen, it seemed to go by very quickly. I guess I wanted it to last longer but overall good, quick read!