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When They All Disappeared
Jackson thinks he has a great life. Well, apart from his mother nagging him all the time. He has his own room loaded with video games, a cool best friend, and a girl who has caught his eye. Then, one night, his world gets flipped upside down when he wakes up to utter chaos and an empty house. With his mother and sister missing and the world in an upheaval, will Jackson figure out what’s going on? Moreover, will he be able to survive When They All Disappear?
107 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 25, 2021
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5 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
August 23, 2021
3.5 stars
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one… From the saint in the first row to the rebellious teenager in the back right down to the drug addict living on the streets, they are all the same in God’s eyes - a sinner in need of a savior.”
I loved how the cover of the book was an actual scene from it! (And a pretty important scene, too!) It really helped me to picture it all even better.
I also loved how all the characters were different with different personalities and they all have their owns emotions and desires and plans and they all even talk differently somehow, so kudos to the author for that!
There were a few editing mistakes that were a bit annoying like saying, for example, “a Scripture popped into his mind that made him SHUTTER” (p. 45) instead of “a Scripture popped into his mind that made him SHUDDER.”
The Rapture scene and what happened afterwards gave me little shivers. It’s so strange (but also so true, I think) that a lot of people in the church aren’t actually saved. They’re content to go to church every Sunday and say they believe in God but have never repented, never left their sins, and never had a personal relationship with Jesus. That thought it so, so sad, and I feel like sometimes evangelicals focus all their efforts at spreading the gospel and making disciples outside of the church, but I think we all gotta wake up and learn that not everyone who attends church every week is saved, either. I went to church for years and years and not a single person told me the gospel. Even as a teen, I literally thought “the gospel” was a type of music and nothing more and I had no clue why Jesus needed to die on the cross. I don’t want that to happen to anyone else ever again, so if your family is Christian but you know you haven’t been saved yet, please reach out to a pastor or friend and they can help you. And if you do have a real relationship with God, please don’t ever forget the people like Jackson from this story do exist so please pray for them and help them if God gives you the chance to do that.
This book might feel a little bit preachy to unbelievers, but it is a Christian fiction novel after all, so you can’t say there’s something wrong with talking about God and Scripture. I do think showing rather than telling is the mark of a truly talented author, but I would rather read a book that tells about the right thing than one that shows the wrong thing.
When They All Disappeared was also a bit more idealistic than I would have liked (like how in the world does the 14-year-old main character who takes naps every Sunday in church have the sudden capacity to understand and memorize lengthy passages of the King James Version Bible without even trying to?) I know God can work wonders but I felt like the pressure and the trials didn’t really come through in this book after Jackson was saved and all the named characters that were left behind were getting saved too, just like that. I don’t know, I suppose it was just a bit rushed and I know it’s really hard to describe in words how eactly a prodigal turns back to go home again, I just felt like the book was missing something there.
My absolute favorite part of this book was that halfway through, I suddenly realized what the point to the Rapture was. Ever since I was saved, I’d always looked forward to it, but I never realized that it had a point beyond simply bringing believers to heaven. When They All Disappeared made me realize that the Rapture happening was also a way for God to show His glory and to give unrepentant sinners like Jackson one more time to turn from their ways. God never had any obligation to give most of us as many chances as He’s given, but still, He did it anyway. God is so good.
Content warning: Brief description of an ambulance crashing (as depicted on the front cover), airplane crashes and other disasters, one minor character almost attempted suicide and brandished a gun when other characters came, talk of a character swearing in the past (but no actual swearing at all in the book itself), talk of two characters doing drugs together, two boys were implied to be having homosexual sex (is that a thing?) or something like that with each other. None of the bad/sinful things in the book were given approval, the author was pretty clear that it was sin but I did feel like the thing Timothy was doing (sorry, no spoilers) was a bit too much. I thought this book was a middle grade read because that’s what the cover and discription makes it look like but it’s got vaping and sex and stuff in it so I would not recommend it to anyone under 15.
The 3.5 stars is mostly because the book felt a bit cheesy and unrealistic at times, I don’t know, like it was overdone or not genuine and for again, describing what Timothy was doing. That stuck out so much from everything else and I know the author was trying to describe how fallen the world had become but it didn’t have to be that graphic. I’ve read a lot of books with graphic stuff in it before I decided to stop but never in a middle grade book like this (but maybe the book wasn't actually meant to be middle grade and that was just a wrong assumption on my part).
The ending was really good though! It gave me shivers and I think the story just in general was a pretty decent one. I could tell the author was convicted to speak about the Rapture and the urgency of it all and she was able to convey that urgency to readers as well.
Many thanks to the author for the free review copy! I am beyond grateful. Please note that all opinions expressed are completely my own and I was not required to provide a positive review ☺️
“As it is written, there is none righteous, no not one… From the saint in the first row to the rebellious teenager in the back right down to the drug addict living on the streets, they are all the same in God’s eyes - a sinner in need of a savior.”
I loved how the cover of the book was an actual scene from it! (And a pretty important scene, too!) It really helped me to picture it all even better.
I also loved how all the characters were different with different personalities and they all have their owns emotions and desires and plans and they all even talk differently somehow, so kudos to the author for that!
There were a few editing mistakes that were a bit annoying like saying, for example, “a Scripture popped into his mind that made him SHUTTER” (p. 45) instead of “a Scripture popped into his mind that made him SHUDDER.”
The Rapture scene and what happened afterwards gave me little shivers. It’s so strange (but also so true, I think) that a lot of people in the church aren’t actually saved. They’re content to go to church every Sunday and say they believe in God but have never repented, never left their sins, and never had a personal relationship with Jesus. That thought it so, so sad, and I feel like sometimes evangelicals focus all their efforts at spreading the gospel and making disciples outside of the church, but I think we all gotta wake up and learn that not everyone who attends church every week is saved, either. I went to church for years and years and not a single person told me the gospel. Even as a teen, I literally thought “the gospel” was a type of music and nothing more and I had no clue why Jesus needed to die on the cross. I don’t want that to happen to anyone else ever again, so if your family is Christian but you know you haven’t been saved yet, please reach out to a pastor or friend and they can help you. And if you do have a real relationship with God, please don’t ever forget the people like Jackson from this story do exist so please pray for them and help them if God gives you the chance to do that.
This book might feel a little bit preachy to unbelievers, but it is a Christian fiction novel after all, so you can’t say there’s something wrong with talking about God and Scripture. I do think showing rather than telling is the mark of a truly talented author, but I would rather read a book that tells about the right thing than one that shows the wrong thing.
When They All Disappeared was also a bit more idealistic than I would have liked (like how in the world does the 14-year-old main character who takes naps every Sunday in church have the sudden capacity to understand and memorize lengthy passages of the King James Version Bible without even trying to?) I know God can work wonders but I felt like the pressure and the trials didn’t really come through in this book after Jackson was saved and all the named characters that were left behind were getting saved too, just like that. I don’t know, I suppose it was just a bit rushed and I know it’s really hard to describe in words how eactly a prodigal turns back to go home again, I just felt like the book was missing something there.
My absolute favorite part of this book was that halfway through, I suddenly realized what the point to the Rapture was. Ever since I was saved, I’d always looked forward to it, but I never realized that it had a point beyond simply bringing believers to heaven. When They All Disappeared made me realize that the Rapture happening was also a way for God to show His glory and to give unrepentant sinners like Jackson one more time to turn from their ways. God never had any obligation to give most of us as many chances as He’s given, but still, He did it anyway. God is so good.
Content warning: Brief description of an ambulance crashing (as depicted on the front cover), airplane crashes and other disasters, one minor character almost attempted suicide and brandished a gun when other characters came, talk of a character swearing in the past (but no actual swearing at all in the book itself), talk of two characters doing drugs together, two boys were implied to be having homosexual sex (is that a thing?) or something like that with each other. None of the bad/sinful things in the book were given approval, the author was pretty clear that it was sin but I did feel like the thing Timothy was doing (sorry, no spoilers) was a bit too much. I thought this book was a middle grade read because that’s what the cover and discription makes it look like but it’s got vaping and sex and stuff in it so I would not recommend it to anyone under 15.
The 3.5 stars is mostly because the book felt a bit cheesy and unrealistic at times, I don’t know, like it was overdone or not genuine and for again, describing what Timothy was doing. That stuck out so much from everything else and I know the author was trying to describe how fallen the world had become but it didn’t have to be that graphic. I’ve read a lot of books with graphic stuff in it before I decided to stop but never in a middle grade book like this (but maybe the book wasn't actually meant to be middle grade and that was just a wrong assumption on my part).
The ending was really good though! It gave me shivers and I think the story just in general was a pretty decent one. I could tell the author was convicted to speak about the Rapture and the urgency of it all and she was able to convey that urgency to readers as well.
Many thanks to the author for the free review copy! I am beyond grateful. Please note that all opinions expressed are completely my own and I was not required to provide a positive review ☺️
February 8, 2022
~First of all, I would like to give a huge thank you to the amazing author of this book for sending me a free copy in exchange for my honest review!~
Wow... Ok. This book really exceeded my expectations. I think I can sum up this whole book in one word: Conviction. This book really changed my perspective of the rapture. Before this book, I always thought, "Oh, it's still far away, no need to worry.", but now, I know that it really could be any minute. Reading "When They All Disappeared" helped me actually realize that every day may be my last, so I should live every day to the fullest.
I recommend YOU this amazing book!
~Full Review To Come~
Wow... Ok. This book really exceeded my expectations. I think I can sum up this whole book in one word: Conviction. This book really changed my perspective of the rapture. Before this book, I always thought, "Oh, it's still far away, no need to worry.", but now, I know that it really could be any minute. Reading "When They All Disappeared" helped me actually realize that every day may be my last, so I should live every day to the fullest.
I recommend YOU this amazing book!
~Full Review To Come~
May 18, 2021
Highly recommend! There is a lack of truly good Christian, fictional books for teens these day but this is one of them! The storyline is exciting and suspenseful as well as Biblically sound! You'll find yourself wanting to keep reading at the end of each chapter! I love how Rachel intertwines great characters and a thrilling plot with spiritual truths so smoothly. It will leave the reader reevaluating their own walk with the Lord and making sure they're prepared for His return! So many teens half-heartedly add Christianity to their lives or hope to get to heaven on their parent's coattails. This book will challenge them to make their own commitment.
Note to parents: This book is intended for ages 12+ and does discuss homosexuality from a Biblical perspective. This is a very relevant and needful topic for today's youth but I would recommend you preread the book if you're unsure it would be appropriate for your child's maturity level.
Note to parents: This book is intended for ages 12+ and does discuss homosexuality from a Biblical perspective. This is a very relevant and needful topic for today's youth but I would recommend you preread the book if you're unsure it would be appropriate for your child's maturity level.
April 13, 2021
Uplifting
One of my prayer members had suggested this book to our group. The story reminded me of a movie I had seen on TV. This would be a very good book for teenagers bro read and have some discussion about.
One of my prayer members had suggested this book to our group. The story reminded me of a movie I had seen on TV. This would be a very good book for teenagers bro read and have some discussion about.
May 23, 2021
Amazing
Very interesting take on this subject but definitely held my interest. I thibk it was a different way to approach the story. I liked it very much.
Very interesting take on this subject but definitely held my interest. I thibk it was a different way to approach the story. I liked it very much.
May 28, 2021
A great read
I picked this book and began reading and it is so well written that I finished it in two sittings. Good for teens and adults as well. Highly recommended!
I picked this book and began reading and it is so well written that I finished it in two sittings. Good for teens and adults as well. Highly recommended!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews