Rules for Vanishing

July 15, 2019
What happened to Becca Donoghue? Sara Donoghue never believed the rumors that her sister, Becca, simply ran away from home with her boyfriend. Becca had been obsessed with Lucy Gallows, the ghost from the 1950s who allegedly haunts their town, and the mysterious road that Lucy traveled on before she disappeared. Before Becca vanished too, the last thing Sara overheard her say was "We know where the road is. We've got the keys. That's all we need to find her. I'm not backing down now. Not after everything we've done to get this close." As the one-year anniversary of Becca's disappearance approaches, Sara becomes desperate to discover what happened and how it may be related to the real Lucy. The setup is slow and complicated, with many diverse characters, relationships, and supernatural rules. While normally something to be celebrated, this diverse cast feels forced and inauthentic, like moons orbiting the main white protagonist, Sara (Becca is Asian--her ethnicity is never specified--and adopted). When the plot eventually picks up its pace, the story becomes quite engrossing and cleverly moves between its many narrators, characters, and plot twists. If readers can move past the long-winded and complicated setup, they will enjoy this mashup of The X-Files and the The Blair Witch Project, but those seeking a handy conclusion will likely be disappointed. A mixed bag for patient older teens. (Mystery. 15-18)

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August 1, 2019

Gr 7 Up-Find a partner. Find a key. Find the road. Play the game. Sara's sister, Becca, did exactly that last year and hasn't been seen since. Now, the phantom of Lucy Gallows, the infamous girl who walked the mysterious forest road decades ago before disappearing, is calling Sara to play. To recover her sister, Sara and eight others heed Lucy's invitation. However, the road does not like to leave survivors, and while some are ready to tempt fate, the consequences of mistakes made on the path soon turn deadly. Marshall delivers a haunting tale about a childhood game that twists into a disturbing rescue mission. Told through written testimonies, video recordings, message transcripts, and interviews, Sara and her friends' attempt to save Becca becomes an insidious incident filled with eerie imagery and captivating revelations. As Sara's story unfolds, layers of uncertainty come to light, resulting in a cast of delightfully unreliable characters, whose intimate connections leave devastation when tragedy strikes. The cost of each choice Sara makes weighs heavily on her hazy memories, leaving readers to ponder how every action affects more than just a single person. VERDICT A fantastic addition for those who are building up their suspenseful supernatural collections.-Emily Walker, Lisle Library District, IL

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 16, 2019
Local legend holds that the nearby woods are home to the ghost of Lucy Gallows, who vanished decades ago outside Briar Glen, Mass. While searching for Lucy, Sara Donoghue’s sister, Becca, disappeared a year earlier. Now, mysterious texts point Sara and her friends on the same harrowing journey in hopes of finding Becca. Traveling a supernatural road through a deadly darkness, they enter a world filled with myriad terrors and dangers, where breaking the rules leads to a horrible fate. In this chilling tale, Marshall (I Am Still Alive) ties together regional folklore, urban legends, and ghost stories to craft an exquisitely unsettling dark fantasy. Framed as a series of post-incident interviews and supplemented with found camera footage, videos, and texts, this multilayered, unpredictable nail-biter reveals the truth one fragment at a time. The characters, including queer, racially diverse, and variously abled teens, are well-developed, amplifying readers’ engagement in the high stakes. The nightmarish setting, frequent surprises, and inherent ambiguity will appeal to fans of Seanan McGuire’s books. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lisa Rodgers, JABberwocky Literary Agency.