Disappeared

Starred review from August 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-Sara, a reporter at her Mexican hometown, writes a column in the local newspaper detailing numerous cases of abducted young girls in Cuidad Juarez, including her best friend Linda. When the young woman receives a coded email message hinting at her friend's whereabouts and captors, she investigates further and discovers how deeply the corruption and criminality runs in her city. Her brother, Emiliano, lives a normal life focusing on soccer, his crush Perla Rubi, and a budding artisanal crafts business. He is determined to rescue his mother and sister from the poverty and dangers around them, leading him to accept a lucrative but illicit business deal. Stork's use of alternating perspectives provides insight into the siblings' motivations, and establishes a strong sense of setting as the characters move through a variety of environments. Sara's thread is fast-paced and thrusts the plot forward, while Emiliano's moral and emotional struggles provide complexity. Once the siblings flee to the U.S. to save Sara from the criminals she exposes, her story line recedes and Emiliano becomes the focus. This novel touches on themes like the persecution of journalists, political corruption, and cyber investigations. VERDICT A timely and touching novel that will surely engross fans of true crime stories. This title would be a welcome addition to young adult collections.-Jessica Agudelo, New York Public Library

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from July 15, 2017
Sara Zapata and her brother, Emiliano, do their best to survive with their integrity intact while their beloved Juarez is overrun and endangered by a web of criminals that even involve the police and local government officials.Sara is a journalist who writes about her best friend, Linda, the latest girl kidnapped by the cartels. The heartfelt story sends ripples through the community, and the paper receives grateful letters from the families of other kidnapped girls--and death threats warning her to drop her investigation. Meanwhile, Emiliano is prospering after his foray into petty thefts and subsequent capture ushered him under the wing of Brother Patricio, the leader of his explorer club, the Jiparis, and his soccer coach. Emiliano's a star soccer player and has started a side business selling some Jiparis' artisan crafts to shop owners. Despite this, he's still too poor to date his crush, Perla Rubi, so when he's tempted into the same web of criminals that are coming after Sara and have taken Linda, the pull of wealth and a future with Perla Rubi is stronger than his need to do the right thing. Stork deftly writes criminals who aren't monsters but men who do monstrous things, and while his understanding of Emiliano's coming-of-age is fully engaging, he really impresses with his evocation of Sara's need to navigate the advances of men she knows and doesn't know and the powerful women equally dangerous to her. A tense thriller elevated by Stork's nuanced writing and empathy for every character, including the villains--superb. (Thriller. 12-adult)

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July 3, 2017
Siblings Sara and Emiliano Zapata live in Juárez, Mexico, where crime, kidnapping, and drugs are regular concerns for them. Through her work as a reporter for a local newspaper, Sara writes profiles of the girls who have gone missing, including her best friend Linda, taken four months earlier. It’s her way of letting the world know that she won’t forget Linda or the others. When Sara receives an encrypted email threatening her life, as well as those of her brother and mother, she decides it’s time to find out who has been taking the girls. Meanwhile, Emiliano, who has been working to build a folk art business, is being slowly pulled into the city’s criminal underbelly because of his desire to win over Perla Rubi, the daughter of a wealthy cartel lawyer. Stork (The Memory of Light) crafts a narrative that is both riveting and eye-opening. Part thriller, part sociological study, the novel sheds light on poverty, corruption, and greed while bringing readers intimately close to the plight of those who illegally cross borders with the hope of a brighter future. Ages 12–up. Agent: Faye Bender, Book Group.

Starred review from August 1, 2017
Grades 10-1 *Starred Review* As a reporter for El Sol newspaper in Juarez, Mexico, Sara tirelessly writes reports on las desaparecidasgirls who suddenly vanish from their homes. It's more than just a job: her best friend, Linda, disappeared several months ago. Meanwhile, her younger brother, Emiliano, is hard at work earning what he can from small jobs to help support Sara and their mother. When an opportunity arises to increase his family's finances, he jumps at the chance, only to find out that his dreams of a better life lay in the town's most lucrative industrythe drug trade. Both siblings find out how much danger they are in when Sara receives threats on her life that may involve Emiliano's potential business partners. Together, the siblings flee to safety toward the U.S. border. The plight of las desaparecidas is all too real for girls all over Mexico, and Stork does not shy away from the facts of human trafficking, the drug industry, and the senseless violence that accompanies them. Stork uses parallel story lines to flesh out the two protagonists and then slowly brings them together to a harrowing climax. Not only does this result in a riveting story, it also highlights the harsh complexity of young Mexicans' lives. Readers will find this thrilling as well as eye-opening.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)