The Vanishing Game

March 1, 2012

Gr 9-11-Noah and twins Jack and Jocey, along with Angry Beth, Dixon, and others, met when they lived in a creepy and abusive foster home in upstate New York. A deadly incident (revealed toward the end of the story) caused Jack and Jocey to run away, and Noah to threaten Jocey's life. Now 17, Jocey is receiving letters and clues from her brother, presumed to have died three weeks earlier in a car accident, and she enlists Noah's help to figure things out. However, as she hides in the back of his Jeep, she wonders if she's made a mistake. As they work together, parts of their past are put to rest and a romance begins. This story tries to do a lot, but not all of it works well because of the sometimes-trite writing. There is a hint of fantasy, with pulsating walls and an evil force like the house in Poltergeist. Someone is causing mysterious burns, as in Stephen King's Carrie. And surprising parentage is revealed, as in Star Wars. Jack and Noah, friends since childhood, devised a computer security program and made serious money working part-time for the company that bought them out. An ex-boss wants to retrieve material Jack is thought to have hidden. Jack's elaborate logic puzzles, codes, and origami-based clues may challenge some readers; Noah's martial-arts abilities will draw others in; and a bomb adds more action. Those who stick with the original story line-whether Jack is dead or alive-will find out. If Myers chooses to write a sequel, perhaps one or two of these story lines, more fully explored, would leave readers just as satisfied with the rest of the book.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.