The Leaving by Tara Altebrando

Interest Level: YA

Lexile: HL800L
Genre: Horror/Thriller
Reading Level: 5.2

Six kids went missing ten years old. Until today. Today five of those kids return. They’re sixteen, and they are . .  fine. Scarlett comes home and finds a mom she barely recognizes, and doesn't really recognize the person she's supposed to be, either. But she thinks she remembers Lucas. Lucas remembers Scarlett, too, except they’re entirely unable to recall where they’ve been or what happened to them. Neither of them remember the sixth victim, Max—the only one who hasn’t come back. Which leaves Max's sister, Avery, wanting answers. She wants to find her brother—dead or alive—and isn’t buying this whole memory-loss story. But as details of the disappearance begin to unfold, no one is prepared for the truth.

I enjoyed this book and plan on adding it to the middle school's collection. It is set up for a sequel but if one comes out, I don't think I will read it. It appears as if there was a shift at the end of the book to go from a story about the kids to an adventure story. I could be wrong. Either way. I like the character and the writing. I recommend this book to 7th graders to adults.