Vanishings - A Review

Published - Tyndale House Publishers
Series - Left Behind: The Kids, book 1
Title - The Vanishings
Author - Jerry Jenkins & Tim LaHaye
Format - ebook, paper

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Following the success of the main series, Left Behind, Tim LaHaye & Jerry Jenkins have crafted a series targeted at middle grade readers. This series chronicles Judd, Ryan, Vicki, and Lionel, four teens/preteens, that suddenly find themselves faced with the startling facts that their parents and loved ones have either disappeared or fell victim to accidents as a result of the disappearances. For these young people, life as they know it will never be the same. They soon find themselves under the tutelage of Pastor Bruce Barnes and a fight for their very survival.

This was a fast reread for me. I remember reading these books concurrently with the adult series. It helped that at the time I was working in a bookstore and could easily read them quickly. What I also found interesting was that each book in the main adult series covered about 4 books in the youth series.

Still, for the most part, what I looked forward to the most in reading of these books was the appearances of the adults from the main series. I think that my favorite character among the teens was Ryan. He's the youngest member and he has such an innocence about him.

I think this is an excellent book for middle grade readers. Events are explained in such a simple way that the story is very easy to read and would easily hold the attention of a teen.

I read this book for pure pleasure as part of the Tyndale Summer Reading Program. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

Recommended to fans of middle readers, adventures

Rating - 3.5 stars.