Twelve year old Aidan and his brother Liam are very close. They have slept in the same room all their lives.
Then Aidan suddenly goes missing for six days. The town searches everywhere. Vigils are held. The family are questioned repeatedly by police. Has he simply run away?
Just as suddenly, he returns. Aidan tells the truth about his disappearance but the story is too incredulous to accept. Liam wants to believe his brother and is torn between what is said to have happened and what in his mind, is plausible. Their parents certainly can’t accept the truth, and Aidan wishes he had told lies.
Their close knit family structure fractures. The parents war with each other and themselves. We watch as the relationship between the boys shifts and his school friends play tug-of-war with what they create from what they hear.
This is a brilliant and well-constructed mystery full of questions about truth and fabrication. Is it acceptable to lie when the truth is more destructive?
Will Liam accept Aidan’s story? If so, at what cost?
The Disappearance of Aidan S is heart-pounding, and breathtaking in its imaginative approach. There’s no way you will put this down even for a toilet break. (Perhaps take it with you as I did).
Fast-paced, forceful and intriguing, you read the truth but find it hard to believe.
Title: The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S
Author: David Levithan
Publisher: Text Publishing, $ 16.99
Publication Date: 2 February 2021
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9781922330918
For ages: 9+
Type: Junior Fiction