The Departed

As Gwen is getting ready for school she finds it odd that her best friend Lana isn't answering her texts but Lana's parent are very religious so she also thinks that Lana is probably just in trouble yet again. But Gwen gets to school that day and finds that Lana is not there so when she starts hearing that there have been a lot of missing people being reported Gwen begins to worry.

The news stations are reporting that hundreds of thousands of people disappeared that night. There was never a trace of them anywhere, no hint of struggles, not even their shoes are gone from their homes. Authorities check cameras and look for witnesses but after not finding anything to lead them to any of the missing the top theory becomes that the rapture has begun and people start turning to the church for answers.

I will admit that when I read the synopsis for The Departed it was one of those books that while I thought it sounded like it might be an interesting read I never expected to actually love the book. When finished though I had to give this one five stars, I flew right through this read hooked on every page.

I think for me the biggest draw to this story is just how realistic this could actually be. We've all seen news stories of different religious rights debates from abortion to gay marriage and many other things there is always something being talked about. There are debates on the varying religions, there have been different cults featured in the news stories that had their own beliefs. Just so many different things in the media over the years that when reading this book I thought wow, I'm surprised some group hasn't actually tried this.

When finished with this first book in this series I immediately had to grab the short story that the author offered at the end the is a companion read and definitely plan on continuing on with the series. Definitely a book I'd recommend checking out.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Very much for the YA audience. Some of my fellow reader friends liked this very much but it was simply an ok read as an adult. If I were that age, probably closer to a 4 star.

As the synopsis says, when that many people go missing, something big is afoot.

For Gwen, it's personal because her best friend Lana disappears. And their mutual bestie, Mindy, ends up losing her mind somewhat.

Why I say it's more for the YA audience, the action is feels ham-handed to me. Which is something I accept from YA books but not adult fare.

The book poses some interesting ideas about religion, Christianity in particular. Whether or not one religion should be allowed to dominate a country and or the world.

I didn't feel as the author was making any particular judgements either way about Christianity itself. I felt that she was targeting the more extremists followers (of any religion) who do extreme and often horrible things in the name of religion.

I'm reminded of my favorite line from the movie Dogma by Kevin Smith. Despite the immense controversy where it was lambasted by religious folks as heretical, it's actually a love letter by Kevin towards his Catholic upbringing and personal reconciliation with the strictures there of. In it, Salma Hayek's character says to the Last Scion, "[You guys] mourn your faith."

Instead of being uplifting and joyous, too many times (in my opinion) the focus is on a God that is vengeous and wrathful. Isn't that a huge contradiction if God is all loving and forgiving of his children, which by the Creationist story, are ALL made in his image? He gave us free will did he not? If it wasn't in his design for people to be individuals, then he is a flawed Creator. If it was in his design, then his children are meant to grow and become who they are.

The story of Babel also reinforces my interpretation that He did mean for the world not to be homogenous in their spiritual beliefs.

Anyways, hopefully the book will give some food for thought to its younger readers about their own beliefs and etc.

A final note, for those who dislike cliffhangers, you'll want to wait til the next book is out as the action stops very abruptly. In my reviewer's copy, it included the first several pages of the next book which tells you what happened in the incident that it cuts off at. Which frankly was obvious and therefore pointless.

Thank you to the publisher for the free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was a unique and exciting read that kept me guessing to the end! Gwen was an intriguing character as was her friend Lana. I felt that most of this was believable in itself and definitely a creative idea that I can't believe hasn't been done before. I can't wait for the second book.

A fantastic start to a new series. This sci-fi type thriller captivated me the entire way through and I devoured it in one sitting. Gwen and her families emotions and connection as they deal with this nightmare they have walked into was so well done. The emotions run so high in this book and it gave off such a disturbing and palatable aura. This author truly has the gift for transporting you into a different world and entrenching you int he feelings of the character. A terrific story that I cannot wait to read more of!

Gwen wakes up one morning and texts her best friend Lana like she does every morning but there is just one thing not right on this beautiful morning Lana doesn’t text her back. By the time she makes it to school she is becoming very worried. She hopes that when she gets to school Lana will be there and there will be some reason as to why she has not texted her back yet. But low and behold when she arrives at school and meets up with her other best friend Mindy guess what no Lana.

Mindy and Lana start to try to figure out where Lana could be and what could possibly be wrong. But they don’t get very far by the time they have to head to their first class. It is during first hour that she realizes that Lana is not the only one missing. She soon learns that there are thousands of people all over the world are missing. They disappeared during the middle of the night with no witnesses to the event.

By talking with Mindy and her friend Isaiah plus other classmates she soon learns that a lot of people are beginning to believe that the missing people were taken away in the rapture. Gwen and Isaiah just can’t believe this they are more out to believe that it was aliens than any rapture. Gwen and Isaiah start to question everything and everyone. Gwen is determined to find out what happened to her best friend and where she is.

One day Gwen wakes up to an email she received from Lana after she went missing. Gwen is ecstatic to hear from her friend and know that she is alive. So of course she is very excited to show it to Mindy and Isaiah. They think that it could be fake and that it could be from someone playing a joke or even a hacker. But Gwen believes that it is from Lana and sets out to prove it and save Lana. Is it from Lana? Is Lana alive? Where is she? Where are all the missing people? Where have all the people gone?

The Departed has been a very interesting and enjoyable read. I loved the plot and how the world could end. It is filled with so many twists and turns that will keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. And it will grab you up on the first page and won’t let go until you have read the last page and still then it will hang on for a long time to come. If you have not read The Departed then let me suggest that you do today.

I'm in two minds about this book. For the majority of it, I loved it. Great premise, great execution, interesting characters, without any overt sign of the author really beating her reader over the head with her own religious beliefs.

But then I really disliked the ending. So I'm torn.

The spoiler for this book is right there in the synopsis above: Hundreds of thousands of people suddenly take it into their minds to fake the rapture. I love it. The rapture is an interesting topic of discussion for me anyway, but this is the first piece of fiction I've read about it. In a credit to Kristy Cooper's writing, one very quickly forgets that the outcome has already been advised in the outline of this book, which I assume will follow true for the companion novella to <i>The Departed</i>, <i>What Happened in Colorado</i>.

Gwen is a typical high school student who is too tied to her mobile phone and best friends at school. When her dearest friend Lena doesn't reply to a couple of text messages and isn't at school, Gwen starts to become worried. That's where it starts.

Other friends, Isaiah and Mindy, have completely opposing beliefs on what has gone on to lead to so many people missing, but Gwen manages to stay true to a fairly middle ground reasonable opinion in spite of this and also her parents polarising and fighting on the whole topic. The greater world gets split up in the wake of so many peoples' disappearances and religious individuals speaking publicly on the rapture and what people should be doing to get ready for the tribulations to come.

It's a fantastic cultural study that is, at the same time, a very character driven novel. Told in first person narrative, this story is sure to get the imagination running long after they've finished the book.

Really good and, as unbelievable as it is, it's believable. Perfect for Dystopian lovers. Lots of twists and turns, as unexpected as it is different!

This was a great read. I thought this was an interesting dystopian book. The characters were great. I thought that the characters were likable and interesting. I just wish there was more to each character. The story was a thrilling read. I wished that it could be longer. Overall, an enjoyable read.