I love that there are legitimate books written for middle schoolers that don’t treat them like babies, but as the actual preadolescents they are. And written by David Levithan definitely doesn’t hurt! I thought the premise of the story was really well done, if not a little disjointed and abrupt, especially at the end. Still, I will definitely buy a copy for my classroom library.

I really liked this David Levithan-lite (because it is more geared towards middle school) book. The relationship between the brothers was enjoyable to follow, and adults didn't seem over the top.

It seems like a lot of YA authors are starting to write middle grade so I was skeptical of this book. I was so surprised at how much I liked it. It has thriller vibes, elements of fantasy, and short chapters that make this a quick read. I'm interested to see how long the book looks when it's printed. Definitely a good pick for younger siblings and kids who are well versed in narnia-esque literature.

Lucas’s life is turned upside-down when his brother disappears without a trace for 6 days. For six long days, the transition to hopeful search for Aidan to a search for his body, until Lucas hears a thump up in his attic. When he goes upstairs to investigate, he finds a confused Aidan, who doesn’t quite know where he is, and has a bright blue leaf in his hair. The tale Aidan tells Lucas, their parents, and the police is magical, and he doesn’t think they’ll believe him. At night, Lucas and Aidan have conversations about where he went, and Lucas becomes one of his strongest allies.
Leviathan’s magical telling of this story will enchant young readers and old readers alike. For fans of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.

I had not, previously read any books by David Levithan. I enjoy quality YA novels and this novel is definitely one to recommend. The characters are well built, work well together and stay true to who they are as they grow within the story. No strange changes in personality or standard stereotypes. Each character develops along believable paths. David writes in an easy to read style, the story flows very well and I never felt I had to reread or ask myself, what did I just read. The story line is a well done take off of other YA novels; think Narnia, but stand well on its own. The story provides you with questions and answers as you read, always leaving the reader want more and continuing to read. I enjoy how he built the story and keeps you hanging until the very end. No wasted words, no going off a path that does not get finished. I enjoyed the ending and felt David did a wonderful job keeping the reader involved until the very end. The novel can be enjoyed by both adult readers, younger readers and readers of any sex. I highly recommend this novel and feel it could become a timely classic.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book is the book I needed to read at this point in the year. It's a book about the power of belief, and a book that shows that being seen and heard, especially when you're going through something, can make all the difference. This book showed what being a sibling or being a friend can feel like. This book did a stunning job of showing how sometimes, even if they are going through something that you don't understand, or if it's something crazy or unbelievable, like going to another world like Aiden did, you need to be there for them, and I think that this book did a great job of conveying that, and it made an impact. This book was amazingly written and stunning, and I recommend it.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

I have not read any Levithan (that I can remember at least) so I wasn't sure what to expect when I started this one. I liked the premise (a boy goes missing for 6 days, shows up unexpectedly, and no one believes the story he tells about where he was/why he as gone) and I had high hopes.

I was not disappointed. :)

This was one of those magical, unexpected middle grade books that just WORKS. Balancing fantasy, realism, and a look at the bonds of family, this was a gem of a story. Aidan goes missing and for six days his family and entire community look for him. They search everywhere, eventually even thinking they are looking for a body and not him. But then, suddenly, he shows back up. His brother finds him in the attic, a place they had searched multiple times. Aidan says he was in another place entirely, a magical world found beyond the doors of the dresser that is stored up there, but now, he has been banished back to our world. Distraught, and without time to make up any other story, Lucas yells out that Aidan is back. And now they have to deal with the fallout: did he make up this story? Was he pulling a joke on everyone? Is he delusional? And if not, then why is the portal shut off now?

The entire book has this tension of wondering if it is true, does this other land exist? And, more importantly, does it matter?

Highly recommend.

11-year-old Lucas has a close relationship with his brother 12-year-old brother, Aidan. As is typical with siblings of this age, they tease each other mercilessly, but they really love each other and can't imagine life without the other. One day, Aidan disappears, leaving no trace or evidence behind. Six days later he returns to the attic, seemingly out of nowhere, in his pajamas, looking dazed. His explanation for where he's been is completely unbelievable to his parents and the police. . The only one who believes him is his brother Lucas. So, Aidan slowly begins to tell Lucas more about the time he spent in this mystical world he found inside an old dresser in the attic and the discoveries he made there.

I found this book a sheer delight to read! The pacing was fantastic, I literally could not put the book down and read it in one sitting. The chapters are short but meaningful, not a one is wasted. Character development was top notch! I could feel the bond that the two brothers had and how Aidan's disappearance (and subsequent explanation) strained the family and their standing in the community.

The way the kids in this book talked felt natural to me. The things they did, the games they played will all be relatable to middle-grade readers. The only exception to this could possibly be the discussion of home phones and "turning the ringers off" I don't know if kids today can relate to that and it did seem a bit out of place with all the other technology that was mentioned, as I don't know anyone who uses a home phone/landline these days.

At times I longed to know more about this land beyond the dresser but I don't think that was the point of this story. I feel Aidan's journey through the dresser and back is a very strong metaphor but I don't want to go too much into that as I feel it could lead to spoilers.

The mention of Holly Black and other fantasy writers brought a smile to my face!

I think middle-grade readers will devour this story and I can see teachers using it in the classroom to foster discussion of being true to oneself.

#TheMysteriousDisappearanceofAidanSastoldtohisbrother #NetGalley
Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the advance reading copy of The Mysterious Disappearance of Aidan S. (as told to his brother) by David Levithan.

This book was absolutely fantastic! Not only was it full of mystery and intrigue, but it also has elements related to the importance of family bonds and trust. I couldn't stop coming back to the book wanting so badly to find out what was going to happen. This is one I will recommend to others, both students and other adults. And... though I'm typically not a re-reader, I find myself wanting to start this one all over again and enjoy it once more.

Lucas is just as perplexed as everyone else when his brother goes missing. Did he run away? Was he taken? Was there an accident in the nearby pond? But after six days, Aidan mysteriously reappears in their attic leaving the family even more perplexed. The story he tells Lucas is fantastical and can't possibly be true, and most everyone thinks Aidan is lying to cover up the fact that he ran away and then returned with help from Lucas. But Lucas sort of believes Aidan or at least wants to believe. I think this book does a great job delving into the relationship between brothers and how sometimes it seems like life can pit family against the world.

When Aidan appears in the attic of his home after a 6 day disappearance, his explanation is wonderful and fantastic and no one believes him, except his brother. The tension in the first few pages is marvelous and leaves the reading wanting more and more. The author manages to seamlessly blend fantasy and mystery into a realistic fiction story about family and more specifically, brothers. Wonderful!

Aidan S. mysteriously disappears from his home. Police, townspeople, teachers, friends and family search everywhere, but he’s gone without a trace. Six days later, Aidan’s brother Lucas hears something in the attic. When he investigates, he discovers Aidan on the floor, wardrobe open behind him. When Lucas asks him where he’s been, Aidan only replies “Aveinieu”.

The Plot & Magical Realism
David Levithan says in his forward that this work was at least in part inspired by Rebecca Stead’s 2009 novel When You Reach Me, a book that also blends a realistic story with fantastic or magical elements. In this book (Levithan’s first book written for middle schoolers) the idea that Aidan climbed through a wardrobe into another world is a little bit Chronicles of Narnia and a little bit a story about a missing kid and how that affected the real world around him. I just wish it was more of either one or the other. I found myself desperately wanting to know more about the mystical world of Aveinieu, but we only get snippets from Aidan. No significant part of the plot is spent telling the readers what happened there, or developing any characters that he met there.

My biggest issue with the lack of detailed storyline about Aveinieu is that this is what could really sell the book to middle school readers. Without it, the book won’t hook Fantasy readers, and the plot is too slow in parts to hook the Realistic Fiction readers.

Character Review
Okay, so now that you all know that Aidan’s magical vacation wasn’t detailed enough for me, here are some thoughts on the characters. I’ve read Levithan before. I usually like his YA stuff. The characters work for me; they’re diverse, and their dialogue sounds like a teenager (or at least the way a teenager would want themselves to sound). The problem is that these middle school characters sound a lot like Levithan’s YA characters, and there is a big difference. This book read to me like it should have been a YA novel with YA characters, and Levithan just struggled to fit a square peg into a round hole. He wanted to write a Middle Grade book, but I just don’t think it’s going to work well for actual Middle Graders. I think it could be a hard sell for my collection.

I did like Aunt Brandi. It’s not super common in Middle Grade fiction to see a transgender character who’s whole development doesn’t revolve around them being transgender. I found it refreshing.

So why a 3 star review?
Now that I’m done complaining, let me tell you why I still give this book 3 stars. Even though I think this will be a hard sell to middle schoolers, even though I think this would be a better YA novel with some tweaking than a Middle Grade story, and even though Levithan did not provide enough detail about Avienlieu to make me happy…I did read it in a day. I literally flew through this book. And as an adult reader, it worked for me. I think it’s well written. The story was compelling. I just don’t think it will have the same affect on the audience it was intended for.

ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Lucas's brother Aidan disappeared for six days. During that time, the entire town helped look, and the boys' parents (and Lucas) were understandably very upset. Then, just as suddenly, Aidan shows up in the family's attic, a bit dirty and still in his pajamas, but fine. Of course, the police question him and his family repeatedly, and only one story is clear: Aidan traveled into a magical alternate reality, Aveinieu, and only left because it wasn't safe for him to stay. He was befriended by Cordelia, who had been in the world so long that everyone she knew in our realm was dead, and she sort of wished she could have returned earlier. There are not a lot of details about the place, although clearly Aidan loved it there and longs to return. There is a lot of concern and curiosity about the incident, but the boys both want to get back to "normal". When they go back to school, someone on the police force leaks the details of Aidan's description of what happened, and kids at school start taunting him about his time with the "unicorns". Lucas feels sorry for Aidan, and tries to help him process what happened and his feelings about it at night before they go to sleep. The parents are also supportive, but a bit unsure what the best way forward is. Lucas at first tells his brother to say he was loopy when first interviewed and the details are due to hallucinations, then tells him to lie and say that he ran away to a gaming convention but didn't want to get into trouble. He tells this lie to the police, who don't believe him, and say that the story about Aveinieu was more convincing. The police are very understanding, and since no one kidnapped Aidan and he wasn't injured in any way, the most important thing is that going forward, he seek help and not run away. Aidan eventually gains some peace over being away from the idyllic world, and moves on, getting involved in activities and getting a boyfriend. Lucas still wants to understand what happened to his brother, and has a brief glimpse of the world in the attic.
Strengths: Children going missing is absolutely terrifying, so the exploration of how one family (and their town) deals with this is interesting. Lucas clearly loves his brother, and the parents and police are very understanding and helpful. Aunt Brandi is briefly described as having been the mother's younger brother growing up, but had long since begun living "as her true female self". It's good to see a transgender character described with correct terms, and be included in a story that was not about her gender identity. The story is a good length, and the pacing and character development is well suited to middle grade. I felt like this disappearance and Aidan's subsequent longing was a metaphor for a larger philosophical issue, but couldn't quite pin it down. I can see this being a "heartprint" book that teachers will use for class discussions.
Weaknesses: This was very slow moving, and aside from a few descriptions of Aveinieu, wasn't really a fantasy novel. I wished that most of the book would have concentrated on Aidan's experiences in the alternate world instead of covering the aftermath of his disappearance.
What I really think: The author cites Stead's When You Reach Me as a well done novel evocative of classic tales of magical realism, and set out to create something similar with this book. I can see this being popular with fans of Snyder's Orphan Island or Spinelli's Hokey Pokey. When You Reach Me only circulates well with students who had a teacher who was passionate about the title and perhaps read it to their class in elementary school, so I will probably pass on purchasing.

I enjoyed this story and I think my students will as well. It reminded me of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, but with it's own uniqueness. Choosing to tell the story from the perspective of the brother was wise for this story. It allowed the reader to determine the reliability of the story that Aiden told from a more objective point of view. If Aiden was telling the story, readers would likely believe that he was lying about where he disappeared to. A quick, fun read!

3 stars

I was instantly drawn in by the description and the author and could not wait to learn more about the mystery of Aidan S's disappearance.

While the ending - and Lucas in general - are sweet, so much time is spent on one thing: convincing folks that Aidan S. was where Aidan S. says he was. Seriously. It's almost the whole book. And there isn't really much variety in this. Aidan S. says he was in a specific place, folks struggle to believe him, and the pattern is repeated and repeated and repeated.

This is a cool concept, but I was hoping for and expecting much more than this.

Lucas, 11, has a typical relationship with his brother Aidan, 12. They annoy each other, they love each other, and can't imagine life without each other. Until Aidan disappears one day. Six days later he returns in the middle of the night, without a believable explanation. Their parents, the police, the neighborhood, everyone wants to know what happened to Aidan. Aidan tells Lucas and the police about this fantasy land he discovered, but no one wants this wild answer and instead thinks that he must have been kidnapped, there must be an earthly explanation about what happened. Aidan knows what really happened, and he slowly lets Lucas into the mythical world he found inside the old dresser in the attic. With great characters, excellent pacing, short but impactful chapters, this is sure to be a great middle school novel. Recommended for reluctant readers who have heard the story of Narnia, but find Lewis to be just to weighted to read.