Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance follows Sally, whose sister was accidently killed by her boyfriend in a car accident. This book really is one big long letter, from Sally, to her dead sister Kathy. Sally then becomes very close to Billy, Kathy's boyfriend. They both feel like only the other can understand exactly what they are going through, by missing Kathy. This book spans the years from before the accident, to when they are both grown and in different relationships. Somehow, Sally and Billy keep getting drawn back to each other, and the connection that they think they have is realized.

This book is definitely not what I thought it would be. For some reason I was expecting more of a "mystery" or "thriller" and this is neither of them. This is more just a general fiction book, or women's fiction book, that may not appeal to all audiences. I think that the title and the picture on the cover really. led me in the wrong direction for this genre. That being said, although this isn't necessarily my favorite genre of book, I did enjoy reading it, overall. Some parts were a little slower, but they all came together in the end, making for a really cohesive, touching book.

I also really enjoyed the narrator for this book. She gave Sally a child-like quality as the narrator that I wouldn't have thought to give her if I was reading it. I do think it was meant to convey that some parts of Sally were stunted, and left behind at the age of her sister's death, despite growing up and attempting to move on. A part of her will always be that teenaged that watched her sister die in the car accident.

Thank you to the author, narrator, publisher and Net Galley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Ok I went into this thinking that it was a thriller. It is not a thriller. That may have slightly affected the first half of this book because I was waiting to figure out when someone was going to get kidnapped or murdered. So learn from me - this is a coming of age story about grief, family, love and loss.

Losing a family member young is one of the hardest things someone can go through. This book explores a younger sister’s life before and after her older sister dies in a tragic accident. It’s in the form of a letter or conversation to her sister. It’s very stream of consciousness and meandering. There’s no . I didn’t vibe with the main character at the beginning (she was pretty annoying) but I think that’s the point. She goes from being young and naive (and following around and idolizing to having to grow up overnight. She finds solace in her sister’s boyfriend who seems to be the only one who understands.

Overall, this was moving and a nice break from what I usually read but it will probably be pretty forgettable for me.

I received an advance review copy of this audiobook for free from Macmillan Audio and NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily as a courtesy.

This coming-of-age literary fiction novel begins in the summer before Sally Holt starts the eighth grade. She and her sister Kathy could not be more different, but they bond over their school-girl crushes on Billy Barnes. By the end of the summer, Kathy and Billy are an item and soon, Kathy is dead. Over the next 15 years, Sally talks to Kathy about life, Billy, and the difficult time she has growing up in a house where her parents, destroyed by Kathy's death, simply coexist and sometimes forget that Sally is still around, needing their love and attention.

I've seen this book tagged as a mystery or thriller, however, I don't feel like it fits in those genres. This is a heartbreaking tale of a young teenage girl who loses her sister just before she starts growing up. Sally struggles to become a normal teenager and then adult, all while falling in love with Billy and him with her. The writing made me feel Sally's pain and confusion. The bond of sisterhood can never be broken not even by death. I am still haunted by the dark, raw, and brutally human feelings this book explores. The words and story come alive through narrator Jesse Vilinsky, who I feel was an excellent choice to voice Sally over the span of years. Fans of women's contemporary literary fiction will enjoy this love story - between sisters, family, and Billy.

Wow. I loved this book so much.
Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance was an intense and captivating read. The characters are engaging, and the story is so beautifully written. It is one of those books that stick with you for a long time.

This book was devastatingly beautiful. I can not recommend it enough.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for an audio ARC in exchange of my honest opinion.

3.45 ⭐ rounded up
This is a coming of age, grief driven story that spans over 15 years.
*please note ~ disappearance does not equal missing, so read the blurb, not just the title*

Told by Sally Holt as she recites all the good and bad times she and her sister, Kathy, had, and what Kathy has missed out on, by narrating as if she were speaking directly to her after her death.
I don't think I've ever read a book in this type of format before.

Sally and Kathy were a few years apart in age, but both still had googly eyes for Billy, the stud who works at the pool concession stand. Kathy and Billy eventually start seeing each other. Then one terrible mistake took Kathy's life. Although, Billy was at fault, Sally is still drawn to him. I didn't really care for what this leads to years down the road.

The parents understandly have a tough time in the days and years that come and their grief process was written well.
I am not opposed to crude language, but I don't like it when spoken by teenagers and there was an abundance.

This was a pretty long listen at 12 hours, 17 minutes and 19 seconds (sounded okay at 2x). Jesse Vilinsky did a good job narrating and keeping me engaged.
It was a bit slow going at times and I was ready to be done around 80%.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was fortunate to listen to it courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher. It is told by Sally ,the younger of 2 sisters. Her sister Kathy has died tragically and the book spans the years before and after. I was taken with how the death affected each member of the family and their friends. I will read this again.

This book is a recounting of her sisters death and what happened afterwards. I liked this book, it made me so sad and made me think of my own sister. This is one of those books that'll make you think of it days after you finish it. It was funny at times. This book is so good.

Sally’s life changes in an instant when her sister tragically dies. A slow-build novel told by Sally right before and after she lost her older sister in an accident, this story is part coming of age, part romance, part family drama. I loved the depiction of the sister relationship, before the accident, but especially after the accident when Sally narrates as “notes” to her sister. It was a bit uncomfortable as she develops feelings for her sister’s boyfriend, who feels responsible for the death of Sally’s sister, but like Sally, the story seemed to mature as it progressed. By the ending, I was really invested in the characters and could appreciate the story.

Notes On Your Sudden Disappearance is a coming-of-age story about a family who is touched by tragedy. The story is set in the 1990s and follows sisters Sally and Kathy. The narrator, Sally, loses her sister as a young teenager, and we see how it effects everyone close to her. I really liked the writing style, but found the story a little repetitive and moved slowly. It is largely a slow burn, interior novel, similar to the style of Celeste Ng. The characters are written in a very honest way. They're not always likeable, but they feel very real. I found it compelling to learn how the lives of each person changed after tragedy. I listened to the audiobook which was perfectly narrated by Jesse Vilinsky.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC. All thoughts are my own.

I liked this one overall although it was longer than it needed to be. It was touching and powerful exploration of how losing a sibling or child changes everything.

I was sold on NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE after having seen it compared to ASK AGAIN, YES (and that great cover didn't hurt!). However, I do think this one's more coming of age tale than family saga.

I was not expecting this to largely be a book about grief. I think that's partially due to my not having recently read the synopsis, but also because the one-sentence description refers to it as "a dazzlingly unconventional love story." I won't describe the events that transpire in case you, too, like to go in not expecting certain plot points, but I think it helps to know this book's strongest theme is grief.

I found that author Alison Espach deftly described how one might navigate this sort of loss, but being mired in those feelings wasn't always enjoyable. The plot is fairly slow -- I'd recommend NOTES to those more interested in character than plot.

The narration by Jesse Vilinsky is excellent. I think Vilinsky was well cast for this book, especially given its second-person narration.

I loved this book. The story of a the dynamic of sisters, from the perspective of the younger sister, always in the shadow of her big sister, trying to keep up and keep connected. Following her sister's death, life for Sally Holt continues to be defined by her older sister, her memory, her desire to know her in new ways, and the grief that changes the family forever.
I found this story to be very compelling, with a lot of depth and complex emotions that surround the loss of a loved one. Both a coming-of-age novel and a reflection on grief, NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE is an example of quietly powerful storytelling. I loved the narration by Jesse Vilinsky, she is one of the best.

This was quite an awkward tale. The relationship between the two girls when they are very young reminded me of my own with my sister. Much was far too familiar. It crossed a weird line in the older chapters. A little cringy.

I found this to be a unique book. It is told from the viewpoint of Sally. She's the youngest of two sisters and appears to made to feel like the less attractive one the majority of the time. It seemed as if a good deal of the attention went to her older sister, but that could have just been her perception.

This story takes you from their childhood up to a point where Sally's older sister dies in high school. From that point on, you see how much Sally struggles to deal with the loss. Being an adolescent is difficult enough but to lose her sister is overwhelming. Couple that with the fact that her parents are too busy grieving to watch out for her and it's easy to see how she was lost for a while. The book follows Sally into adulthood, with some times skips along the way.

The narration of the story is told in a way that it seems Sally is talking and explaining herself to her older sister, Kathy. Once Kathy passes away, Sally has guilt that she doesn't know what to do with. To make it worse, her parents want nothing to do with Kathy's boyfriend, Billy. Sally finds this extremely difficult because she's forbidden from talking to him as well. It feels like another loss to her.

This book may not be for everyone because of the way the narration is done., However, I thought it was creative and really enjoyed it.

AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: I thought the narration was done well and kept me engrossed with the story. I toggled back and forth between the audio and ebook and it was easy to do. I never felt like I missed out on anything. 4 stars

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC. I voluntarily chose to review it and the opinions contained within are my own.

What a story to walk into without thinking about the plot. Having gone through the loss of my own sister, and very recently to when I read this book, I found myself feeling cathartic about the whole experience. When you're in grief, you feel like you're the only one experiencing it. This book made me feel like I had a partner in my loss, even though the circumstances are completely different, the relationships between parents and daughter are not the same for me, and the outcome of the novel. I found each piece incredibly helpful, even when it wasn't. Some of the gritty detail stuck out to me, and I dwelled on it for hours. But it didn't make me sad. It made me understand- understand we each take our own path in grief. I was just so fascinated by the overall story, and thoroughly enjoyed it. There isn't a lot of action, a lot of meaty plot if you will, but this is the kind of novel that doesn't need that. It kept momentum from beginning to end. It's a book I'll think about for a long time.

This book was really, really good. This was a book that I went into completely blind, simply being intrigued by the cover and title. It reminds me a lot of The Lovely Bones, only much better! I found myself trying to slow down because I didn't want to book to end. I really recommend this one! ⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was hooked from the start!

So much happened and I loved how sucked in I was with the story.

This book will definitely will not disappoint you.

Thank you Macmillan Audio and NetGalley for this audiobook in exchange for my honest review.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance by Alison Espach is a heavy and slow-burning novel about a teenage girl coming to terms with the loss of her sister. The tragedy rocks her entire family’s world, and hits them all in different ways. Each member tries to find their own coping strategy, along with some form of comfort and acceptance. The reader is a witness to the aftermath of their heartbreak. This book is emotional, melancholic, and could be difficult for some. You definitely need to be in the right frame of mind before you read it.

READ THIS BOOK IF YOU ENJOY:

- Coming-of-age stories
- Slow-moving plots
- Dark and heavy reads
- Family dramas
- Sisterhood
- Stories on loss and grief
- Young love
- Character studies

I did enjoy this novel, and I do love a slow-burn; but this one was actually a little too slow, to be perfectly honest. The pace made my mind wander quite often, especially near the end. Other than that, it was a pretty solid read. 3.5/5 stars for Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance! It’s out on Tuesday, May 17th!

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance broke my heart slowly and left me contemplating my life. It is a dark coming of age that touches on love, loss, and everything in between.

In this book, Sally Holt is talking to her older sister Kathy. One morning, Kathy and her boyfriend Billy are taking Sally to school, a moment which changes all of their lives. They get in a horrible car accident, leaving Kathy dead, Billy with multiple serious injuries, and Sally traumatized.

Sally's life used to revolve around her sister, and now it revolves around her absence.

If you have even a mildly close relationship with your sister, proceed with caution because I had to take this one slowly. Although the pacing was not consistent, I did not mind at all because it felt so real. Every character and every moment of this story felt so authentic, I had to remind myself that it is fiction. Sally is often at times unlikable or frustrating but what little sister isn't.

One thing I didn't love was the ending. I understand why it had to happen but (spoiler) I'm not a fan of her ending up with her dead sister's boyfriend.

Overall, this is a beautifully authentic and heartbreaking story. The narrator did a wonderful job of making me cry in my car and I will recommend this to everyone. Thank you NetGalley and Henry Holt and Company for the advanced copy.

This is a very slow paced coming of age book. I could not get into this book due to the slow pace. It took a very long time for anything to happen.