3.5 stars!

Last summer, Izzy disappeared. One night, a competitive swimmer challenged her teammate to a race, one where she swam, and he ran across Bottomrock Lake. Now, her twin sister, Teddy, is back working at Bottomrock for the summer, faced with memories of her sister and a new hire- Toby- the last person to see Izzy alive. Teddy feels like the last person holding out hope that her sister is still out there, that something is missing and needs to be uncovered and what first seemed like an ugly reminder of her missing sister now feels like an opportunity. Teddy vows to unearth what happened to Izzy.

The reason I requested this ARC was in part due to my increasing love of the YA mystery/thriller genre and partly because it was marketed as ‘Sadie’ meets ‘We Were Liars’. ‘Sadie’ is one of my favourite books and I’m a big Courtney Summers fan, however, in this case, I worry the comparison just left me more disappointed than I otherwise would have been.

I can see the parallels to Courtney Summer’s ‘Sadie’ but ‘After You Vanished’ is missing a gritty narrative and slick pace that it needs to compete at the same level. Every twist and reveal in ‘Sadie’ drove home a different societal point and challenged preconceived conclusions. ‘After You Vanished’ sits much more speculatively in the mystery genre and explores grief and those left behind when someone leaves much more than it seems to aim to discover what happened to Izzy. Unfortunately, it’s marketed as a mystery that Teddy will spend the book uncovering and frankly left me unsatisfied in that department.

When Teddy started to investigate, about a quarter into the book, it did gain some speed and interest despite seeing a few twists coming, which is why it was frustrating when it did fall flat. The book is told from the perspective of Teddy talking to Izzy which could be better utilised. I could potentially see what the author was trying to achieve with this choice, but in the end, needed more editing to pull off its speculative nature.

I did enjoy uncovering more about Izzy and exploring what that meant for Teddy and her grief and relationship with herself and her family. There is a touch of romance which is also woven into the plot and works well, it doesn’t take over the main themes, instead adding an aspect which helps develop this discussion. As a side remark, there is some bisexual rep which I also love to see!

Overall, there was a lot of potential here, some important and interesting themes of grief, trauma and relationships, and I’d be interested to see what E.A. Neeves writes next. The book had debut teething problems showcased in its pace and narrative- I did need more from that ending. Ultimately my experience wasn’t helped by its comparison to ‘Sadie’ and ‘We Were Liars’.

This was told different then I thought it would be, its like letters to the characters sister. I enjoyed this as much as I could with the topics it covers. Trigger warning of: sexual assault, loss of a sibling.

Teddys twin is missing. Izzy has disappeared during a midnight swim and Teddy cannot imagine her twin would have drown - not when she swimming skills are olympic level. Teddy and her sisters friend Toby start an endless search to discover what has happened and why wouldn’t her twin confide in her.

This was written in such an interesting way and I loved the way the author crafted this. I loved this mystery and thought it was a great read.

We really have to stop comping things to We Were Liars because it gives away the twist (or the assumption of every character except the MC in this case). This was fine, but it wasn't spectacular.

#NetGalleyARC This was a great mysterious read. It's perfect for this time of year and I'm kinda glad it took me so long to get to it. The writing was good and the story kept me entertained and kept my attention throughout the story. Will for sure be getting this for my HS library.

apologies for delayed review!

I enjoyed this book and got into the plot really quickly. The characters are well developed and have good dynamics. I enjoyed the different perspective of the writing and thought it was a good technique.
Overall an enjoyable read!

Thanks netgalley for the arc!

I really enjoyed this book and got sucked into the plot quickly. All the characters are well developed and I found myself rooting for them to find out the truth. This was sort of a modern day Nancy Drew and I loved every minute of it. Several times I was certain that I had figured it all out, only to discover that I had no clue. (An interesting side effect of reading on a Kindle is thinking that you have figured out the story and looking at the percentage read and realizing that you haven't! I enjoyed the different style of perspective that the writer used, with Teddy speaking to her sister, instead of the reader. Once I was used to it, I enjoyed the extra details included by this perspective of their bond. I wish there was a sequel because I enjoyed the development of the characters so much, but I appreciate the ending that allows me to imagine what I want to happen next.

A rather good “who done it” or “did anybody do it”. Izzy’s been gone nearly a year, but Teddy – her twin sister – cannot believe her nearly Olympic material swimmer could have drowned. As Teddy begins to delve deeper into what happened that day/night at Bottomrock Lake she finds she did not know her sister as well as she thought.
This is a good debut novel from E.A.Neeves and I look forward to seeing another.

I did not finish this one, it was not for me, I couldn't relate to the characters, and just did not care for the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance reader copy of After You Vanished. I loved this book. Not my usual genre, but written well with a good mystery. The author keeps the reader turning pages wanting to know what happened. The end did not dissappoint. 4 stars

After You Vanished
By E. V. Neeves

Genre:
Young Adult Psychological Thriller/Mystery

Red Flags:
Loss, Murder, Sexual Assault, Rape

Summary/Review:
Teddy and Izzy are twins who are very different, but love each other all the same. Izzy vanishes and no one seems to know what happened to her or where she might be, Teddy becomes obsessed with finding her twin sister. E. A. Neeves creates a young adult mystery with elements of built up suspense and keeps the reading guessing until the very end.
Thank you to E. A. Neeves, Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Hyperion, and Netgalley for the Advanced Readers Copy for free. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

#reluctantreaderreads
#afteryouvanished
#eaneeves
#disneypublishingworldwide
#netgalley
#advancedreaderreads

I did not love After You Vanished... and I can't tell if it's because I didn't expect what it actually was. The book is a victim of improper marketing... it's a mystery without the mystery. There's nothing exciting here and the characters were meh.

I'm not gonna lie, it took me a bit to get in to this book, but once I did I had to finish it as soon as possible. Izzy is a strong swimmer training for the Olympics, but on a swim across the lake she's gone. Told from the perspective of her twin Teddy, we see what has happened in life after she vanished as she trys to figure out what happened that night.

This book really fell short for me.
Izzy, Teddy's twin sister went missing the summer before and Teddy is determined to find out where she went.
The characters in this book were bland and a lot then didn't add anything to this story. I had hopes that the book had a different outcome. But honestly I felt the whole story was pointless.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for a honest review.

After You Vanished was more of a teen drama than a real mystery. There was nothing new here and the characters were especially bland. They never seemed fleshed out and real. It was hard to connect with them.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and Net Galley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
After You Vanished had me hooked from the start. It's a mystery and a story of dealing with grief. Teddy is trying to move on with her life after her sister vanished. Did she die or leave. There was never a body. Neeves kept me guessing and I kept rethinking what happened. The story is told as Teddy writes to her sister. and narrates the present. I think students will enjoy the mystery and want to keep reading to find out Izzy's whole story

Teddy used to love lifeguarding Bottomrock Lake, until her twin went for a midnight swim and never came back. Being a talented swimmer, Izzy couldn't have drowned. If she did drown, where is her body and why is her passport missing? With Toby's help, Teddy will spend one final summer trying to figure out what happened to Izzy.

The story is told from Teddy's point of view directly to Izzy. The author has written a plot on themes of grief, family, identity, and guilt are explored. It is a compelling, heartfelt mystery that I enjoyed.

Teddy’s favorite place is Bottomrock Lake, where she’s been a lifeguard every summer, even though it’s the last place her twin sister, Izzy was seen a year ago. Now, she can’t stop thinking of all the places her sister went - Izzy was on her way to become an Olympic swimmer, there’s no way she could have drowned. Plus, her passport is missing.

But when Toby, the boy who was with Izzy that fateful night she vanished, comes to Bottomrock to work as a lifeguard too, Teddy can’t help but want to ask 1,000 questions. How many secrets does Toby have of Izzy’s that she didn’t share with Teddy? And why does undercovering one always lead to ten more?

I picked this up because it mentioned Sadie by Courtney Summers as a read-a-like, and I absolutely love that book and am constantly recommending it, so to have another title that would get to be added to that list was what I was looking for. I had high expectations, and this one didn’t disappoint.

This is most definitely a slow burn mystery with low stakes (no one is coming after to kill Teddy or anyone else) mixed with a bit of romance. There was always something that made me turn the page, even when Teddy would eliminate something. I always had hope it would turn out one way. I will say I think it took me a bit longer to see a few of the curveballs that were thrown, but in the end it was fun to see it all connected.

Though a mystery, this book also focuses on Teddy and her grief of losing not only a sibling, but her twin. And how she uses it to grow out on her own for the first time. Her story in that regard was well written.

Needless to say, this will be on my recommendation list, alongside Sadie, for anyone who wants a good mystery with emotional layers to it.

*Thank you Disney-Hyperion and NetGalley for a digital advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review

AFTER YOU VANISHED by EA Neeves is an interesting take on the missing sibling trope. I thought it was cool how the whole novel was written in second person, addressed to the twin who went missing one year prior. Her grief over her lost sister feels tangible on the page. The friendship dynamics are messy in a realistic way. I think it would be a good fit for teens who like One of Us Is Lying (Karen McManus) or Sadie (Courtney Summers).