I enjoyed that this book has children learning to question religion and breaking down some of the barriers that I find personally hindering when dealing with religion. This is not a book that I would probably recommend to a younger reader, but one that an older reader questioning the some of the beliefs religion has or questioning if they can still have a relationship with a higher deity and believe some of the things they do. This is an intriguing book, and I am glad I got to read it.
Thank you so much to Abrams Kids and Netgalley for allowing me to read an advance copy of this title.

Darian lives in a mission on a mysterious island where boys vanish without a trace. Despite their hard lives and the cruelty of the adults in charge, Darian is determined to grow up to spread the faith in accordance with his training. But when yet another boy vanishes, Darian and his best friend (crush?) Micah set out to find the truth. This is a beautiful adventure that weaves colonization and faith into a story about friendship and acceptance.

Do you ever read a book and think *oh damn, this is going to get banned*. This is the first time it's ever happened to me, and I honestly hope I'm wrong, because I think this book is super important.

Basically, we start off with a group of kids, mostly orphans, who are living in a commune type place, as part of a religious order. The story is from Darian's point of view, and he doesn't really know anything about his life before he arrived on Rhodenroode Island; where he came from, who his people are, nothing. He is the only one of his race in the order, though his best friend, Micah, also doesn't look like the other boys. Darian tried his best to live according to the rules and not ask questions, because when you ask questions you are punished by the brothers. But when boys go missing, Darian and Micah have too many questions and not enough answers, and this leads them on an adventure of discovery.

So, we start off with a mostly whitewashed religious order who view others as less-than. We have a religious order that uses physical punishments when anyone questions the rules or anything else about the order. The book really highlights the hypocrisy within Christianity, and I could see the parallels it was drawing between Canadian residential schools, as well as I'm sure any kind of schools that were set up by colonizers and the church in any number of other countries.

The book is incredibly critical of colonization and how Christianity has used the ideas of terra nullius and having dominion over the land (as it states in the bible) to just do whatever they want, wherever they want. There is the sense of manifest destiny, that we regularly see south of the border, but that I'm sure is prevalent elsewhere as well. And we see this group of supposedly godly men, abusing the most vulnerable in society: orphans, people of colour, 2SLGBTQIA+ folks. And by the end of the book, it's shown what actually being godly means, how there is no right way to serve god other than to do your best and be a good person.

This is such an important story and I love that it's being aimed at a young audience.

The Vanished Ones, Chad Lucas's newest novel is at once an adventure, a fantasy, and an exploration of the very powerful and relevant themes of belief, belonging, and the vagaries of truth. As he has done in his previous novels, Lucas creates characters with great tenderness, yet he never hesitates to push them, testing their mettle and their limits. The richly built world immediately grounds the reader, leaving us to think we know where we are. And yet, Lucas's tale is full of exciting twists and turns that will leave you turning pages as fast as you can!
The Vanished Ones is a beautiful addition to books for upper MG readers who are hungry for more complex themes, ideas, and moral dilemmas to get lost in!

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for the opportunity to read early.

The title intrigued me first, and then the story hooked me. Boys showing up in a secluded place not knowing how they got there, being put to work, and being told to follow certain beliefs "or else." Who knows who the next vanished one may be and where they may end up? There are unexpected, but welcome, twists and turns in this suspenseful tale. I'll certainly be purchasing this for my library.

At once a story of adventure, of friendship, and of self-discovery, THE VANISHED ONES by Chad Lucas is about the importance of questioning what we’ve always been told is true. Characters to fall for, extraordinary world-building, and a fabulously twisty-turny plot will keep readers on the edges of their seats while always reminding them to choose the path of love. My thanks to the author and publisher for the eARC.

This book is brilliant. I would say it is at the older end of middle grade; there are some big themes covered, such as loss, belonging, orphaned and abandoned children as well as some violence.

In terms of world-building, it doesn't get much better than this. The contrast between the two main settings of the novel are huge and so cleverly written and both have a real depth of history and societal structure. I thought the characters were brilliantly written - I think it says a lot when characters are so distinctive that you can tell who is speaking without needing to name them.

I can see this being popular with fans of the Orphans of the Tide books.

My only slight issue is the use of the word "bollocks" in Chapter 23. For this reason, I wouldn't be able to recommend this book to children in my class (UKS2) which I feel is a shame as I think this would otherwise be a popular book.

3.5 stars
A children’s book which deals with many adult issues to do with identity and religion. It was an interesting read although I found it a little slow. Plenty of adventure for the intended audience and nicely written.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ebook.