School Library Journal Starred Review

Gr 4-7 Charlie O'Reilly has lost his little brother. He wished him away the night before his birthday, and now he is missing. The worst part is that no one, including his parents, believe Liam ever existed. Every trace of Liam is gone, and Charlie's insistence that he was real has driven his mother into a deep depression. His only solace is his friend Ana, who vows to help him find Liam, even though she can't remember him either. When Charlie finds a note in his room suggesting they talk to Jonathan, the new assistant baseball coach, Charlie and Ana discover there might be hope to save Liam after all. However, the quest won't be without risks, and they may have to give up more than they expect. Readers will bite their nails and cheer for Charlie and his friends every step of the way. A nuanced villain adds depth and complexity to the story, and plot turns abound, both delightful and heartbreaking. VERDICT An original premise, tear-jerker twists, and a touching message about forgiveness make this a must-have on every middle grade shelf. Mandy Laferriere, Fowler Middle School, Frisco, TX

ALA Booklist (Thu Nov 01 00:00:00 CDT 2018)

Ansari's debut middle-grade novel is a genre-blending story that rings with themes of shared family grief and the power of forgiveness. Twelve-year-old Charlie's brother, Liam, disappeared a year ago, and Charlie is the only person who remembers him. To his mother and father, it is as if Liam never existed. The only person who believes Charlie is his best friend, Ana til they receive a strange message written in Liam's handwriting, urging them to talk to Charlie's 17-year-old baseball coach, Jonathon. Jonathon reveals his story of "the disappeared," or children who have wished they'd never been born, because of a terrible secret they are ashamed of. Charlie, Ana, and Jonathon embark on a mission to retrieve Liam from The Asylum, where the disappeared are kept. Intertwined with the present-day plotline are poignant, descriptive flashbacks to an Irish family's harrowing immigration to America. With elements of historical fiction, fantasy, and contemporary realism, the end result feels slightly cluttered. Nonetheless, this gripping debut delivers a powerful a little unsubtle ssage.

Horn Book

One year ago, Charlie's younger brother, Liam, disappeared from their bedroom and from everyone's memories--everyone's but Charlie's. When Charlie receives a strange note, he jumps at the opportunity to travel into another world to reclaim Liam. Ansari's debut novel blends mystery, time-slip fantasy, and historical fiction into a satisfying page-turner.

Kirkus Reviews

Forgotten brothers, lost children, and the deep bonds of family and forgiveness come together with a touch of the supernatural in Ansari's ghostly middle-grade thriller.Twelve-year-old Charlie's younger brother, Liam, has disappeared, but Charlie is the only one who remembers that he ever existed. For a year, Charlie has watched his family steadily fall apart in his brother's absence: his mother slipping further into her depression, his father constantly away on business, and Charlie himself sitting through endless (and useless) therapy sessions and enduring vivid nightmares of century-old tragedies. His only solace is his best friend, who believes Charlie about Liam even if she also doesn't remember him, and a young new baseball coach who tells Charlie of a hidden home for children so burdened by regret that they wish themselves never born—a tale that holds not only the answers to Liam's disappearance and Charlie's dreams, but a great deal more. Ansari trusts her audience with a complex narrative that traverses the breadth of time and the depths of self. The weave of guilt, family struggle, and forgiveness both complicates and complements questions of love and self-acceptance. The tiresome trope of the self-hating gay character briefly rears its head, and the romanticization of Mom's depression veers away from what could be a fully nuanced representation—a few flaws that mar an otherwise excellent debut. The book assumes a white default.Plot twists that'll turn even veteran readers' heads. (Supernatural mystery. 11-14)