Alison Espach

"The summer before Sally Holt starts the eighth grade begins as a gloriously uneventful one, full of family trips to the beach and long afternoons at the local pool with her older sister Kathy, which they mostly use as an excuse to ogle Billy Barnes, who works the concession stand there. Their fascination with him is one of the few things the increasingly different sisters have in common. By summer's end Billy and Kathy are an item-an unthinkable stroke of luck that ends in an even more unthinkable tragedy. Set over the course of fifteen years, charting shared history and missed connections, NOTES ON YOUR SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE is both a breathtaking love story between two broken people who are unexplainably, inconveniently drawn to each other, and a wry, sharply observant coming-of-age story that looks at the ways the people we love the most continue to shape our lives long after they're gone"--

A Novel

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance

Denaiir

It started really strong but then seemed to go on forever with little purpose, too bad the pacing was off. The first third was good but after that there was no purpose, nothing was happening and it became boring. The characters also became quite irritating.
It was mislabeled a thriller/mystery but is literary fiction

Alexa M

"There is something deeply wrong with me. There is a dark hole inside of me, where you used to be; it's the space where I live now. It's soundless and windless and without gravity, and from here, I can see everything. From here, I look back out at the world, at all the regular people living their life so easily." 

 wow !!!  this was so good. equal parts heart-breaking and witty with overall melancholic vibes. Sally loses her sister at 13 and spends the next 15 years grappling with that loss and learning how to live with, and explore, her grief. i loved the familial aspects, the sisterly bond, and all the different portrayals of grief. this book has a slow vibe but is very fast-paced, if that makes sense. i really, really loved this !!

kendall p

There’s not much to say about this book. It's one of those where you just read it, and you aren't sure how you feel about it. 
It’s a moving tale set over the course of 15 years, where we grow to become very close to every character. 
We watch as they battle grief, death, family troubles and so much more. 
You truly feel connected to this family, and the way their grow and try and overcome the loss of Kathy. 
It was so heartbreakingly real in a way I didn’t imagine it would be. 
It resonated with me so well, and I really enjoyed the story telling aspect on this book, and how it was broken up. 
Overall, it was a great book & i really enjoyed it.

** i was provided an e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

Brigid prior 

This book was melancholy and hopeful, and it reminded me both of my impermeability and my mortality. I loved it. But I needed the ending to last longer!

Christina Pappas

When Emily St. John Mandel praises a book as "deeply moving, always excellent, and often unexpectedly funny," my expectations are going to be sky-high, so frankly I was a bit wary to read Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance - I didn't want to be disappointed if it didn't live up to the hype. Happily, and astonishingly, it exceeded it. 

I absolutely loved this book. It's in that elusive sweet spot - strong plot, compelling characters, AND excellent writing. I felt so strongly for Sally - and, even though we never hear from them directly, for her mother, her father, and Billy, her sister Kathy's boyfriend when she died. Even though most of the book takes place in the aftermath of the accident that kills Kathy, she's such a vivid character, too. (I will note that plot-wise, it reminded me strongly of another ARC I've read recently, Kaleidoscope by Cecily Wong. At a high level, they can be described quite similarly - girl loses beloved sister to a horrific accident, trauma-bonds with her left-behind partner, their relationship begins to transform...) 

On reflection, it's fitting that Emily St. John Mandel wrote the review she did. She's described her recently adapted-for-TV book, Station Eleven, as a story not about the apocalypse, but about post-apocalyptic joy; Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance is similar. Kathy's death is apocalyptic for Sally and her family - but, though their grief is endless, there's joy to be found, too. (Along those lines, while the ending may be controversial, I loved it.) 

5+ stars. I'll be buying a copy to reread, and I've requested Alison Espach's first novel from the library. 

Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance A Novel

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