Today on the blog I review the YA paranormal adventure The Disappearing Names by Pacific Northwest author Avis Adams. The author sent me an ARC review.
Without further ado…
Relatable characters and an intriguing mystery make this time travel adventure a winner.
The first thing I noticed when cracking open The Disappearing Names were the connections to the PNW's major metropolitan areas, Seattle and Portland. The action starts off with a tour of the Seattle underground. This is an attraction I'm familiar with, but despite the many times I've visited the city, I've never experienced it. The tour, along with its creepy guide, immediately pulled me into the tale.
The protagonist is a high school aged girl named Sam. Her partner on her adventures is her friend Nicole. Together, the girls become separated from their tour group, much to the chagrin of the guide and their teacher.
The girls come across bricks with names inscribed on them. Intrigued, they inspect the bricks and end up with way more adventure in their lives than they ever expected. The bricks move them across time and space to 1901 Portland.
At this point, the yarn becomes a real page-turner as the girls face the reality that they're not just in Seattle anymore, they're over 100 years in the past. If that's not enough, they're thrown into the midst of some real skullduggery and don't have a clue who they can trust. To stop what might become the crime of the century and to return home unscathed, they must rely on their wits and determine who they can trust in 1901.
Although The Disappearing Names is an entirely self-contained story, I believe it kicks off a YA time travel series. This is a good thing. Sam is an excellent YA protagonist, and I can easily see myself reading more of her adventures. On top of that, the supporting cast in 1901 has several intriguing characters who I can envision sliding into the protagonist's role in future installments.
Relatable characters and an intriguing mystery make this time travel adventure a winner. Highly recommended.