Rating: ★★★★✬ (4.5/5 Stars)
Title: Before I Disappear
Author(s): Danielle Stinson
Character(s):
― Rose Montgomery: 17 years old, Brunette, Blue Eyed
― Charlie Montgomery: 10 years old, Black, Violet Eyed
Setting: Fort Glory, Oregon
Tag(s): Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Content Rating: PG
POV: First Person (Heroine)
Smexy Level: Subtle
Favorite Quote(s):
― "Can you hear the music, Rosie?"
― "Ever since that night in July, I don't wear makeup, or rebel against authority, or drive above the speed limit. staying out of trouble is pretty much at the top of my priority list. But the thing about trouble is that it has a way of finding you. Especially when you are looking for it."
― "Don't let Ian's manner put you off. He's rough around the edges, but so's gold before it's polished. There's more to a thing then the look of it."
― "The music in a dark is loud, but it's not as strong as the song inside of us. You'll feel it. Right here. It'll bring you halfway there. The rest you'll have to do on your own. Remember, Rosie. Promise me you'll remember."
― "Charlie. Charlie is the only thing that matters. He is my reason. My meaning. The answer to every question in my universe."
Overall Opinion:
The night in July changed everything and nothing's been right since the birds stopped singing. It's as if they felt the darkness coming, and by the looks of things, it has finally come forever changing Rose's life. From chapter one, Danielle Stinson beautifully written young adult fantasy debut hit me right in the feels and she had me questioning myself on what would anyone do if they were walking in Rose's shoes. The gut wrenching emotions she was able to express with her writing style and detail descriptions as well as Rose's drive to find her little brother won me over. At first it was strange how easily I was able to connect with the heroine and her journey to find Charlie before I realized I had my very own Charlie in real life that I would do anything to save if I was in her position. This novel was everything I imagined and more, and as I reached the end of the story, I was astonished about the well thought ending which left me wishing for more. It was near impossible to put this book down and thus far would consider "Before I Disappear" one of the best debuts of 2019.

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*Received via NetGalley for review*

Straddles the line between YA and adult: while it's pretty clearly influenced by A Wrinkle in Time (the strange younger brother, the fiercely protective sister, the darkness, love conquering all, etc.), the tone is a little confused. ( )

Grade Range: 9-12
Genre: Science Fiction
Literary Merit: Mediocre
Characterization: Mediocre
Recommendation: Optional Pruchase

Rose, her mother, and her little brother Charlie have been on the move for a long time, trying to escape a man who hurt them in the past. They find themselves in Fort Glory, Oregon - a place that Charlie was drawn to for unknown reasons. Fort Glory happens to be home to the Deep Atomic Research Collider (DARC), which has recently come back online after being shut down for years. Some people think it is the cause of some strange happenings and violent crimes around the town. Rose, however, is undeterred by this and is hoping that her family can finally put down roots. She has secretly applied to Hands for Hearths, an organization that builds houses for families in need. Before she leaves for her meeting at Hands for Hearths, Charlie makes a cryptic statement asking Rose not to leave him alone, “The music in the dark. It’s coming faster now. The cracks are getting wider...I’ll be here. Soon. The dark is coming, and I don’t want to be alone.” Rose leaves him anyway and that is the last she will see of her brother for a while because some weird stuff is about to go down. As Rose is leaving the Hands for Hearths office, she notices some fast-moving clouds on the horizon and a high pitched whining sound accompanied by a change in air pressure that makes her skull feel like it’s about to explode. Other people are having similar reactions and some are also acting out in violent ways. Rose drives away as quickly as she can to try to get back to her mother and brother, but she soon realizes that the town of Fort Glory has disappeared. Rose ends up stuck in the wilderness outside the space where the town used to be with several other teens. One of them is Blaine, who (as luck would have it) has an uncle who is a scientist working at the DARC whose work focused on proving the existence of extra dimensions. He even wrote a book about it, which (as luck would have it) Blain has with him. There are a few other teens along for the ride including a love interest for Rose.

The set up of this book was pretty intriguing. It has a creepy Strangers Things vibe where something mysterious is going on in the town and you’re not sure quite what it is. That’s where my positive comments end for this one. The “science” aspect of the plot was so convoluted that I can’t even begin to explain it. Rose keeps thinking that she sees her brother, but he is always just out of reach. Everyone who has met Charlie agrees that he is special, so they come to the logical conclusion that he is connected to the whole extra dimension wormhole thing that they have determined is happening. There are short chapters from Charlie’s point of view interspersed here and there that read sort of like free-verse poetry and don’t really make any sense. There are also flashbacks from Rose’s point of view that serve to show Charlie’s specialness and light. Though there are high stakes in this book, I never really cared about what happened to the characters. Though there is a lot of explaining, I never really understood the “science” of what was happening. Overall, this novel had a great premise that ultimately fell flat. Optional purchase where teen science fiction is popular. ( )