Ponder: Rules for Disappearing

Rules for Disappearing ©2013 byAshley Elston is a page turning, intense, suspense tale, relating the experiences of a family of four in the Witness Protection Program. A father, mother, and their two daughters, ages seventeen and eleven, are forced to relocate multiple times for their own safety. It is told in first person by the seventeen year old. Aspects really tugged at my heartstring for the adolescents of the story. Having to abruptly abandon friends, clothing, and hairstyles while changing schools repeatedly takes a toll on the psyches and chameleon lifestyles. Because the main characters are teens, the novel is characterized as the young adult genre, but that category did not diminish its appeal to me. Per Wikipedia's description of Young Adult Literature, "Young Adult literature (YA) is typically written for readers aged 12 to 18 and includes most of the themes found in adult fiction, such as friendship, family dysfunction, substance abuse, alcoholism, and sexuality." The main characters of young adult novels may be teenagers but the conflicts and dilemmas are mature enough to engage an adult reader.

In The Rules for Disappearing, seventeen-year-old Meg (aka, a slew of other names) takes on adult roles in caring for her panicked younger sister, her alcoholic mother, and her overworked and overstressed father, while struggling to avoid making any relationships or ties that she anticipates will need to be broken off with no warning and no goodbyes. Pile on top of those struggles, the fear of avoiding those who are after her, and this book grips its reader in an unrelenting strangle hold unable to escape until its completion.  This is the fifth book I have enjoyed by Ashley Elston. I have read two adults novels and three YA novels by Ashley Elston and rated them all highly.  The Rules for Disappearing follows the same pattern. Follows is the list of those five books followed by the dates I posted my review of each.

5 stars First Lie Wins ©2024 (adult)  — see post for 9/6/24
5 stars The Lying Woods ©2019  (young adult)  — see post for 10/8/24
4 stars This Is Our Story ©2016 (young adult)  — see post for 10/29/24
5 stars Anatomy of an Alibi ©2026  (adult)  — see post for 10/14/26
5 stars The Rules for Disappearing ©2013 (young adult)  — see this post 11/9/26

I rate The Rules for Disappearing five stars. The first book can be complete in and of itself and does not end in a cliffhanger. But I became invested enough in Meg's family and the budding relationships that I need to know what happens next. I have already purchased the second book of this two part series and look forward to reading it as well. 

★★★★★ Great! Read it!

Yet Another Pumpkin Patch

Sunday, October 18th we went to yet another pumpkin patch to get our fill of the fall season. The Moore Pumpkin Patch is a chain and this small one is located on a lot associated with a church and only a few blocks away from Alex's home. Alex general picks two or three small pumpkins to take home with him. When we first arrived I asked Alex to pose for a picture and this is the result.  When you tell Alex to smile he closes his eyes and says "yeah, yeah" and I caught him in the action. For his eyes to be open, the shot needs to be candid.

Aside from the pumpkins there are several displays to amuse and educate. Alex made himself comfortable by the goat and the chicken.

I learned something new from the cow display. How many...

• Squirts does it take to make a gallon of milk?  350 squirts
• Gallons of milk does a cow produce in a day?  10 gallons
• Stomachs does a cow have?  4
• Hours a day does a cow spend eating/chewing? 6 eating/6 chewing
  
  

 

Even ghosts want to get into the pumpkin carving act. Alex will not carve his pumpkins, just carry them around with him.

There are several photo opportunities scattered though out the small lot of this pumpkin patch and I paused at several of them. There is the truck carrying a load of pumpkins and there is the bales of hay with cornstalks display. Alex's pumpkin preference is for small palm size pumpkins or slightly larger ones if they are light enough and have a stem for carrying. He picked one small pumpkin with a tall stem and two tiny pumpkins this year.

After the  pumpkin patch we went on to our regular Sunday bowling. Even Earl Anthony's Bowl  is decorated for the season.

Unlike his wiser son — who picked only pumpkins small enough to carry by himself — Frank picked a huge one we struggled to get into the car at the patch and out of the car once home. Frank did select a good one. It does look quite grand near our front door, even if we do not carve it.

I myself, for one, am content with an eclectic collection of soft cloth stuffed pumpkins displayed on the living room hearth. I also enjoy a fall-themed soft goods seasonal display on the dining room table.