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!