Review of "The Vanishings"

"I don't know what I'm going to do."

     Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye's The Vanishings, the first chapter in the forty-book-long series Left Behind: The Kids, addresses the Biblical Rapture from the point of view of four kids. Judd, Vicki, Ryan, and Lionel are complete strangers, their only real connection a church their parents all attend. Vicki's "trailer trash" who hangs out with smokers and drinkers; Lionel is the only one in his family who isn't a devout Christian; Ryan's best friend has gone "religious" on him; and rich-boy Judd has just stolen his father's credit card and bought the next plane ticket out of Chicago. Each protagonist is knee-deep in their own problems, but when millions of people disappear off the face of the earth in the same instant, they are forced to deal with the aftermath together. With the help of a pastor faced with the reality of his lifelong deceit, these teens may just find that hope exists in the darkest places--if only they know where to look.

     The writing style in this novel is simple and straightforward. Utilizing a vocabulary readers of any age can understand, the authors sketch out a very basic, yet believable, picture of what the world would look like in the wake of the Biblical apocalypse. The authors' voice is very distinctive, and is just mature enough that older teens should enjoy it just as much as their younger counterparts. There is just enough detail tucked away in the hidden pockets between words to give readers a clear image of what is going on, physically and within the characters' heads. The one downside is the shortness of the story, as it comes to a close just when it seems like the plot is picking up speed, leaving it up to the remainder of the series to answer the burning question of what happens next.

     Sixteen-year-old Judd Thompson Jr., the oldest of the foursome, is on a mission to hit his parents where they'll hurt most and enjoy the privileges of adulthood at the same time. Vicki Byrne, fourteen, hates life and God and cares only about doing drugs with her friends, especially since it breaks her parents' hearts to hear about it. Lionel Washington is thirteen and wants the security his family has in their faith, but feels more at home with his anti-theistic uncle than anyone else. And twelve-year-old Ryan is far more interested in playing games with his best friend, Raymie, than reading the Bible or praying to a God he knows next to nothing about. These characters don't start out as Christians, and aren't all magically converted by the end of the text. Instead, they struggle with family trouble and fight to reconcile beliefs with fact, even as they work to recover from their families' disappearance from their lives.

     Though this is a Christian book, it manages to balance preachiness with logic and sound storytelling quite nicely. Judd and the others are remarkable characters who flourish under the pens of the authors, and don't talk to many people of faith until they near the end of the book. Until then, they must work out for themselves what has happened, using vague recollections of Sunday school lessons and arguments with parents to piece everything together. Although there are times when it does get a little in-your-face, the message is generally pretty subtle, hiding behind characters' decisions and deductions. Action also plays a solid role, making this more than a few kids discussing philosophy while terror rains down destruction outside. Despite this, violence doesn't make much of an appearance and the protagonists' few curses are hidden by description.

     I would recommend this book to tweens and teens who are interested in an exciting Christian book about teenagers living in a world flipped upside-down. Lionel, Ryan, Judd, and Vicki are great characters whose stories are strongly written and very relatable. They live in a Chicago that is extremely realistic, surrounded by people who could very easily live next door to anyone, even readers. Sadly, however, the book is very short, stopping at the precise moment when things are getting truly interesting. Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye did a pretty good job with The Vanishings, a book that deserves three stars for its sympathetic protagonists, believable writing style, and a plot that is brief but relatively glorious.