Customer Reviews

Vanishing

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If there's one thing I hate in a novel, it's poor characterization. (Actually there are other things I hate in books, but bad characterization tops the list.) If there's one thing I love, it's good characterization. And "Vanishing" has very well-drawn characters. Rex was my favorite, probably everyone's favorite. If I ever get a terminal illness I hope I can be as upbeat as him. The premise was interesting too, and I liked the descriptions of Alice's hallucinations. The book was, however, shorter than I would have liked, and the ending -- (spoiler) -- is kind of fairy tale-ish. But still, a great book, suitable I think for 12 and up.

"Vanishing" isn't written to imitate the speech patterns of 11-year-olds any more than "The West Wing" purports to give an accurate portrayal of dialogue in the White House. Instead, "Vanishing" presents the dialogue you wish you could have spoken when you were an adolescent faced with impotent parents who want to bequeath their legacy of hopelessness to you. What I found most fascinating in "Vanishing," however, was not the plot or the characters but the experiences of consciousness Alice has as the tether to her body gets slimmer and slimmer. The experiences take many shapes: synesthesia, in which Alice sees shapes and colors spill from the mouths of people as they speak; out-of-body awareness; and the ultimate Vedic mind-blower, the reduction of consciousness to a point before expanding to infinity. For the emerging soul, these depictions may be the most enduring contribution of this book. "Vanishing" is surely a book for adults. So the question becomes, is this a book for kids? I'm pretty sure my 10-year-old wouldn't read it. But when he turns 14 or 15 and his nervous system has become capable of abstract thought, it could be good. When he is physiologically capable of experiencing his essential being as pure consciousness separate from thoughts, feelings and the body, it may be important to read this book. When it's dawning on him that the simple act of living sometimes demands that we make a conscious decision to live, then yes, son, I have a book for you.

I think that Brooks could have made Alice and Rex a little more older than eleven years old. If you ask me eleven year olds don't talk like that and they would be a little more scared of dying. Brooks was making a good point though, "you shouldn't do things that could harm you just to get what you want." Alice wasn't only hurting herself but she was hurting her father, mother, and all of the people that cared about her.

Just because Alice didn't want to live with her drunken mother, abusive stepfather, and couldn't live with her father because he wanted to keep peace with his mother, she came close to killing herself. But Rex and her made a promise that she would start eating again if/when Rex died, and she did just that.

I purchased this book to replace a library book my daughter dropped in a puddle after school. It was listed as in nearly new condition. The description did not mention that there was writing in the book. Therefore, I was not allowed to turn it in. It was a total waste of time and money for me.

When Alice's parents divorced, things were awful. They grew even more awful when she was sent to live with her alcoholic mother and her new husband, a bully of a man who seemed to dislike and distrust Alice immensely. She would have preferred to live with her father, who always seemed to understand her and enjoy her company.

After countless bouts of depression that anger her stepfather and baffle her mother, Alice is finally sent, at age eleven, to live with her father and his mother. She is thrilled and excited at the thought of being out of her mother and stepfather's house, but her father seems less thrilled at having her so suddenly. She is given a makeshift room in the basement of her grandmother's house, but the damp chill quickly makes her sick. When she moves to her father's room upstairs, her coughing keeps her grandmother awake. Alice is put on a plane back to her mother.

On the plane ride, Alice passes out and wakes up in a hospital, where she finds she has severe bronchitis. Her mother, drunk and rambling, swears her father will never be allowed to see her again. Despondent, Alice begins her recovery in the hospital, unsure of how she will be able to live if she has to go back to her mother and stepfather's house. Soon a plan develops--she will not leave the hospital.

I liked Alice's intelligence. She seemed like a thoughtful girl, not just a rebellious one. I really liked the psychiatrist, although I wish we had seen more of him. In my opinion, he was the most interesting character in this story. I thought the ending of this book was too easy. I didn't feel like all of the conflicts were effectively wrapped up. I was upset by the way Alice's father was so quick to abandon her.

Alice is too much trouble for her grandmother, so her dad (who lives with grandmother)puts her on a plane in the middle of the night and send her to her mother. The "trouble" turns out to be pneumonia and Alice ends up in the hospital. When she is released Alice is faced with the fact that her father is too spineless to cope with her and her mother, an untreated alcoholic, is married to a man prone to verbal abuse. Her only choice, as she sees it, is not to leave the hospital. Alice goes on a hunger strike. In the course of her hunger strike she makes friends with a boy who is dying, and not by choice. When she finally breaks her fast, it is in order to be with her friend. I loved the viewpoint, but disliked the way everything fell into place at the end. In spite of the heart-warming chat Alice has with her stepfather at the end of the story, it seemed that no effort to address the neglect she suffered and protested occurred.

Alice and Rex,11 year old kids, have been put in the hospital because of thier hunger strike. Alice is "starving" herself because she doesn't want to live with her cold mother, nor her abusive stepfather, the only person Alice does want to live with is her real father, but she knows that won't happen. Alice has promised if/when Rex dies she will start eating.

Alice and Rex,11 year old kids, have been put in the hospital because of thier hunger strike. Alice is "starving" herself because she doesn't want to live with her cold mother, nor her abusive stepfather, the only person Alice does want to live with is her real father, but she knows that won't happen. Alice
has promised if/when Rex dies she will start eating.

The author doesn't waste any time on initial character development in this book about a girl wasting away in a hospital bed as a result of a hunger strike. Brooks' technique of starting this story in the middle of things presents a challenge. I found myself wanting more background information about both Alice and her counterpart, Rex, who is dying of a terminal illness. In bits and pieces Brooks reveals more about each of these characters, but the young audience for whom the book is intended may have long since lost interest due to confusion. While the story line will intrigue those middle-school-aged readers who are patient, the sarcasm and vocabulary used by the two eleven-year-old protagonists is too advanced for their ages to be believable.

I think the book Vanishing is a excellent book and very interesting. Its keep you reading the book because it is not boring. The way it is interesting is when Alice stops eating when she is twelve years of age. She also met her friend named Rex who had cancer. Thats why I think it is an excellent book to read!