The Night I Disappeared

From Publishers Weekly
Admirers of Deaver's Say Goodnight, Gracie may welcome the return of two of that book's protagonists but are likely to end up disappointed: the characterizations here are thin and the plotting will seem obvious to anyone at all familiar with YA problem novels. Jamie Tessman, underachieving daughter of a high-profile attorney mother (Jamie's father died when she was three), has only one friend, Webb, and she has seen him every day since meeting him when she was nine. But this summer they part: Webb backpacks through Europe, and Jamie accompanies her mother to Chicago, where Ms. Tessman is defending a girl in a sensational court case. Her mother works so hard that Jamie is able to conceal the problem that terrifies hershe loses herself in seemingly real fantasies of being with Webb. An accident resulting from one such lapse brings about a trip to the emergency room, where she meets Morgan (fully recovered from the grief and depression that beset her in Gracie) and Morgan's psychiatrist aunt. Deaver plants somewhat clunky clues to Jamie's condition, and not many readers will be surprised when, midway through, Webb turns out to be imaginary, nor when Jamie, in treatment with Morgan's aunt, recovers the memory of the trauma that gave birth to him. The ease of Jamie's recovery equals the superficiality of the setup; this is escapist fare, short on emotional truth. Ages 11-up. (May) Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up-Jamie Tessman's widowed mother is a powerful attorney, currently working to defend a young woman accused of killing her stepfather. The Tessmans live in Monterey, CA, but the case and trial are in Chicago, so they move there for the summer. Jamie is distraught at having to say good-bye to her dearest friend, Webb, a young man who seems always to be there for her. In Chicago, Jamie is shocked to find herself in a bike accident that was caused, apparently, by nothing except her own lack of awareness of her surroundings. In the emergency room, where she needs only minor patching, she meets Morgan, a girl a year older than herself, and, in the following days, Jamie develops the first friendship she remembers having with someone other than Webb. However, her states of clouded awareness become supplemented by panic attacks and soon her mother acquires psychiatric intervention for her. The psychiatrist is Morgan's aunt, a warm but efficient clinician who, very quickly, is able to establish the truth about Webb's existence and the terrifying trauma at the root of Jamie's emotional distress. Deaver has plotted this tale tightly and there are details to appeal to many reader interests-some suspense, some female bonding, even gourmet food. The psychiatric treatment is incredibly facile and speedy and Jamie's mother runs hot and cold by turns. However, this story goes beyond simplistic light reading to offer glimpses at such issues as how emotions can protect us and how we grow through different stages of recognizing truths in appearances.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CACopyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Gr. 9-12. Seventeen-year-old Jamie Tessman bids farewell to her boyfriend in California to spend a lonely summer in Chicago as her workaholic mother argues a high-profile child-abuse case. Jamie's occasional forays into fantasy, a red flag of deep-seated psychological problems, grow longer and more pronounced until they begin interfering with her everyday life. When Jamie finally seeks psychiatric help and is institutionalized, she begins recovering the memory of a trauma she suffered at age nine that apparently resulted in her creating an entire imaginary world, including, it seems, her California boyfriend. Psychological jargon is kept to a minimum as Jamie probes into her past, and the zigzagging plot is both entertaining and intriguing. Suspense builds toward a believable resolution, which helps Jamie to bridge a gap with her mother that she didn't even realize existed. Roger Leslie
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Book Description
HELD HOSTAGE BY AN INNER WORLD Something scary is happening to seventeen-year-old Jamie Tessman. Ever since she and her mother arrived in Chicago, she's been plagued by freaky mind-slips and vivid daydreams about her sort-of boyfriend, Webb. When Jamie's inner world starts taking her hostage and keeping her imprisoned for longer periods of time, she becomes terrified that she is slowly losing her mind. Jamie's mom doesn't seem to notice anything is wrong. No one does -- until Jamie meets Morgan, a new friend who's had her own "brush with nuttiness." When Jamie disappears into her inner world one night and can't find her way out, Morgan sees to it that Jamie finally gets help. Morgan's aunt, a psychiatrist, breaks through Jamie's paralyzing fear and helps her unravel a tangle of long-forgotten, horrifying secrets in her past....

About the Author
Julie Reece Deaver grew up in Glen Ellyn, Illinois. She is the author of several novels, including Say Goodnight, Gracie, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults, which introduced two of the characters featured in The Night I Disappeared. Deaver has worked as a teacher's aide in special education and started her writing career in television comedy. She is an artist as well as a writer; her illustrations have appeared in The New Yorker, Reader's Digest, and The Chicago Tribune. She lives on the Monterey Peninsula in California with her blue-eyed cat, Lincoln Rhyme. Readers are welcome to contact her at JulieDeaver@aol.com.


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Gr 8 Up-Jamie Tessman's widowed mother is a powerful attorney, currently working to defend a young woman accused of killing her stepfather. The Tessmans live in Monterey, CA, but the case and trial are in Chicago, so they move there for the summer. Jamie is distraught at having to say good-bye to her dearest friend, Webb, a young man who seems always to be there for her. In Chicago, Jamie is shocked to find herself in a bike accident that was caused, apparently, by nothing except her own lack of awareness of her surroundings. In the emergency room, where she needs only minor patching, she meets Morgan, a girl a year older than herself, and, in the following days, Jamie develops the first friendship she remembers having with someone other than Webb. However, her states of clouded awareness become supplemented by panic attacks and soon her mother acquires psychiatric intervention for her. The psychiatrist is Morgan's aunt, a warm but efficient clinician who, very quickly, is able to establish the truth about Webb's existence and the terrifying trauma at the root of Jamie's emotional distress. Deaver has plotted this tale tightly and there are details to appeal to many reader interests-some suspense, some female bonding, even gourmet food. The psychiatric treatment is incredibly facile and speedy and Jamie's mother runs hot and cold by turns. However, this story goes beyond simplistic light reading to offer glimpses at such issues as how emotions can protect us and how we grow through different stages of recognizing truths in appearances.-Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.


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