The Leaving

“The endless news coverage, the weird-sad looks she’d get from neighbors and everyone at school next week. She’d be famous, but not in the right way. Mannequin Mom would end up in the hospital again, quick-sanding into depression, and Dad would act like there was nothing wrong when everything about Mom—about all of them—was wrong and had been, probably, since the day Max disappeared.”

Avery’s interior monologue is conveyed through a third-person limited viewpoint. Here, as she dwells over the past and future changes in her family as a result of Max’s disappearance, her tone suggests that Avery has been hardened by her experiences; she speaks realistically (if not critically and pessimistically) about her brother’s potential return. She also shows a tendency toward snarkiness with her alliterative use of “Mannequin Mom,” a reference to her mother’s inability to cope when Max does not come home. Avery’s attitude at the start of the novel lays the groundwork for her growth and maturation later.

“There are a lot of people around the globe trying to crack open one of the mysteries of memory and grab the spotlight. […] It’s also possible that you’re all very good liars. And that you remember everything and are putting one over on the rest of us.”

Dr. Sashor emerges as a supportive adult in the secondary cast of characters, but in this initial meeting, he also shows his understanding that there is more to the situation than first appears. Sashor serves to reveal information about memory and helps to establish the theme of The Fragility and Reliability of Memory. He also puts into words one of the conflicts Lucas and the other returned abductees face: No one really knows the extent to which they remember except the abductees themselves. This establishes doubt and victim-blaming as additional tensions in the narrative.

“It’s not promising to be a story with a happy ending, Ave.”

Lucas’s brother Ryan tells Avery not to get her hopes up regarding anything related to The Leaving—her brother’s return included. Ryan speaks metaphorically, comparing the fate of the six abductees and their strange disappearance to a story in literature with a complete and fulfilling conclusion. His line adds to the foreboding tone of the narrative and illustrates the complexity of people’s responses to the abductees’ return.

“Lucas took the pistol in his right hand—the magazine in his left—and loaded up.

Like he’d done it a thousand times before.”

Lucas’s interior monologue reveals his reaction as he discovers his aptitude for loading a gun with a magazine clip. This moment and his hyperbolic use of “a thousand times” emphasize the overall conflict: The teens recall nothing definitive that can be traced to the last 11 years, a fact that connects with the theme of the fragility and reliability of memory.

“Avery was on the outskirts and didn’t like it out here. She needed to be closer to the action, closer to information. Because her mother was going downhill fast.”

Avery proves she is impetuous and bold in her attempts to involve herself more directly in the mystery of The Leaving and, in particular, her brother’s whereabouts. She shows these characteristics when she appears on TV to question the motivations of those who returned and when she plans to break into the RV on Ryan and Lucas’s property. Most prose from Avery’s viewpoint represents her full-steam-ahead attitude, but this passage briefly explains that her objectives in learning the truth are not entirely self-serving. She worries about her mother, whose reactions demonstrate a deep struggle with grief.

“The others were no prizes either. […] And yes, I’ve been given a second chance and I sure as hell won’t blow it.”

Scarlett’s mother Tamara has developed a rationale to explain the children’s disappearance: She and the rest of the parents failed in multiple ways to effectively care for those taken. This line also increases suspense while contributing to the theme of Trust and Betrayal in Relationships. Tamara implies that several parents may have broken the trust of their children as a result of circumstances, emotional distress, or neglect.

“It seems like, with the penny, and my tattoo, it’s like we knew what was happening, like we knew we were forgetting or were going to forget?”

Lucas reasons aloud to Scarlett as they spend Day Three after their return attempting to investigate the found novel and stretched penny. This desire to make logical sense of their past actions demonstrates Lucas’s yearning to solve the mystery; it also represents his inclination to paint them as proactive and in control—which indirectly symbolizes his need for independence and autonomy. This line contributes to the theme of the fragility and reliability of memory as well, with the hint that perhaps they knew how delicate their memories were.

“Without memories you were…no one.”

Scarlett tries to be tough as she gradually realizes her home life offers little comfort; her mother is crass and sometimes speaks in unloving ways, and her room from childhood is not warm and inviting but feels like a stranger’s. She is unable to rebuild her memories from early childhood and daydreams about getting away to college. Here, Goldie’s inability to retain memories underscores for Scarlett the connection between memory and identity and contributes to the theme of the fragility and reliability of memory.

“She shook her head and thought again about the calendar with the countdown to getting out of Florida. Why would anyone in their right mind want to spend the prime years of their life here? Florida wasn’t the Sunshine State. It was the prune juice state. The Depends state. It was where you went to Disney and visit your grandparents, sure, but it was no place to actually live—not if you had a healthy pulse.”

With her characteristic direct tone, Avery reflects in straightforward language how her surroundings frustrate her. She alludes to constipation (with the prune juice reference) and incontinence (with the Depends allusion) to connect Florida disparagingly with senior citizens. More deeply, however, Avery subtly broaches the topic of memory, associating her environment with those who typically have trouble remembering details and events (aging adults). Her desire to leave home for more distant places in college implies Avery’s confidence and courage.

“Because I do not want to believe that another human being could have done this to you.”

Adults often form a secondary cast of flat or stereotypical characters in young adult novels, and Tamara initially seems to fit that bill with her belief in aliens, her bad grammar, and her flashy boyfriend. Tamara later demonstrates a more complex characterization as she is forced to reconcile with her past as a mother of one of the missing. She admits her alien fixation is a false front to cover her disgust that a human could be responsible for the crime, showing depth of character and maturity.

“Her hair blew into his face and the scent of honeysuckle conjured images of tangled vines and bobbing bees. He had a feeling of remembering her even if it was ridiculous to think he’d remember a girl from the park or playground of his youth. […]

He felt his stomach drop out of him with each whip of the car, thought at least twice that he might lose his lunch, was probably turning green, but when they got off, she was steady, unfazed.”

Lucas’s early feelings for Avery are complicated by his knowledge that what feels like memory may be something constructed or implanted. He can, however, trust his observations of her at the amusement center, especially her unflappable confidence, indirectly characterized here when she walks off a stomach-churning ride as sturdy as ever. Sensory imagery (the smell of flowers) and alliteration (“bobbing bees”) help the reader visualize events through Lucas’s complex viewpoint. Though he sees Avery as a friend, their amusement center “date” is the start of more romantic feelings toward her even while he feels some devotion to Scarlett, helping to develop the theme of trust and betrayal in relationships.

“It just seems like the truth is always the better option.”

When a former friend, Vanessa, judgmentally offers her thoughts on the truth, Scarlett shows her mellow side by reacting with laughter. Her reaction suggests a deep kindness and ability to accept the attitudes of others who are less knowledgeable without bitterness or ire. She also demonstrates her acceptance of the irony of the situation: As much as Scarlett would love to reveal the truth, she cannot, and neither can the other abductees. Vanessa’s statement helps to develop the theme of The Search for Truth in a Web of Lies as Scarlett admits how elusive the truth can be.

“Scarlett hadn’t seen them either.

What was wrong with her?

She felt a sliver of her heart break off and drift.”

Scarlett cannot recall seeing a dolphin in the gulf though her home is steps from the beach, and it becomes crucial to her to see one; this symbolizes her fierce need to rediscover her traits and memories. Here, after not seeing dolphins, a text image conveys her reaction: the words “break off and” appear in a descending step pattern with “drift” at the bottom printed in a curved shape as if floating on water. The text shapes and images made of words in Scarlett’s viewpoint help to convey her emotions visually.

“Lucas swore he could feel the eyes of alligators on him, could close his eyes and feel his stomach shift with the turns of the boat and see their jaws opening and snapping.”

On the way to see the Everglades house, Lucas’s observations foreshadow his darkening mood. These images establish a mood and atmosphere of foreboding and danger rather than the hoped-for brightness that should accompany the end of mystery and punishment for their captor. Lucas’s dark emotions here prove prophetic when they arrive at the house, which looks completely unfamiliar except for the staged photo prints on the wall. Sensory imagery (“feel […] see”) helps the reader imagine the airboat ride more completely.

“They all stood there for a moment, disappointment spreading like toxic invisible gas.”

This simile (“toxic invisible gas”) conveys the deepening sadness and frustration as the returned realize they are not getting sought-after answers in the Everglades. Not only does their disappointment spread, but the gas is poisonous to their spirits. Though Chambers continually insists on the validity of the scene, Scarlett and the others become convinced it is staged, a development that helps to build the theme of the search for truth in a web of lies.

“She hugged his floppy, dusty body tight to her neck and tears came and sobs followed, and when she was done she tossed the calendar into the trash, too, wanting nothing more than to just be able to stay.”

Ironically, Avery experiences this coming-of-age moment when she cries like a child. Her plans for college, represented by a days-till-leaving countdown calendar, and her awards from years of school seem pointless and hurtful in comparison to the loss of her brother, Lucas’s lost years, and her own unfulfilled childhood. Woof-Woof, the stuffed dog that she held while appearing on national news on the night of The Leaving, symbolizes the happy innocence out of reach for Avery once her brother was taken. Throwing away her posters, awards, and other mementos represents Avery’s new acceptance of the fragility and reliability of memory.

“Erasing the shooting was the whole point to begin with?”

Hearing that other teens who witnessed the shooting not only remembered it but recalled Lucas and the other abductees seeing it provides Lucas with the clarity needed to piece together the unknown antagonist’s motive. It is the “a-ha!” moment that launches a cascade of correct theories and truthful discoveries. The line also marks the beginning of a resolution process for the theme of the search for truth in a web of lies, as Lucas begins to find answers.

“It was only supposed to be for a few hours, you see.”

Avery becomes a crucial player in the unraveling of the mystery and the dismissal of false leads when she listens to the tip line recordings. This line from the repeat caller (whom everyone else dismisses as invalid) is the one that stays with her most strongly so that when she hears the principal on the old news footage, she recognizes his voice. Avery’s actions indirectly demonstrate her tenacity, independence, and confidence and although she has felt like an outsider throughout the story, she provides the crucial bit of information that unravels the mystery.

“A row of palm trees in the yard were being battered by wind and looked like witches with wild hair on bent brooms.”

Figurative language and visual imagery help to set the last suspenseful scene in the story. The simile regarding the supernatural (witches) establishes a dark and gloomy atmosphere for the novel’s climactic scenes; though the novel takes place in sunny Florida, the real location of the teens’ captivity is revealed, fittingly, during a chilly and gloomy thunderstorm.

“The small blue leather journal made Lucas think of babies—helpless, waiting to be lifted out of cribs.”

The one piece of tangible proof that connects the abductees to the Anchor Beach house, comes not from the memories of viewpoint characters but from Kristen, an abductee who early on is standoffish and unlikeable. The “babies” metaphor demonstrates Lucas’s creativity in making comparisons and suggests his understanding of the importance of this evidence; just ink, paper, and words, this fragile object might hold the answers they seek.

“Tragedy had made her famous for a time and now it was time to do things differently, to be, different.”

Avery exudes her typical confidence in this interior monologue, but her message reveals a significant change in her character. As she nears the truth about her brother and comes to terms with how her childhood was affected by his abduction, she matures into empathy for others affected. Having been focused on college as an escape from her troubled family, she now opens her mind to new paths for the future. These coming-of-age markers reveal a strong character arc in Avery; this line demonstrates that she is aware of the positivity of that change.

“She’d start redecorating her room tomorrow, maybe order a poster of Christina’s World, so she’d never forget how a single moment—any one, really—could be so perfectly on its own.”

Initially dismayed by her mother’s brash behavior and her own inability to rekindle memories, Scarlett quickly grows to see worth in her life; she empathizes with Tamara’s struggle, rediscovers her style through sewing, and determines that independence instead of romance is the best course forward for now. Redecorating her room symbolizes her growth and coming-of-age as she accepts her missing 11 years and turns her attention to appreciating her future, moment by moment. The allusion to Andrew Wyeth’s artwork, a painting of a woman who experienced polio crawling toward a house, represents Scarlett’s resolution to pursue goals with hope and determination.

“Onward and upward!”

Lucas’s line of dialogue with his brother demonstrates his notable change in optimism and a forward-thinking mindset, completing his character arc. Lucas shows little wavering regarding his goal to find the man or group responsible for the abduction, and when he finally discovers the antagonist, most of his internal conflict, anguish, and guilt are resolved. It is fitting that Lucas, not Chambers or other abductees, discovers Louis Immerso, the man who orchestrated the experiment and 11-year abduction.