By Anna, 29 February 2020

When Aila Quinn’s mother Juliet dies, Aila and her younger brother Miles are sent to her mother’s hometown, a town called Sterling. When they arrive at Sterling, they are sent to live with their mother’s childhood friend, Mrs Cliffton, and her family. But Sterling is not just a normal town.

When they arrive at the Clifftons, Aila and Miles notice that there are no mirrors in the house, and that the flowers don’t smell. They later find out that every 7 years, something from the town disappears, whether its reflections, smells, and even stars in the sky, and that they have arrived just in time for another disappearance. The disappearances affect Sterling and it’s two neighbouring towns. People have created Variants, which are substitutes for a few of the disappearances. In school, Aila isn’t given the warmest welcome, because some of the people of Sterling believe that Juliet is the “catalyst” and had something to do with causing the disappearances. Some even vandalised Juliet’s old house. Aila doesn’t believe that Juliet is the cause of the disappearances, and she, along with her friends, set off to discover Sterling’s secrets and clear her mother’s name.

I really liked this book because it was very suspenseful and mysterious. I recommend this book for people who like fantasy, mystery, or both genres. This book is definitely young adult.

For ages 12 and up.