Watch Me Disappear | Teen Ink

Watch Me Disappear

April 28, 2022
By 2kaminski BRONZE, Sussex, Wisconsin
2kaminski BRONZE, Sussex, Wisconsin
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

When Olive started having visions of her dead mother, she began to question everything. Was her mother in danger? Was she still alive after all? When I first read this plot description, I was intrigued, yet a little unsure. It seemed almost like a typical fairytale with a happy ending. However, In “Watch Me Disappear”, Janelle Brown takes you through this mystery as Olive tries to make sense of everything going on and get to the bottom of her mothers disappearance, which made this book worth the read.

The book started out with the protagonist Olive grieving over her mother’s - Billie - disappearance. However, recent information and Olive’s visions have questioned everything. Olive and Jonathan - Olive’s dad - begin to question the time they had with Billie leading up to her disappearance. While reading this novel I was allowed to form my own thoughts about what happened to Billie, which made it satisfying. Even when I wasn’t reading I found myself trying to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

Throughout the Novel Jonathan is writing a book about his life with Billie called “Where the Mountains Meet the Sky: My Life with Billie Flanagan”. We see parts of this book after almost every chapter of the novel as if they are their own chapters themself. Through this unique writing style Janelle Brown allows us to understand Jonathan's thinking. He begins to question his entire marriage from Billie’s mysterious weekend disappearances to her lies about her past. The inclusion of this narrative about their life together further helps develop their relationship and adds suspense to the plot.

As the reader learns more about the relationship between the characters in the novel the plot begins to thicken. Many times Janelle Brown switches from the present to the past to give us an understanding of the novel. Although at times it may be confusing, it is very effective in helping the reader understand the context of the story and further strengthens the characters in the novel. For instance, When Jonathan begins to question Billie's commitment in their marriage, we see flashbacks to instances in the past where Billie did something suspicious.

When reading this novel you are immersed into an entirely different world. You feel like you are part of the conversation. The use of figurative language and stylistic devices such as dialogue, flashbacks, and many more creates this image in your head.

If you are wondering what book to read next, definitely give “Watch Me Disappear a try.”


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