The Ones that Disappeared by Zana Fraillon

By turns harrowing, heart-wrenching, and magical, this is an incredibly powerful - 

and incredibly important - novel. Love Reading4Kids

The power of this story is in Fraillion’s characters, the emotion in her words weaves the simplest of stories – escape and hope. Her writing is tender, fragile almost, as Esra, Isa and Miran strive to stay alive in captivity to escape and find their way home. Reading Time

"My name is Esra Merkes. I am eleven years old. The tattoo on my arm says I belong to Him, Orlando Perel. It says Snakeskins are my family for life. It says I am owned."

Three young kids have been captured and are living as slaves under a house where they tend to a drug crop. Their families were promised the new country would provide education and light duties but all these were lies. 

There are four voices who tell this story. Esra, Miran and young Isa and later Esra and Isa meet Skeet. The kids do escape from captivity, but Miran is 'captured'. In fact, he is actually taken to hospital. Esra and Isa are on the run because their captor has told dreadful stories of the way the gang hunts kids down. Esra is determined to find Miran so all three can try to make their way back home. You might think Miran is safe because he is in the hospital but in several chilling scenes, we read that someone disguised as a nurse is poisoning him. Esra and Isa find a cave where they shelter, and this is where Skeet finds them. He offers to help with their quest to find Miran, but this involves moving along tunnels under the city. These scenes are so powerful I felt desperately claustrophobic as the kids crawl through the never-ending labyrinth of dangerous tunnels and then it rains and water fills the spaces. These kids are in an incredibly dangerous situation and a race against time. 

It did take me a few days to read The Ones that Disappeared because I kept having to emerge from the horrific scenes and take a break 'back in the real world'. 

Here are a couple of text quotes:

"We drank the puddles from the floor and scooped what we could into the water bottles to ration. And when that ran dry, we sucked up water from the toilet. But the toilet must be connected to the sprinklers because it won't fill back up. It's almost empty, and now Miran and I won't drink at all. Just a sip when the thirst gets this bad. ... We heard the truck arrive. Heard the footsteps in the hallway, the scratch of metal in the lock. And when the door opened at the top of the stairs ... he looked at us, his eyes turning hard and his hands shaking anger and fear ... and we saw our fate written there in his eyes."

"It's time for your medicine,' she tells him, taking four large pills from a container in her pocket. She get him a glass of water and waits while he swallows the pills. She doesn't write on his chart or feel for his pulse like the other nurse does. ... Miran is already asleep when the nurse scratches at her wrist, pushing her cardigan high enough to hint at the tattoo inked black on her arm. A tattoo which matches Miran's own, of a snake, curled around the letters OP."

I have said this in a previous post - we are SO lucky to have a writer like Zana Fraillon here in Australia.

Bookseller blurb: Around the world, millions of people - including many children - are victims of human trafficking. These modern-day slaves often go unseen even in our own cities and towns, their voices silent and their stories untold. In this incredible book, Zana Fraillon imagines the story of three such children, Esra, Miran and Isa. The result is powerful, heartbreaking and unforgettable. Esra, Miran and Isa work for the Snakeskin gang, tending to plants in the dark and airless basement of a house they are not allowed to leave. They've been told that they belong to the Snakeskins, but Esra knows that she belongs to no one - and she is determined to find freedom. 

AWARDS

• NSW Premiers Literary Awards winner
• CBCA Notable 2018
• Carnegie Medal Nominee
• Prime Minister's Literary Award shortlist
• UK CrimeFest award Shortlist

This is a book that gives a powerful voice to those who have no power in a world that should care far, far more than it does about those forced to work as slaves in our towns, our cities and in the countryside. They are all around us, unnoticed, uncared for and voiceless. Zana Fraillon has given them a voice. Now those with the power to effect change need to listen. Crime Review UK

The Ones that Disappeared chilled me to the bone because it was so real, but it opened up a world I needed to see. Although I saw between the quiet spaces where the hope offered in this story might not exist for many, I needed that light touch to see the narrative through to the end. My hope is that tens of thousands read The Ones that Disappeared and in doing so, a ground swell of action builds to fight for the millions lost to this very frightening, very real world. Kids' Book Review

The Ones That Disappeared is an unhurried but endlessly gripping tale, told with heart and affection, encompassing both light and shade. Skeet’s kindness helps Esra to regain her humanity and redirect her on a happier path, while the spectre of human trafficking, both in the novel and in the real world, is haunting throughout. Wisely, Fraillon avoids becoming too specific about the nation her story takes place in and this ambiguity gives the impression the story is meant to represent all child slaves in all corners of the world. Right Now Human Rights in Australia

The Ones that Disappeared is most certainly a Young Adult book. It should be put into the hands of readers who are ready for some extremely confronting issues such as modern slavery and also mature readers who can cope with strong descriptions of violence against children - but please do not let that stop you reading this book. The way the plot unfolds in tiny fragments makes for such a compelling read - you just keep turning the pages desperately hoping these kids will be rescued. 

Book Trust said: Fraillon’s style is powerful and the subject matter important, but the misery and brutality, especially in the first third of the book, makes this a harrowing read. It is best suited to older readers, unafraid to tackle difficult subjects.

Lamont books said: Zana Fraillon weaves a heart-breaking and powerful tale of the strength of the human spirit, despite all attempts to crush it. The children have unique personalities and their friendships with each other, and with the people they meet as they flee for their lives, are unforgettable. The story has a mystical element throughout, but ultimately it is a story of hope, friendship, resilience, and freedom.

There is a mysterious man in this story called The Riverman. Reviewers related this character to Skellig by David Almond.

Companion books:

Stitched Up

Flying through water