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Read The Vanishings: Four Kids Face Earth's Last Days Together (1998)

The Vanishings: Four Kids Face Earth's Last Days Together (1998)

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Rating
3.9 of 5 Votes: 2
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ISBN
0842321934 (ISBN13: 9780842321938)
Language
English
Publisher
tyndale house publishers

The Vanishings: Four Kids Face Earth's Last Days Together (1998) - Plot & Excerpts

This is the first book made and it is a very good book. I loved the book and it deserves a 4.5. A very excellent book.Judd Thompson hated having the same name as his father. Every time someone called Judd they will have to as which one. Judd lived with his parents and younger fraternal twin siblings (Marc and Marcie). Judd was raised in a Christian family. He’s sixteen years old and thinks Jesus is a fairytale. The church that he goes to is New Hope Village Church. He was forced to go to church, if he didn’t he would lose his license and gaming systems. When he was younger, he would memorize scriptures in the bible and he would win and get a prize ever time. Now when he goes to church he puts his hands on his face and tries to fall asleep. One day at church the youth pastor was talking about how kids go to church but they aren’t believers. Judd felt bad about it and he wanted to be a believer but he thinks what the pastor say is true. At home Judd’s mom asked Judd to go get the mail but he makes the biggest fit ever. He went outside and got the mail; he looked through it and saw his name and a credit card in it which it was meant for his dad. He steals the card and plans to make a trip to go to England but when his parents asked where he was going he told them he was going to the library until closing and for them not to look for him. His parents think that he is lying and probably with some friends. Vicki Byrne was fifteen years old and had a younger sister. Vicki and her family lived in a trailer park and every weekend night including Friday nights, her parents will go to the club to drink, smoke, do drugs, and more. The next week Vicki parents went to the club again and a pastor came and stopped everything. He told them about Jesus and that night her parents got saved. When they came home they told the good news to their children. The church that Vicki’s family goes to is New Hope Village Church. Vicki didn’t believe it, she rebelled about it. After her parents received Christ as their savior and they have going to church regularly, she has been more and more rebellious each day and started getting heavier with drugs and alcohol. She refused each day to accept Jesus into her heart after seeing the change in her parents’ lives.Lionel Washington is thirteen years old and he is the new kid from his block. His family went to a new church called New Hope Village Church. He was raised in a Christian family but he doesn’t believe in Jesus. At church he does not listen to what the pastor says. Lionel and his Uncle were in the basement ready to go to sleep until Lionel tells his Uncle that he wasn’t a believer. His uncle was chocked but he had to confess too. He told Lionel that he wasn’t a believer also. He also told his nephew that he believes that Jesus is a fairytale. They promise to each other that they will not tell anyone their secret.Ryan Daley is twelve years old and he doesn’t believe in God neither does his parents. Ryan has a best friend named Raymie Steele who is Ryan’s only friend. One day Raymie wanted to tell Ryan something so he went to Raymie's house. Raymie was so happy that he is going to a new church with his mom; he wanted to invite Ryan. When Ryan arrived, Raymie told him that he was a believer. Ryan didn’t understand and confused what Raymie was trying to say. Raymie explained about the Rapture and Ryan had an idea and then he didn’t. Once Ryan understood Raymie, he didn’t want to hear about it and he didn’t disagree about all the things that Raymie was saying. Raymie and his mom were the only believers that are living in that house. Raymie’s dad and his sister weren’t. Raymie wanted Ryan to become a believer but Ryan refused and went back home. Raymie’s dad was a pilot. Pilot Rayford Steele flew the plane that Judd was on. When Judd woke up he saw people mourning that their love ones were missing and that was left were their belongings. Judd knew exactly what happened - Jesus came to take his people. One lady was scared because she had no idea where her husband went; all she saw when she woke up was a pile of his clothes. Judd explained everything to the lady. The pilot turned the plane around back to O’Hare Airport. By the time Judd went back home and all he heard was silence. He searches his parent’s room and saw his father’s room and saw his clothes on the bed and his mother’s clothes on the near the bed. Then he went in his room and saw that his parents searched his room to see where he really went. He searched in the twin’s room and saw a pike of their clothes on their bed. He turns on the television and turns on the news just waiting for something to happen. The night of the Rapture, Vicki stayed out late with some friends. She sneaks back in the house and falls asleep. The next morning her mother will usually wake her up but Vicki slept in late. She gets up and sees her mother’s clothes on the kitchen floor. She went to her parents’ bedroom and saw her father’s clothes on the floor. Vicki doesn’t know what’s happening and starts to get worried. She went in her sister’s room and saw her clothes on the floor. Vicki cried, blaming herself. She tries to call her friend Clohe (Lionel’s sister) but Clohe didn’t pick up Lionel did. She told Lionel that she will go to New Hope Village Church and he agreed that he will go with her later on. She also tried to call her brother but his roommate answer and said that he was in a car accident and when the police came to get him out of the car all they saw was his clothes in his car. He apologizes then hangs up. Lionel Washington was sleeping in the basement with his Uncle Andre. When he wakes up he saw that it was late in the morning. He tries to wake up his uncle but while he was doing that the phone rings. He picked it up and it was his mother’s job calling in because she didn’t arrive at work that morning. Lionel became worried; he went upstairs and saw his mother’s clothes on the kitchen floor soaked with coffee. He looked in his parent’s room and sister’s room and saw clothes laying everywhere. He went back to the basement, where Andre was folding the covers and he told Andre what he saw upstairs. Andre ran upstairs and he saw the clothes. He and Lionel knew what happened. The phone rang again it was Vicki Byrne calling for Chloe but Lionel told what happened they agrees to walk together to the church to see if anyone was there but a guy picked up saying they can come over. Ryan woke up and saw a note from his mom saying that she needs to go get his dad from the airport and that she will be right back. Hours passed and no phone call came from his mom. Hours later there was a phone call police officer telling Ryan that his mom died on the way to the hospital after the explosion. Ryan sobbed. He turned on the T.V. and watched the news. His father’s name popped up and it said that these are the people who died in the plane crash. Ryan ran to the church. Later on that day, everyone went to the church where they met a man named Bruce Barnes.

-Morgan- Left Behind by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye is about four kids Vicki, Judd, Ryan, and Lionel who don’t know each other. These four kids do not believe in Christ, and when their families talk about the rapture, which is when Jesus will bring all of his followers up to heaven with him, they all think its made up. “‘They must have got religion or something. What ever that means’ said Vicki” (Jenkins & Lahaye 24) But until strange and unexplainable disappearances occur, people start to get afraid that they have been left behind. People disappeared right out of their clothes, that meant whatever wasn’t flesh and bone got left behind. “Judd leaned close to the big man’s pile of clothes, he could still smell his cologne. And those tiny bits of metal were dental fillings!” (Jenkins & Lahaye 85) Not only until the end of the book, they realize that they were all connected in some way, and try to figure out what is happening.I think this book did a very good job on plot and using little bits of each characters story to connect them all together, and have them all go to one spot and finally meet at the end. The authors also did a good job keeping the story organized so that the reader did not get confused because of all the information between four different stories. It was also good to have four different perspectives on the situation to get a deeper meaning and to know what it would be like in different settings. Also how each kid found out what was happening was different, and how they reacted to it. tI give this book 4 out of 5 stars, because it described each story in detail, so much that you could understand what was happening all over the world. Overall, if you are a reader who enjoys lots of different points of view, and enjoys plot twists you should read Left Behind by: Jerry B. Jenkins & Tim LaHaye.

What do You think about The Vanishings: Four Kids Face Earth's Last Days Together (1998)?

I gave The Vanishings: Four Kids Face Earth’s Last Days Together three stars because I thought it was great and I loved how they learned to live for the Lord at the end, but once again it was very predictable. You almost know exactly what will happen, and I think that because the adult version of Left Behind is much better at not being predictable! At times I felt very emotional for the characters because I would have no clue what to do if my parents left for heaven and not me! I think all of the Left Behind series are great books and they show that without faith in Jesus Christ you are trapped and are hopeless! That is what this book taught me and I loved how they come together to learn more about the love and compassion of God! I’m hoping to read more of these books soon because I truly enjoy them a lot!! Overall this book was pretty good but not as good as other books I have read!
—Emily B

The Vanishings is the first book in the spinoff of the adult Left Behind series. I've read and greatly enjoyed the Left Behind book series for adults, so was interested in reading this book to see if it might be appropriate for my 12 year old, who loves to read. The premise of this book is following three teenagers after the Rapture - Judd ("The Runaway"), Vicki ("The Rebel"), Lionel ("The Liar"), and Ryan ("The Skeptic"). Book one finds them reeling in the aftermath of the Rapture and their decisions not to follow Christ beforehand. We get to view the Rapture and the following events through the eyes of these teenagers, as opposed to the adults like in the regular Left Behind series. This is a great book for preteens and young teens, in my opinion. The publisher's recommended age is 9-12, but I think this would be a bit too much for a 9 year old. I think a better age range for this book is 11-15. I am planning on having my 12 year old read this and think it's perfect for his age in terms of reading level and the scariness factor. This book has plenty of action, adventure, drama, and suspense to keep kids turning the pages. The story continues in book two, Second Chance. I recommend this book to any Christian pre-teens/young teens. This is a great way to keep your kids reading while also giving them biblical-based fiction.
—Denise

Left Behind is the bestselling series of 16 books by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye dealing with the end times, the Rapture, tribulation. What few do not know is there is also a series for teens and preteens, "The Kids" version. (I would not recommend this series for kids under 10, simply due to the intense nature of the series. There is nothing offensive, except obviously very-real violence.) This series of 40 books deal with exactly what the adult series did, except from the point of view of teenagers. Each book is about 150 pages, and each ending flows right into the next book with non-stop action.---Judd Thompson Jr. - The Runaway. Typical 16 year-old Judd is sick and tired of everything his mom asks him to do. The simplest tasks will set off a debate. After a credit card company mistakenly puts Judd Jr's name on Judd Sr.'s (Judd's father) credit card, Judd realizes he can spend thousands of dollars on this little card. Angry at his parents for bossing him around and for making him go to church, Judd runs away - both from his family, and symbolically, Jesus. As a child, he had never actually accepted Christ into his heart, but he had memorized tons of verses and stories. By himself on a plane to London (with Hattie and Rayford Steele from the adult Left Behind series), he begins smirking about how grown up he is and how "this will show them."Vicki Byrne - The Rebel. 14 year old redhead Vicki was the rocker type - short clothes, leather, jewelry and heavy makeup, tough. Growing up in a trailer park, followed by the constant "trailer trash" stereotype - Vicki felt the need to be rough and tough. Two years ago, her party-parents had a drastic change in their lives - they accepted Christ - and she wanted nothing to do with it.Lionel Washington - The Liar. 13 year old African-American Lionel is growing up in a rich part of town, causing ridicule from his cousins who claim he's "rich" and "white" now. Lionel loves his parents, but he, and his uncle, have a secret; despite the family church history, he and his uncle are not Christians. Lionel is in no way proud of his secret, and unlike Judd, feels horribly guilty.Ryan Daley - The Skeptic. Best friend of Raymie Steele, 12 year old Ryan was my favorite character of Left Behind: The Kids series. (until Conrad came into view around book 12) He is the only one who had never grown up in a Christian household.---Then the Rapture happens. Reading the Rapture, specifically from the view of Judd, gives me chills. I could not imagine something so horrific as realizing you've been left behind - especially if you grew up in a strong Christian household, and every single person close to you was raptured. Judd, Vicki, and Lionel's whole family (and most of their friends) were raptured. Ryan's parents both die in the midst of the chaos.There is really nothing more to the book than their pre-rapture lives, the Rapture, and the immediate aftermath, most of the action starts in future novels. Being a short book, I would HIGHLY recommend buying/loaning at least 5 books of the series at once.The writing is nothing really unique (throughout the whole series), even a little too bland and simple, but I didn't really mind this. Background plots (and characters) are from the adult Left Behind series, so it would be interesting for an adult and teen to read them simultaneously. (For a list of synopsis and their adult-book pairings, see the Left Behind website.)I read all the books up until about 35-ish. My library didn't have 2 of the books, and this isn't really a series where you want to skip a book, although each book does catch you up with what previously happened. When I finally figured out how to transfer books, months had passed and my memory was fuzzy exactly which book I last read. Now, rereading The Vanishings makes me want to reread the series again and see how it ends! But, I won't be able to reread the series without reading the whole series again...so...Warning: You will not be able to put them down. ALSO: A remake of the adult Left Behind movies is coming out this year!
—Samantha Shank

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