Rating: 
Summary: Gripping beginning, Gripping ending. Drags in the middle.
Review: A young boy diappears on stage in the midst of a magic act. Poof! Where did he go? How will the family deal with this disappearing act?Ursu takes on a myriad of point of views, dividing the book into dozens of tiny chapters: the father, mother, sister, clown, cop, reality that never was, etc. At first, it's riveting- but a little over a third into the novel I was tired of delving into these various psyches: the little girl's imagined worlds- the parents dreams... it all became tiresome. Toward the end there's a plot point that speeds the narrative up again, but I can't give that away- now can I? I wouldn't mind reading another of Ursu's books, but this one didn't thrill me. A library loan, not a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: "A tantalinzingly good novel"
Review: Although the hype on this book was very good, the only thing I can agree with is the statement, "Dreamlike", and a tedious, boring dream at that. It was so surreal and uneventful that I skimmed the last half, just to finish. Boring character development told in the third person.
Rating: 
Summary: You'll Be Guessing Until the Very End
Review: Anne Ursu's novel, "The Disapparation of James," tells the gripping story of every parent's worst nightmare. When Hannah and Justin Woodrow decide to take their two children, five-year-old James and seven-year-old Greta to the circus, they were expecting a night of fun and excitement. But their world is turned upside down when the circus clown comes down off stage, into the audience looking for a volunteer. To the Woodrows' surprise, shy little James raises his hand and gets chosen to assist with a magic trick. Onstage, James seems perfectly content with making the audience laugh and with helping the clown with his magic. Hannah and Justin sit with their daughter watching proudly at their son. Suddenly, out of nowhere, James is gone. He's just disappeared. Poof! Just like that. Hannah and Justin's whole world quickly begins to spiral out of control. The clown is confused and surprised that his magic trick worked and even more surprised when he is arrested for kidnapping. Soon the Woodrows' house is transformed into a center of investigation. The phones are tapped. Police officers are stationed at the house. Pictures and signs for James begin to go up all over the city. Hannah begins to slip into a deep depression and seems to detach from the world around her. Justin's blood is left boiling and all he wants, besides his son back, is to kill the clown and make him pay for doing this to them. Greta begins to read up on magic tricks with hopes that she'll be able to bring back her little brother. But how do you look for someone when you don't know where to look? Is James with the kidnapper or has he really been zapped into some other dimension? Anne Ursu captures the grief and terror of the Woodrow family's emotions perfectly and will leave her readers speeding to find out what really happened to James.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Another brilliant book by Anne Ursu.
The Disapparation of James is an allegory about love and the optimism love requires of us. In a very real sense, Hannah and Justin are everyman, or at least, every parent, and the nightmare they face is all the more poignant for its lack of a boogie man to blame. The writing is beautiful, and more importantly, the truths are beautiful too. This is the family stripped of a much more potent illusion than magic: the illusion that if we just live carefully enough, we will be saved.
Rating:
Summary: A book for our most inner selves
Review: DISAPPARATION OF JAMES is a novel that asks us to reach deep within us, to confront the very fears we are often too afraid to name. What does it mean to love someone in a world where that person can always be taken away? Through the Woodrow family, Ursu gives us a warm and happy home. But when their son James disappears in a magic trick, the comfortable world of the Woodrows disappears with him. Ursu uses original and fantastic narrative styles to create for us characters who feel the way most of us would feel -- showing us that both the good and the bad of our lives often hangs in the shadow and celebration of "What if?" A terrific follow-up novel the SPILLING CLARENCE!
Rating:
Summary: "A tantalinzingly good novel"
Review: I started the book with the thought that it was going to be completely boring, and the first few pages were a bit tiring, but hey, it's not a kids book. But soon enough the book got interesting and then I found myself reading 100 pages in one night. I just couldn't help it. It was amazing. The bitterness and detail and the actual feelings of the storyline touched my heart, and when I finished the book, I found myself quite sad to be finished with it. But I haven't read Spilling Clarence yet, so I'm definetly going to go for it.
Rating:
Summary: American magic and dread
Review: I was attracted to this book because of its fascinating premise, but it is the characters and the sheer storytelling momentum that have lingered in my mind. Only rarely have I encountered such an original voice. Ursu has an extraordinary sense of the way people actually think. It is the way their thinking takes root in unexpected action that made James such a compulsive read. I will await her next book with great enthusiasm.
Rating:
Summary: A Tale Of Magic, Magically Done
Review: Little James Woodrow was so shy and self-absorbed that his parents were about to take him in for testing; then, when they bring him to the circus for his big sister's seventh birthday, he actually volunteers to take part in a magic act. And, at the climactic moment of the act, he disappears. Really disappears into thin air. Poof! And his family is devastated. So how do they cope? How do they change? Will things ever be made right? The author looks deeply into each of the characters--the father, the mother, the big sister, the clown who set it all in motion, the policeman who is supposed to guard the family--and explores their inner worlds. How will they deal with grief? What childhood demons still pursue them? What are their dreams and hopes? And what fantasies of magic and power do they still hold dear? A profoundly psychological study of loss, grief and coping, magic is the metaphor that holds it together. Magic as illusion. Magic as escape. And the ever-haunting question--is there real magic? Author Anne Ursu writes extremely well, in lucid and simple prose. She draws you in quickly and engages you so that you can't stop reading. The characters soon become real and you care what happens to them. Well, yes, it is a bit overdone at points, a bit too sentimental, but it works well. I recommend this one highly. Reviewed by Louis N. Gruber.
Rating:
Summary: Terrific, and would make a GREAT MOVIE!
Review: One can only wish the young author the best success in all her future books! "Disapparition" is simply among the best written, most mesmorizing family loss books ever written. A real page turner, as well as a great look at a successful family which finds its young son suddenly vanished in a magic show. All the protagonists, including the magical clown, the neighbors, the police, and the media are drawn perfectly. And though the end may seem vague (supernatural?) even that is perfect too! Dont miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Magical!
Review: Takes an unlikely--indeed unbelievable--premise and makes out of it a thoroughly charming and wonderful story. Surprising, compassionate and gripping. I nearly had to put it down because I couldn't stand to find out what happened to James. But then, of course, I couldn't put it down!
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