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Shaun David Hutchinson
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Before We Disappear Kindle Edition

by Shaun David Hutchinson (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 304 ratings
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A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection!

It’s a new star-crossed romance about the magic of first love from the acclaimed author of We Are the Ants and Brave Face, Shaun David Hutchinson.

Jack Nevin’s clever trickery and moral flexibility make him the perfect assistant to the Enchantress, one of the most well-known stage magicians in turn-of-the-nineteenth-century Europe. Without Jack’s steady supply of stolen tricks, the Enchantress’s fame would have burned out long ago.

But when Jack’s thievery catches up to them, they’re forced to flee to America to find their fortune. Luckily, the Enchantress is able to arrange a set of sold-out shows at Seattle’s Alaska–Yukon–Pacific World’s Fair Exposition. She’s convinced they’re going to rich and famous until a new magician arrives on the scene. Performing tricks that defy the imagination, Laszlo’s show overshadows the Enchantress, leaving Jack no choice but to hunt for the secrets to his otherworldly illusions. But what Jack uncovers isn’t at all what he expected.

Behind Laszlo’s tricks is Wilhelm—a boy that can seemingly perform real magic. Jack and Wilhelm have an instant connection, and as the rivalry between the Enchantress and Laszlo grows, so too does Jack and Wilhelm’s affection. But can Jack choose between the woman who gave him a life and the boy who is offering him everything?

It’s a stirring tale about the magic of love from award-winning author Shaun David Hutchinson.

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  1. Print length
    512 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    HarperTeen
  5. Publication date
    September 28, 2021
  6. Reading age
    14 - 17 years
  7. Grade level
    9 - 12
  8. File size
    4730 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Not Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. See all details
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From the Publisher

star-crossed lovers separated by fame, fortune and magic

magic, love, romance, LGBT

a true magician never falls in love

magician, historical, romance

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Jack and Wilhelm, the teenage protagonists of this dual narrative, have a lot in common. They are both wards of conniving adults, have unique talents that their guardians manipulate for their own benefits, and are currently working as magician's assistants at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, a World's Fair that really took place in Seattle in 1909. Jack's guardian, The Enchantress, is a gifted magician who uses Jack's skills at showmanship and sleight-of-hand, respectively, to perform-and steal-amazing illusions. Wilhelm's guardian, Teddy, kidnapped him years ago when he discovered Wil's talent for Traveling: spontaneously transporting himself or others to spaces far away. Teddy comes to the Expo disguised as a gifted magician who seems to have particularly nefarious plans, though of what, Wil is unsure. As their lives become intertwined, Jack and Wil fall in love, and Jack plots to free Wil of Teddy's clutches. Interesting subplots include Jack's surrogate sister's pursuit of respect from The Enchantress, the sweet love story between Jack's friend Ruth and Teddy's assistant Jessamy, and The Enchantress's and Teddy's attempts to swindle rich paramours out of their money. In the final act, all of these subplots convene for a show-stopping magic show. Hutchinson's detailed historical research is evident; the Expo is so lively that it almost feels like a character of its own. An author's note describes Hutchinson's process, including his choice to celebrate queer joy despite the historical inaccuracies. Ruth is Black, and all other major characters are white. VERDICT A lovely, fun, rollicking book that belongs in every library serving teens.-Shira Pilarskiα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

"[Before we Disappear] flawlessly combines magic and suspense in a well-crafted heist story that's sweetly sprinkled with queer romances." --Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B08RDTPV15
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ HarperTeen (September 28, 2021)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 28, 2021
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 4730 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 512 pages
  • Page numbers source ISBN ‏ : ‎ 0063025221
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 304 ratings

About the author

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Shaun David Hutchinson

Shaun David Hutchinson

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Shaun David Hutchinson is the author of numerous books for young adults, including The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley, which won the Florida Book Awards’ Gold Medal in the Young Adult category and was named to the ALA’s 2015 Rainbow Book List; the anthology Violent Ends, which received a starred review from VOYA; and We Are the Ants, which received five starred reviews and was named a best book of January 2016 by Amazon.com, Kobo.com, Publishers Weekly, and iBooks. He lives in South Florida with his adorably chubby dog, and enjoys Doctor Who, comic books, and yelling at the TV. Visit him at ShaunDavidHutchinson.com.

Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
304 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Tory
5.0 out of 5 stars Absolutely gutted and immensely grateful
Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2023
Verified Purchase
I know it seems silly, but I bought this for myself as a whole 22 year old man because of how rare queer stories are, especially those written by queer people themselves, plus I love magic. Despite being intended mostly for teens, it's absolutely worth reading as an adult. The tenderness, kindness, and sweetness between the two protagonists is heart-wrenching and fulfilling at the same time. Its a yearning that all queer teens feel growing up, and it feels like it was written by someone who still has that ache that just never quite goes away. I'm sitting here crying in my pajamas at 2 pm because of the first lines of the last chapter. Im absolutely gutted and immensely grateful to have read it. I loved it, I am in immense pain lol. Also thanks for not killing them.
6 people found this helpful
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Christopher Monceaux
4.0 out of 5 stars An Enjoyable Gay Love Story with a Hint of Magic
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2022
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I was surprised quite a bit by this book because it wasn't anything like I expected it to be. I went into it expecting a rivals to lovers story set in the early 1900s that was focused on magic. However, the main characters never really felt like rivals to me. It also didn't feel like the early 1900s. The writing made the story feel contemporary with the use of some current idioms, and it just didn't really do a great job of setting the tone of that time period. The fair was a really fun setting, though, and I wish it had been developed a little bit more. The magic also wasn't as large of a piece of the story as I expected. I loved what was there, though, and getting to see the ins and outs of being a magician during this time period was fun, even if there wasn't as much of it as I would've liked.

I also wasn't expecting trauma and abuse to play such a huge role in the story. Both of the main characters were children who had been "adopted" by different magicians to help in their shows. The magicians horribly abused them, in emotional and physical ways. Wilhelm was often severely physically abused/neglected throughout this story. At one point he was even kept in a cage, which was important later on in the plot but really did make me uncomfortable while reading it. I'm not sold on the need for all of the abuse depictions to make this a good story, but seeing some of it was probably necessary to understand the motivations of and dynamics between the main characters. It just felt a bit heavy handed at times.

Speaking of the characters, Jack and Wil were definitely the stars of this book. The characters felt complex, and their motivations were interesting. The relationship between them was my favorite thing about this book. I was worried at first that it would be a relationship where Jack obsessed over saving Wil. I usually hate stories with insta-love combined with the savior complex. However, there was a great deal of growth in both characters as a result of their relationship. They both learned that they were worth saving and ended up rescuing each other in different ways. The rest of the characters, especially the magicians, felt a bit one-dimensional, but I still enjoyed reading them. As villains, the magicians were truly unlikable in the extreme, especially Laszlo, due to their greediness and selfishness, which seemed to be the only traits they possessed.

The other side characters were mostly there to provide lessons regarding sexism and racism. I liked that the book tackled these topics and even enjoyed the characters it used to do so. However, it was an odd choice to remove homophobia from the book but leave in the sexism and racism of the time period. It only added to the feeling that this wasn't set in the early 1900s and was a missed opportunity to explore navigating a same sex relationship during that era. Although, I can also appreciate the author's sentiment of just wanting to write a joyful gay love story from that time without having to address the ugliness of hate that likely would have accompanied it. It was just odd to have the other -isms and all the abuse included so prominently in the book but not homophobia.

The writing and pacing were both enjoyable and kept me engaged throughout the book. I liked the shorter chapters and alternating POVs because it kept the story moving forward at a nice pace. I loved the ending. It was very satisfying and utilized the magic in a way that I wished was more prevalent throughout the rest of the book.

Overall, I enjoyed this book even if it was quite different from my expectations. I don't recommend it for those sensitive to depictions of abuse/neglect of minors, but anyone else who enjoys queer YA romance should definitely give it a shot. Therefore, I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.
9 people found this helpful
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Deb's reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book
Reviewed in the United States on August 22, 2023
Verified Purchase
I loved everything about this story
The way Jack and Wil's stories intertwined was masterfully done and extremely satisfying.
The side characters also added another delicious layer. From the complicated relax between each boy and their magician, to the girls in each team to the bully. They all sprang from the page.
Chef's kiss
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Kat HP
5.0 out of 5 stars Lovely, sweet, and magical
Reviewed in the United States on May 4, 2022
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Im sure the author would love me to say this book is exciting. To some, I’m sure it is, but I was more entranced by the interpersonal issues discussed. The exploration of exploitation, love in as many forms as one could imagine, and people. It was a good read, a simple premise and I loved every second.
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Amanda Shepard
3.0 out of 5 stars Fast-paced historical fantasy
Reviewed in the United States on September 28, 2021
Shaun David Hutchinson is probably one of my favorite YA authors, and I was super excited to dive into this historical fantasy.

Let’s start with the characters. One thing Hutchinson is always great at is writing characters that maybe you don’t always love, but you really enjoy reading about them. In this book, we get narration from both Jack and Wilhelm. Immediately, you feel for Wilhelm, who’s been trapped in this incredibly abusive relationship from the beginning. Jack is a bit more of a morally ambiguous character, but you can definitely tell that he has a good heart. The two of them have a lot of great chemistry, and they are what make this book worth it.

However, I think the pacing overall for this book is mostly what threw me off. At first, time passes incredibly quickly, skipping over weeks at a time. It slows down a bit in the middle, but for me, this made for a kind of odd reading experience. I think the book could have been shorter and the story still would have been just as effective.

There were also some moments with the narration that I was just taken out of the story. At times, it seems like maybe the narrators are talking directly to the reader, and at other times, it doesn’t. For example, there’s a moment toward the beginning when something is said in French, and then the narrator says it will be translated from then on. It was little details like that that took away from the overall story.

While this is a promising historical fantasy, it just fell a little bit flat to me. You never know what you’re going to get with a Hutchinson book, and this was definitely the case here.
One person found this helpful
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gerald
5.0 out of 5 stars Would recommend
Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2022
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I would recommend this book to people it was a good read.
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Chris in NM
4.0 out of 5 stars Magical
Reviewed in the United States on February 28, 2024
Despite some dark elements, this is overall a joyful story of magic (both stage and fantasy) queer teens falling in love, and finding the family you deserve.
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Robyn Torres
5.0 out of 5 stars An Intriguing love story set in the past
Reviewed in the United States on April 16, 2024
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I read it within 24 hours. I loved Wil. His story is heartbreaking, watching Jack, a carefree rogue, fall in love and eventually freeing Wil. The side characters were well-developed and very likable. Ruth and Jessamy are the absolute best!

My only criticism, which isn't even critical, is I wish there was an extended epilogue so you could see where the characters ended up.

THIS IS A MUST READ!
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Top reviews from other countries

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Client Kindle
5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing
Reviewed in Canada on December 13, 2022
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A beautiful work of art that you can easily be disappear into. Full of twist and turns this book had me intrigued and enthralled.
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Diana Terrazas
5.0 out of 5 stars Llegó en buen estado
Reviewed in Mexico on July 10, 2022
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Esta es más una review del producto, que llegó en buen estado y además cuenta con un diseño bonito, pasta dura y la sobrecubierta con un terminado mate
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Oliwia Burczyk
3.0 out of 5 stars Książka przyszła uszkodzona
Reviewed in Poland on October 23, 2023
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Książka przyszła uszkodzona, niestety
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Olivia M
5.0 out of 5 stars Bingable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 8, 2023
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This book is so easy to get into, you can get so lost into it so quickly i finished in within 2 days. Yes the book is written a little simpler but in my option it just makes it all that more easy to read and enjoy, and it still has the detail and descriptions you need to follow it.
I hope there will be a sequel showing us Wilhelm with his family, and exploring more about what Wil's powers can do.I didn't think i would enjoy a historical romance but its so addicting and its not written in a style that makes it hard to read like a lot of historical romances but still includes aspects of the 1909's in it.
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Michael Pohl
5.0 out of 5 stars Schöne Geschichte in einer sehr speziellen Atmosphäre
Reviewed in Germany on May 3, 2022
Verified Purchase
Ich fand die Geschichte um die zwei grundverschiedenen jungen Männer, deren Schicksal sich an einem Ort verbinden sollte, sehr schön erzählt. Die Geschichte vor dem Hintergrund einer Weltausstellung stattfinden zu lassen ist ein wirklicher Glücksgriff. Die Faszination, die so etwas auf die Menschen vor mehr als 100 Jahren gehabt haben muss, ist sehr lebendig. Ich fühlte mich sehr gut unterhalten.
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