| Title | : | The Vanishings: Four Kids Face Earth's Last Days Together (Left Behind: The Kids, #1) |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0842321934 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780842321938 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Paperback |
| Number of Pages | : | 160 |
| Publication | : | First published June 26, 1998 |
As the kids search for help and for answers, they are told the truth behind the disappearances. But are they ready to believe it?
In this new series based on the best-selling book Left Behind, Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye present the Rapture and Tribulation through the eyes of four young friends—Judd, Vici, Lionel, and Ryan. As the world falls in around them, they band together to find faith and fight the evil forces that threaten their lives.
The Vanishings: Four Kids Face Earth's Last Days Together (Left Behind: The Kids, #1) Reviews
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I really wanted to like this book because of the story, but then found out it was based on believing or not believing in Jezus. The whole story could have been better without it. What a shame.
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About this book:
“This series is based on the best-selling adult Left Behind series. Readers will see the Rapture and Tribulation through the eyes of four kids who have been left behind.
In one shocking moment millions around the globe disappear. Those left behind face an uncertain future--especially four kids who now find themselves alone.As the kids search for help and for answers, they are told the truth behind the disappearances. But are they ready to believe it?”
Series: Book #1 (of forty) in “Left Behind: The Kids” series.
Spiritual Content- Lots of Witnessing & getting saved; Many Talks about God, Jesus, Christians, forgiveness & the Rapture; Talks about Church & loving Jesus; ‘H’s are not capital when referring to God; All four main characters are/were left behind; Judd feels/felt like he outgrew Church & was too cool for it; Vicki doesn’t get God; Lionel knew the truth but didn’t truly believe; Ryan didn’t know much about God before the Rapture happened; Many mentions of Church, sermons, Sunday School, & memorizing Scriptures; Mentions of Bibles; Mentions of witnessing & witnesses; Mentions of religious people;
*Note: Threats of going to hell; A mention of superstitions; A mention of someone thinking the Bible is fairy tales.
Negative Content- Minor cussing including: a ‘what in blazes’, a ‘wuss’, two ‘idiot’s, six forms of ‘stupid’; Judd swears (once, not written); Mentions of curses (said, not written); Comments about skin colors & a man thinking that those with a certain skin color are criminals; Lionel & Ryan bicker at each other a lot; Many, many mentions of smoking, beer, drunks, drinking, highs; Many mentions of crimes, fighting & prison; Mentions of liquor & tobacco; Mentions of deaths (up to semi-detailed); Mentions of bodies & morgues; Drinking champagne (barely-above-not-detailed).
Sexual Content- Noticing pretty girls;
*Note: Mentions of Vicki dressing to get attention from girls & guys; Mentions of short skirts.
-Judd Thompson Jr., age 16
-Vicki Byrne, age 14
-Lionel Washington, age 13
-Ryan Daley, age 12
P.O.V. switches between them
148 pages
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Pre Teens- One Star (and a half)
New Teens- Three Stars
Early High School Teens- Three Stars (and a half)
Older High School Teens- Four Stars
My personal Rating- Three Stars (and a half)
These ratings are for content, since everyone has a different opinion on the Rapture and how it will happen.
This is my second or third time re-reading this series, it was a favorite when I was twelve. I read them all as quick as I could get my hands on them, Judd & Vicki were my first ship (the original OTP, hahaha!). Since I’m older now and re-reading them all, I’ve noticed different things that I didn’t notice before. Like, the writing is a bit bland (he said, she said, said, said, said…). Or that there is lack of adjectives. And the characters being brats in this first book. (And also some comments of prejudice towards African Americans.)
There is a lot of Spiritual Content in this series, no doubt, but my main advice is to not take what these books say about the Rapture (& how it will happen) as Gospel. Read your Bible alongside and compare to what the Bible says (Truth) to what these authors made up (fiction inspired by The Truth). This series is to get people thinking, not to be taken as what will happen exactly.
Link to review:
http://booksforchristiangirls.blogspo...
*BFCG may (Read the review to see) recommend this book by this author. It does not mean I recommend all the books by this author. -
ok bye
https://www.frowl.org/worstbestseller... -
This was an engaging read. The story revolves around 4 kids: Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan. They were left behind during the rapture. The journey from the beginning of the book to the end was really powerful in my eyes. I thought that the characters were really interesting as their rebellious attitudes towards Christianity made the story more enjoyable. The message of the story is powerful as well as the story is about how Jesus will take his followers one day to Heaven to be with him.
The first part tells us how each of the characters do not care that much about Jesus. Judd is the Runaway. He is rude to his parents and steals. He was on the plane that Raymond Steele from the original Left Behind series was piloting. Vicki is the Rebel. She is the one who drinks and smokes cigarettes. She thinks Christianity is a waste of time. Lionel is the Liar. He is a good kid who feels out of place and made fun of. He lied often about loving Jesus. He is a lot like his Uncle André, who also was left behind during the rapture. Finally, Ryan is the Skeptic. He believes that Jesus is not real. He thought his best friend Raymie Steele was insane for believing that God exists.
The second part tells us what happened the day before the kids lives changed. It talked about how they saw one another at school or in church when they did not want to be there. Whatever the circumstances, they never really knew each other. The third part tells us what happened the morning after the rapture and that they were left behind. The reason why they were left behind was because they were not true believers. They all met at New Hope Village Church and watched a video about what had happened. Then they were all mourned for their losses and were asked if they were ready to accept Jesus into their lives.
The ending was very satisfying. As a Christian, I thought the writing was fantastic. The story was great, and engaged. I can't wait to see the journey that these kids have to go through. I am excited to see what is in stored. I feel like the story will be more exciting. I can't wait to read Book 2. Overall, a great read. -
This book freaked me out. Every time I read a word, I expected the rapture to happen then and there. It really makes you think about where you will be when the rapture happens. If this book makes you worry try reading the adult series!
Four kids, Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan are about to face the most scary/exciting event of all time. The end of the world. Judd ran away only to awake to see people missing from the plane he's on. Returning home he finds his family members clothes and other earthly things in the positions they were when they disappeared. Vicki drinks and smokes and thinks church is stupid. When her parents and sister vanish, she starts to regret her path. Lional grew up in the church. But he and his uncle aren't saved. They wake up to only the two of them. Ryan's best friend tries to help him. His parents died because of accidents caused by people vanishing, but they weren't saved. These four kids are linked by things they don't know about, but they are about to discover that the key to salvation is through salvation Himself. -
I adored the Left Behind adult series and didn't find the characters in this to be as relatable, probably because I'm not within the target demographic. I did like the inclusion of characters from the adult series, but find it odd that none of these children were mentioned in that series as they all end up at the same church. It also felt like the children accepting Christ was more out of obligation after the rapture than out of true belief and repentance.
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Obviously written for children, but still very poorly written. Typecasting and stereotypes run rampant through the "story" which is a word I use very generously. I can't believe there's at least 40 of these books written to indoctrinate and terrify children.
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I've been waitinggg to get to this and finally did - no regrets!!
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3.5 stars
A decent companion series to the original Left Behind series. Or a good alternative to read for younger readers. It overlaps and mentions characters in the main series but stands on it's own.
I am not sure what I think of the characters. Judd had too much an attitude but I hope and think his might soon change. Vicki makes sense for her backround but seems a bit of an attitude. Lionel I cannot figure out his age or behavior. And the one adult we get a lot from is his uncle-who really has issues. Ryan seems to be the youngest (but I am not sure about Lionel's age) and I got the least about his personality yet I also felt the most for. Good luck figuring that one unless you read this.
I felt like I was barely getting ot know them and not much story happened before it was over. While I like the style of writing the pace needs to pick up. -
Read the adult series years ago... wanted to read this one.
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I enjoyed reading this for Middle-Grade March. Even as an adult this was riveting. I knew what had happened but I was worried about these kids.
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I read a whole bunch of these as a young teenager, and for kicks and giggles I'm rereading them now. I just finished the first one, and my, oh my, judging it as YA fiction in general without even considering the religious propaganda, it's pretty rough. Concerns:
-Each character seems concocted as a caricature of their respective demographics - trailer trash, spoiled rich kid, the obligatory minority, etc. - and it's cringe-inducing to read. Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan aren't people; their personalities are kept broad and bland as a way to provoke you to see yourself in them. And considering that they're all about to go through the same radical transformation, it's only going to get worse from here.
-It's clear from the first page that the writers think very little of young people, while obviously not having a single memory of what it's like to be a teenager. If you're going to try to indoctrinate this age group into your belief system, at least pretend you think of them as actual people and not literal human waste. Particularly with Judd and Vicki, you can practically see the authors salivating over all they're going to put these brats through for *gasp* being normal teenagers!
-I'm a bit of a dialogue snob, and this book is full of problems in this area. Everyone uses the same cheesy vocabulary, whether they're saved or not, no matter how old or young they are, and all of it is dated, even for the 90s. Again, you can hear their disdain for non-believers oozing in the way they have the characters speak, and it's just a bad strategy for witnessing, let alone bad writing.
I'm kind of bummed that I spent so much of my adolescence reading this nonsense at the expense of other books (not that I didn't read other stuff, but these books were pretty central to my early teenage years). At least this time around I can be truly entertained instead of trying to glean actual insight and wisdom from them. I've got the first six of these already, and we'll just see how far I can carry on with this. -
Who decided it was a good idea to write a horrific and traumatizing theological discourse for children and disguise it as fiction?
Nope. -
The Vanishings is a short story (maybe a long short story) about the Rapture. Going into this, I had no idea that is what it was about. The book begins with four kids, who are not necessarily all bad, but are "lost". They have either been raised in the church but are not true believers or just kids who want to do things for themselves and not "waste" time with religion. I don't really want to go over all of the characters, but I didn't really like any of them. I felt bad for Lionel because if it hadn't been for his Uncle, there was a good chance he might have become a true believer in time. But because he looked up to his Uncle so much, he fell astray. I also felt bad for most of the parents of these kids. Vicki's parent's both have made drastic lifestyle changes. Giving up drinking and really doing all that they could to become good people and spread the word of God. The way Vicki acts is ridiculous. She purposely tries to get her father to start drinking and become abusive, she completely ignores her mothers cries to change.
At the end of this, I actually feel a bit renewed. I don't discuss religion much and I don't have much of a presence in church, but what I do have is faith. -
This is now officially my most favorite book of all time. To be honest I hate reading but I just could not put this book down and I finished it the same day I got it and stayed up past midnight reading it. It is about four kids.... each of their families have all been saved and go to church every sunday, but these kids think all of it is stupid and that they are "too cool" for it. But when the Rapture occurs they soon realize that IT IS real and that they need to turn their lives around.... I HIGHLY recommemed this book to EVERYBODY.... If you have no idea what the rapture is then you definitely should read this book, because when that day comes, you will want to be with Christ. - But that's just my opinion -
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I like how this ended (spoiler alert: on an important cliffhanger). This is easy to read and interesting enough. You basically met four teens, their lives are described, they are left behind and then they meet each other. Lots of telling, not showing, and some Christian lingo but the Christian message is clearly presented. This is probably most suitable for teens in content but the writing style is fairly simple. For tweens?
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Great book! I know it's not COMPLETELY accurate but it does give a good example of what could happen when the Rapture strikes.
Definitely good for kids to read but..
During chapters that explain Vicki's life and her family, it does mention her and her family smoking and drinking. -
Better than I expected! Very sad, too, hearing the accounts of parents dying and kids being left behind. But so heartwarming to once again read the book series that shared the gospel with me so that I could come to have eternal life 20 years ago. I didn't expect to be so emotional reading this. It's like going back in time.
It's so neat to read this again and realize that this was my very first time ever hearing the message of Christianity, even though I had been going to church since I was a little kid. For the first time ever, I had learned that all people, including myself, are sinners, and because of this, we all deserve eternity in hell. The reason Jesus died on a cross was to pay for the hell deserved by all those would believe in him. While he was on the cross, he experienced the hell that each one of their sins deserved. If you abandon absolutely every other thing you have ever trusted in to be your means of getting to heaven and escaping hell, and instead put your faith in Jesus alone to do this, you will be saved. This is because trusting in him means not only will your sins have been paid for, but his record of a perfect life is placed on you, so that when God looks at you, it's as if you never, ever sinned. This is the only way anyone can go to heaven- because the only way God will let anyone into heaven is if they have this perfect record. Trust in him today- you don't know how much time you have left!
While I no longer believe that the Bible teaches that Jesus will return someday by snatching all the believers out of this world, followed by a 7 year tribulation- this is part of a theology called dispensationalism- I still love and cherish the gospel that this book taught. It changed my life forever. And even though this type of secret rapture is never going to happen, what will happen is that Jesus will come back one day, coming on the clouds in great glory, to raise every body from the dead, and to judge each person that has ever lived. Will you be found in him because you put your trust in him while you still had time? Or will you scorn every good, undeserved gift he has ever given you, and choose to bask in the cesspool of your sin instead of inherit eternal life with him? That will be rewarded only with an eternity of conscious suffering, pain and torture, physical, emotional, and spiritual, beyond anything we could possibly ever imagine. Please, repent, turn away from your sin, and put your faith in Jesus alone to get you into heaven, obeying him as your master and Lord. You'll be born again from death to life, being transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of life, and become a new creature. Do it while God has still given you time. -
My kids were reading the book of Revelations in their Bible reading, so I got the idea to read this series together with them so that maybe they could have a more practical understanding of the book. I remember reading the adult series and finding it all fascinating when they moments of clarity came from the Bible in a much more practical, real world way. So that is my hope for my kids reading this as well.
They found out that the series is split up into 40 books even though they aren't long, which thoroughly overwhelmed them, so I don't know how many we will get through, or how quickly. I told them we could take breaks!
This first book started out definitely peaking their interested. Near the end, though, it started to get repetitive. There are four characters, and their stories are similar of course because their parents or family members or friends are Christians and the four main characters are not. This is obvious, since they have to be the ones left behind. But when each of the children begin to discover who has been Raptured, each of the stories start to seem repetitive.
Also, being that Jerry Jenkins (specifically) is a highly regarded author and I have taken several of his writing workshops, I was disappointed at the quality of the writing. Of course that is coming from an adult's perspective. But I don't think writing to children should be dumbed down or somehow written worse just because they are children. Maybe it's because these books came out so far before Harry Potter time frame, when children's books reached a whole new level of incredible writing. But I don't really think that's it, because I have read many children's books with my kids, and many of them are well written.
This one is SO MUCH telling and hardly any showing, which is writing 101 (and something Jenkins stresses in his writing workshops). Also, its very preachy. Yes, yes, we know this book is about the Bible and the Rapture, but it still felt too preachy to me. Tell us the story. Leave the inferring to aha moments, not EVERY SINGLE TURN of the book.
Anyway, we are continuing to read the book because my kids found it interesting and admitted it helped them understand the mystery of Revelations better. Granted, I am the type of parent who talks my children through the ideas expressed in a book, what they can learn from it, what they agree with and don't agree with, and how to discern the good from the bad. -
I read this book a few years ago and stopped reading the series because I couldn't find all the books. Now I've started it back up because I have them all again! This book is about Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan all being left behind by their parents because they were firm believers in God. Judd and Vicki both treat their parents awful and disrespect both of them. Judd is on the plane running away with a credit card he stole from his dad when he finds out what really happened. Vicki lives in a trailer park and she is coming home late from being out when her family is taken. She doesn't realize until the morning when this happens though because everyone is gone, but their clothes have been left behind. Lionel wakes up in the morning to find that everyone is gone except for his uncle and him. I find this concept of left behind interesting because it makes you think of what you would do in this situation. I found how odd it was that they just happened to guess what happened after maybe 3 minutes of realizing their family is gone.
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Awesome book!
Read this series years ago and it was calling out to me to read it again.
Mr. Lehaye brings the bible to life.
This is obviously fiction, but it realistically portrays the events that most likely will occur directly after the rapture.
I am moving on to book 2.
This series was written for kids. There is another Left Behind series Mr. Lehaye write for adults, but at 61 years of age I am enjoying both. -
I recognized many of the names from the movie, even though I haven't read the Left Behind series, but these people were more in the background. In Left Behind: The Kids series, the focus is on four kids named Judd, Vicki, Lionel, and Ryan. All of them are young people who have been left behind, most know exactly what has happen because they had family members who were believers and are now gone. I'm hoping the future books will have more to them, because this book was strictly about setting up the story and the rapture. All in all, it was a good book.
3.5 stars -
I liked the book, but it was in my dreams which creeped me out!😂
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Great read
This is a great kids version of the left behind series. I think I'll read them along with the adult series. -
This might be the book I hate more than I hate any other book
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Left Behind: The Kids, is a science fiction written by Tim LaHaye. This book shows the Rapture and tribulation through the eyes of four kids Judd the run away, Vicki the rebel, Lionel the lier, and Ryan the sceptic. In the end, the kids have a choice will they come to Christ or face a foolish ending. This is the first out of 40 books this book is about the disappearances of the people who believe in Christ and got Raptured. While the others face an uncertain future.
I like this book mostly because it involves my religon. This book is all most like reading my bible. it explains what will happen in the end. It is a great book and I do recamand it to others.
