• US Edition

How to Disappear Completely

WONDER meets SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS in this powerful tween novel from Carnegie Medal nominated author Ali Standish.

While her grandmother was alive, Emma’s world was filled with enchantment. But now Gram is gone, and suddenly strange spots are appearing on Emma’s skin. Soon, she’s diagnosed with vitiligo—a condition that makes patches of her skin lose their color—and the magic in her world is suddenly replaced with school bullies and doctor appointments.

But when Emma writes one last story in the journal she shared with Gram, something strange happens. Someone writes back to her, just like Gram used to. Who’s writing to Emma? And just what is her story going to be, now that everything is so different?

Award-winning author Ali Standish explores the ways life transforms us, and how we learn to let go of what we must while still holding fast to who we are.

“Creating a large multigenerational cast, Standish knits an absorbing story of loss, identity, and human connections. A rewarding, realistic novel, illuminated by magical elements.” —Booklist, STARRED REVIEW

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Starred Booklist Review

“An absorbing story of loss, identity, and human connections.”

The Author

Ali Standish

Ali Standish’s award-winning and bestselling books include the Carnegie-nominated The Ethan I Was Before, August Isle (titled The Secret Summer in the UK), Bad Bella, The Climbers, How to Disappear Completely, The Mending Summer, and Yonder. Her books have received starred reviews, have been named as Indies Introduce and Indies Next titles, and have been nominated for Goodreads Choice Awards. She grew up splitting her time between North Carolina and several imaginary worlds. The only award she ever won in school was for messiest desk, but that didn’t stop her from going on to get degrees from Pomona College, Hollins University, and obtaining a master’s degree in Children’s Literature from the University of Cambridge. Ali also spent several years as a teacher/program administrator in the Washington DC Public School system. She still spends most of her time in her imagination, but you might just spot her walking her two rescue dogs with her Finnish husband and their son around her neighborhood in Raleigh, North Carolina.

You can visit her online at alistandish.com.

Ali is represented by Chelsea Eberly.

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