This review was originally posted on my blog, Sav Scribbles. 
 If I was asked to describe THE LEAVING in 3 words or less, I would say "boring but okay". 
 Now, let me explain. 
 THE LEAVING was nothing special; I like the idea behind it, and it was fairly creative, with the whole concept that they weren't even hurt during the time they were away. I also liked the psychology used in this novel- but, besides for that, I wasn't the biggest fan of this book. (I felt about the same for Altebrando's most recent release, THE POSSIBLE. Both this novel and that one were creative and original, but neither of them wowed me.) 
 Don't get me wrong; this book was slightly entertaining, and the best part was whenever they were piecing everything together near the end; that was fast-paced and I loved it. I was just left going "okay, that's cool" near the end; I wasn't wowed, I wasn't thinking "that's so insane! I never saw it coming!" or anything of the sort. 
 In conclusion of a fairly short review: THE LEAVING is entertaining with okay characters and an interesting and fairly creative plot, and I would recommend it to anyone who's looking for a not-too-scary-or-thrilling YA thriller.