The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya by Nagaru Tanigawa

Title: The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya

Author: Nagaru Tanigawa

Publisher:Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Age Group: Young Adult

Grade: 85% or B

It's one week before Christmas Eve, and Haruhi and the S.O.S. Brigade (a club for her high school's strangest and most extraordinary students) are gearing up for holiday festivities. But just before the fun kicks off, Kyon, the only "normal" member, wakes up in a weird alternate dimension, one where Haruhi attends another school entirely, Nagato the time traveling robot is just an ordinary human, and Mikuru (the cute girl of Kyon's dreams) doesn't even recognize him-in other words, S.O.S. Brigade never existed.

The only clue Kyon can find is a bookmark left by the robot version of Nagato, which leads him on a quest back in time, where he interacts with the storyline from "Bamboo Leaf Rhapsody", a short story from the previous Haruhi book, The Boredom of Haruhi Suzumiya.

As you all know, I've been reading these books for some time now. I like the concept and the humor. This one was no different, except..maybe I liked it more.

This book involved more time travel than the previous books, which gave my mind something to chew on. I was constantly thinking "if this, then that". That's the way time travel works. You have to do something in the future so you can do something else in the past. It sounds crazy, but it is really interesting.

The characters continue to develop as always. At first I thought there were too many important characters to possibly keep up with, but now things are different. Each character's abilities, personalities, and background fit into the story nicely. In fact, I think I know them all so well, and love them, that I would love love love to read a series of books based solely around one character and the world that they are used to. In fact, can you get on that soon Tanigawa?

Surprisingly, this books took me on quite the journey. Several things happened that I definitely was not expecting. At some points though I was a bit confused. The main character, Kyon, will say something, but it will only be a thought. Yet sometimes its...not. It makes the story a little muddled at times because I am unsure about what is going on.

Overall I continue to love the story and I am becoming more attached to the characters. I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed the previous novels. If you haven't checked these books out yet, you should!

Book received free from Little, Brown Books for Young Readers