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Jul 28, 2008

Nancy rated it:

A retrospective glimpse into a year of intense fear and physical and emotional pain and dislocation in a family -- after an attempted murder of the police officer father -- from the alternating POVs of the father and the 10 yo daughter. I was riveted. In the end I found myself wishing for more of a shape to the book -- it just ends -- but that's the deal with real life, isn't it? Don't read this looking for more than workmanship writing; it's the story that is so fascinating here, not the way it More...

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Aug 26, 2008

Joan rated it:

I really liked the book. It was very well written and I liked the way one chapter would be from John's point of view and the next from his 9 year old daughter's point of view. John Busby was a policeman who was shot by an "unknown shooter" almost 30 years ago. The thing about it, is everyone in the town knew who did it but the shooter got away with it. This is a true story and whether you live in the town or not, I think you will find it a great read.

2 comments like (4 people liked it)

Sep 09, 2008

April rated it:

I started this book on Wednesday and haven't quite finished it yet. I have enjoyed the storyline, but I am kind of puzzled why this book is considered to be for young adults. Both voices in the book (the father's and daughter's) are very moving and filled with emotion about how their family's lives were forever changed when an unknown person tried to kill the father in a drive-by shooting. The father didn't die, but he sustained major facial damage to the point where most of his jawbone was d More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jul 12, 2008

Alison rated it:

Harrowing, horrifying, eye-opening and utterly enthralling. Do NOT start reading this book when you've got other things on your to-do list! Odds are you won't be able to put it down.

1 comment like (2 people liked it)

Jan 12, 2012

1ShalayaW rated it:

Very Interesting So Far...alot has happened in the first 40 pages cant wait until the end. This is book i would definently reccomend.

Review:

Even though im not finished "The Year We Disappeared" its a fantastic book. There are a few main/key characters Polly and John Busby and their 3 children Cylin, Shawn, and Eric Busby. This is a story of how a family is so far gettin through a tragic accident.

The father ,John Busby, was shot and hit by a ca More...

3 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jan 02, 2010

Abby rated it:

In this book, daughter Cylin and father John share the story of what happened to their family in 1979 when John, a police officer, was shot in the head. John wasn't killed, but the bottom of his jaw was shot off and he had a long, painful recovery ahead of him. Worse was the fact that he was certain that the man behind his attempted murder was a local criminal who thought he had the police force in his pocket. John refused to give in to this man's threats and as a result he almost lost his life More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 10, 2008

Jamie rated it:

As someone who loves true crime, this book was lots of "fun" if that's the right word for enjoying a true crime book. Told in alternating chapters between father John, who his shot at close range while working as a policeman in small town Massachusetts, to chapters told by Cylin, who lived through this when she was 9 year old. The differing perspectives work well to show how the same experience is different through different eyes.

My biggest wonder, why is this being publis More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 22, 2008

Susan rated it:

I live in the town where this incident took place and remember only too well when it happened. What I never imagined was the sheer terror that the family lived with for months and years afterward. It was harrowing to read John's description of the night he was shot, but it was heartbraking to read Cylin's story of the fear, confusion, and pain that she and her brothers, and her mother, went through. There are good people in this book, who stepped up to help the Busby's, but sadly there are also More...

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Dec 09, 2010

Jackson rated it:

The Year We Disappeared is filled with action, mystery, suspense, and so much more. This book is a memoir written by Cylin Busby and her father, John Busby. John Busby is a cop who works on the night shifts. He sleeps during the day and prowls the streets in his police cruiser at night. One night, on a seemingly normal day, John is shot through his car window, ripping off the bottom of his face, leaving him clinging on to life. This book is about the brutal shooting, a family doing eve More...

1 comment like

Dec 08, 2010

Saundra rated it:

The Year We Disappeared by John and Cylin Busby Nonfiction/Crime/Drama/Family Danger
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
This was a really good non-fiction book. It tells the true story of what happened to a family threatened by the father's enemies, told through the eyes of the father and daughter. One night John Busby, a policeman, is driving to work when he is shot through the jaw by a shotgun. John knows More...

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Jul 08, 2010

Viki added it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Apr 10, 2009

Mary rated it:

This book changed my life, that's all I can say. It bothers me that so many reviewers on here and other places have said they didn't like the ending or were let down by it. If you haven't seen the "48 Hours" special on this family and the killer who came into their lives then I suggest you see it. The ending of the book is the end of their story, it hasn't ended yet! That's the whole point. Everyone wants the happy ending for this family after what they went through. Yes, we want to he More...

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Mar 07, 2009

Neil rated it:

I found this book extremely difficult to read, even though it is well written. I simply cannot understand the obsession with guns,how easy they are to obtain, what horrific damage they can inflict in this case on a whole family. Policemen ought to be able to bear arms, and use them only as a last resort. How frightening it must be to have a Police force that does not support its own Policemen, due to political manipulation, allowing some citizens to do as they please and never hold them accou More...

1 comment like

Jul 13, 2010

Mallory rated it:

The Year We Disappeared was a book I couldn't put down; the fact that this really happened to someone was appalling. There were so many elements that made it a high quality read. I think a lot of people can relate to the injustices that are happening in the book and the theme of eye for an eye. You learn about how life sometimes just isn't fair. I think that this book would be appropriate for junior high and high school students. I would especially reccommend this book to students that enjoy rea More...

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Aug 28, 2011

Queenie rated it:

In the book, The Year We Disappeared, the theme of the book is that revenge is not always the solution. No matter how bad a situation is, there will always be another way of approaching it. You can always improve a bad situation by looking at the bright side of it. Getting even with someone, is almost never a good choice. No matter how bad the situation is, it can get better with a positive mind and a positive attitude.
A passage in the book that supports the theme is at the end w More...

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Jul 15, 2011

Bryana rated it:

This book was one of the honors english book options for the summer book report. I had picked up this book multiple times at barnes and noble and thoguht to myself how good the book sounded but i guess i never really decided to actually buy it untill now. I finished this book in about three sittings. It wasn't the best i have ever read but the book was touching and it really shows the power of a family bond. The alternating chapters between the daughter and the father also show the different way More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Mar 19, 2009

Krissy rated it:

I stumbled across a review of this book and did a double-take on the author's name. I worked with this woman briefly at a New York publisher, but didn't know her well, and certainly not well enough to know her family's tragic history. A compelling read, narrated in alternating chapters between her and her father, about the year her father (a police officer) was shot and seriously injured by a local thug. I found it odd that some of the same information was covered in his and her chapters, and ye More...

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Oct 29, 2011

Sarah rated it:

All that she wanted was to have a normal life. Cylin Bubsy was a 9 year old girl who lived in Falmouth, Massachusetts. She hoped to graduate from Harvard Medical School, but it wasn't as easy as she thought. In just a few days what she thought was a normal life, it had turned around on her. Cylin's dad John was the normal Police officer of Massachusetts who worked all night. Wanting to come home to his children every but not being able to, and always promising things he couldn't keep. One night More...

1 comment like

Apr 07, 2009

Deborah rated it:

A really good memoir of a family escaping from petty thugs and a corrupt police force on Cape Cod. Cylin and John Busby, father and daughter, each flash back to a time in the late 70's when Cylin was nine, and her father, a cop on Cape Cod, was a little too bold about wiping out police corruption, and clearing their town of Falmouth out from the grasp of criminals. The story begins on the night that John is shot in the face, permanently disfiguring him and making basic functions such as eating a More...

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Dec 03, 2008

Jean rated it:

Chapters alternate between the daughter and the father in this story of a police officer (the father) who had a portion of his face blown away by a shotgun and recovered. The father tells the criminal and recovery story. The daughter tells the story from her point of view at the time of the shooting and how the tragedy changes their family forever.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 29, 2010

Liz rated it:

At times I had to tell myself that this really happened. There were parts of the book that just seemed like a story and not real life. Even though I know it is true. It is just hard to believe the corruption that goes on the police department, especially not charging people that know someone who is connected.

John Busby gets shot on his way to work. His jaw is obliterated. He knows it wasn't random. It was meant for him. As he tries to write everything down since he can't speak More...

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Mar 22, 2009

Toby rated it:

Cybils nonfiction middle school award winner - this is a book that I haven't seen on any of the other award lists, so right away I like that the Cybils awards are expanding the number of books we librarians are considering for our collections. The title notation above says the author is Cylin Busby but in fact, the book was written jointly by Cylin, who was 9 years old when the events in the book took place, and her father John. With every other chapter narrated first-person by father, th More...

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Nov 17, 2008

Melissa rated it:

This book chronicles the story of a police officer who loses half of his face to a shotgun blast murder attempt and the year immediately following. Chapters are alternately told by him and his 9-year-old daughter. The story is gripping and though I have very little time to read, I found the time to finish this book in two days!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 21, 2009

Tina rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Dec 18, 2008

Kate rated it:

I am not a big non-fiction reader. I got plenty of it as a History major in my undergrad, and mostly I read Juvenile or Teen Fiction. That being said, this book was really well-written, easy to follow, and I didn't ever get bored. Apparently I need to read a few memoirs?

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Dec 10, 2008

Maddi rated it:

I loved the book. A heart-wrenching tale of a tight knit family being put to the test? Yes. A story of bravery and endurance? Yes. Loved the book!!! How could i not have rated it 5 stars? My Uncle wrote it!!! Write on Uncle Johnny!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 19, 2009

Kelly rated it:

This is the real-life, horrifying story of a family of five who endured the attempted murder of the policeman-father, resulting in half of his face being blown to bits. The rest of the family is also considered to be threated. The book's chapters alternate between the daughter and the father speaking. You will find yourself flabbergasted by the events and heart-broken for this family. While the book does provide a "where they are now" portion to update you on various people mention More...

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Feb 12, 2009

Traci rated it:

This was a good read- I loved how the dad wrote one chapter and the daughter the next all through out the book, great way to get 2 points of views!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Oct 26, 2008

Madison Brooke rated it:

This book so far is a really big eye opener..... to think that people go through this everyday.......Great book everyone should read it!

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jun 06, 2010

Heather rated it:

Told from the dual points of view of a father and daughter, this is the true story of a family's nightmare come to life. John is a police man on Cape Cod who annoyed the wrong criminal. One night he is shot in the face while driving to work. That one moment changes the course of his life and his families. Now prisoners in their own home, the Busby's are dealing with the constant fear, rejection, and lonliness they now face everyday.
The book has just enough details to make the scene realis More...

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