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3rd out of 23 books
—
13 voters
The Year We Disappeared: A Father - Daughter Memoir
by
Cylin Busby (Goodreads Author),
John Busby
The extraordinary true story of a family, a brutal shooting, and the year that would change their lives forever.
When Cylin Busby was nine years old, she was obsessed with Izod clothing, the Muppets, and her pet box turtle. Then, in the space of a night, everything changed. Her police officer father, John, was driving to work when someone leveled a shotgun at his window. Th...more
When Cylin Busby was nine years old, she was obsessed with Izod clothing, the Muppets, and her pet box turtle. Then, in the space of a night, everything changed. Her police officer father, John, was driving to work when someone leveled a shotgun at his window. Th...more
Hardcover, 329 pages
Published
August 5th 2008
by Bloomsbury USA Childrens
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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
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.
6 likes
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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 dest...more
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.
3 likes
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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 car. This wasn't an accident it was intentionally done....more
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 car. This wasn't an accident it was intentionally done....more
1 like
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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
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 published as YA? Is it just b...more
My biggest wonder, why is this being published as YA? Is it just b...more
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
Emily Sosso
Ms. Brooks
Academic English 10
7 January, 2013
The Year We Disappeared: A Father - Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby and John Busby is a thrilling, yet touching memoir that tells the story of an event that changed the Busby Family life forever. john Busby, father of Shawn, Eric, and Cylin Busby, and husband of Polly Busby, was a police officer on Cape Cod in Falmouth, Massachusetts. He works the night shift, from 11 o'clock at night to 8 o'clock in the morning. On the way to one of his shi...more
Ms. Brooks
Academic English 10
7 January, 2013
The Year We Disappeared: A Father - Daughter Memoir by Cylin Busby and John Busby is a thrilling, yet touching memoir that tells the story of an event that changed the Busby Family life forever. john Busby, father of Shawn, Eric, and Cylin Busby, and husband of Polly Busby, was a police officer on Cape Cod in Falmouth, Massachusetts. He works the night shift, from 11 o'clock at night to 8 o'clock in the morning. On the way to one of his shi...more
“I scrawled the words ‘not an accident’ on the paper, smearing blood on it as I wrote.” John, a father, just got shot in the face and knew that someone wanted him dead. He is almost at the last minutes of his death, before the EMTs took him away….
John is the father of his daughter Cylin. While driving in his car, all of a sudden, a bullet struck him in the face nearly killing him. His face is completely different and hardly anything remains. Once the family finds out, Cylin is in tears and is...more
Closer to a 2.5, this is the memoir of a family of a police officer who was shot at point blank range with a shotgun, his recovery, and the constant protection the family needed to be under while the crime was investigated. Half the story is written from the point of view of the officer's daughter, the other half from the point of view of the officer in question.
I'm not generally one for true crime or memoirs of victims of crimes - there usually has to be some sort of interesting hook or oddity...more
I'm not generally one for true crime or memoirs of victims of crimes - there usually has to be some sort of interesting hook or oddity...more
Instantly drawing you in to their true life/death situation, John Busby and his daughter Cylin, tell the story in alternating chapters of their harrowing experience in the late 1970's in Falmouth, Massachusetts where they lived with Cylin's two older brothers and mother. While on duty as a cop in this small Cape Cod town, John was shot in a drive by shooting. The only thing that the shooters didn't expect is that John would live to tell his story. With his face practically blown off, John wound...more
Aug 22, 2012
Aisha
added it
i would read this book over and over if i got a change to.
I love how when the father got shot and mess up with the car accidents that ran into the house. What got me was that after he got shot the town he live in they want him to move away and get out of there hair that was miss up because he was a cop but also they was there for him and his family which also was good for him but not really because at the end of the day they want to get ride of the busby family. What touch my was that even tho...more
I love how when the father got shot and mess up with the car accidents that ran into the house. What got me was that after he got shot the town he live in they want him to move away and get out of there hair that was miss up because he was a cop but also they was there for him and his family which also was good for him but not really because at the end of the day they want to get ride of the busby family. What touch my was that even tho...more
The Year We Disappeared took place in the New England area . August 31st 1979 is when it all happened. The Busby family was supposed to go out and see a movie. Thankfully they didn’t, the end result of what happened later that night could have been extremely worse. John the father of three kids Shawn, Eric and Cylin and husband to Polly were a cute little family that lived in Falmouth, MA. John was a police officer on the Cape, he only worked the night shifts. He got called into work because it...more
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 everything t...more
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 who did it, and immediately tries to get help for himself and protection for his family while trying to...more
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 who did it, and immediately tries to get help for himself and protection for his family while trying to...more
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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 hear that th...more
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 account...more
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This book was heartbreaking but uplifting. After Cylin's father, John, was shot in the face the families entire world was flipped upside down. They were under constant security and surveillance and were not able to enjoy life as they had before. We follow the Busby's on their fight to regain their life and freedom and seek justice for the horrible assault on John.
While reading this novel I constantly had to remind myself that it was non-fiction. My heart broke for the family.
While reading this novel I constantly had to remind myself that it was non-fiction. My heart broke for the family.
The Year We Disappeared by Cylin and John Busby
This nonfiction memoir written by a father and daughter is set back in the year 1979 in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The narrative alternates between the two as they each tell the story from their own perspective. John Busby was a police officer in Falmouth, who took his job seriously. His daughter, Cylin, was just your average nine year old who loved the Muppets and hanging out with friends. It all started off as a regular night—John left for his shift...more
This nonfiction memoir written by a father and daughter is set back in the year 1979 in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The narrative alternates between the two as they each tell the story from their own perspective. John Busby was a police officer in Falmouth, who took his job seriously. His daughter, Cylin, was just your average nine year old who loved the Muppets and hanging out with friends. It all started off as a regular night—John left for his shift...more
The Year We Disappeared: A Father- Daughter Memoir by Cylin and John Busby is amazing. If you are looking for an extreme page-turner, look here. This is a story about a man named John Busby, who gets shot in the face through a car window while he is driving to work. This Story I told by John and his daughter Cylin Busby, and about their coping. For John with the extreme pain, and multiple surgeries, and Cylin with her dad, and her life, being transformed.
Cylin is just a normal girl, until augus...more
Cylin is just a normal girl, until augus...more
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
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 when John Busby...more
A passage in the book that supports the theme is at the end when John Busby...more
a). "The Year We Disappeared" is about the Busby's, a family living in the Cape. John Busby is a police officer for the city and his wife, Polly, is going to school to be a nurse. Together they have three kids, Ethan, Shawn, and Cylin. The book is written from both John and Cylin's perspective. John is a respected officer throughout the district. His main problem on the job is a citizen with the name of Raymond Meyer. For years John has been arresting Raymond and a few of his family members for...more
I had been wanting to read this for some time so I was excited to get into the story. I did enjoy how the chapters went back and forth from Cylin to John's description of events. It was easy to put yourselves in the shoes of a 9 year old girl at that time. Although I was only 7 when this happened, I remembered my mother mentioning it. I was shocked at how long the police let the investigation into the shooting of John Busby go on. In this day and age, we would definatley scream cover up. Times w...more
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
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
Here's what you need to do:
Read the book. No fluff. It's a true story.
The amount of paranoia and fear struck into this family could light a city for years. The title of this book is not showy or melodramatic; as the events of the book really send John Busby's family into a tailspin. Cylin recalls the night and subsequent months of her father's recovery in a way which serves as a lesson to me: to be aware of what I say around young ones. She is so clueless at first as to what exactly happened to...more
Read the book. No fluff. It's a true story.
The amount of paranoia and fear struck into this family could light a city for years. The title of this book is not showy or melodramatic; as the events of the book really send John Busby's family into a tailspin. Cylin recalls the night and subsequent months of her father's recovery in a way which serves as a lesson to me: to be aware of what I say around young ones. She is so clueless at first as to what exactly happened to...more
This book is an extraordinary story of a family that suffers a devastating event that changes their lives forever. This book is a thrilling Non- Fiction book that can change your life. I would recommend this book to any person. This book is very dedicated, and it relates to those people who have gone, or are going through, the same situation. This is a very heart-thrilling story that can change your point of view. The first reason you should read this book is because it conveys personal feelings...more
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Cylin Busby is the author of several teen books and numerous articles as well as the acclaimed young adult memoir, THE YEAR WE DISAPPEARED. A former editor with Teen Magazine, she now lives in Los Angeles with her family.
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Aug 07, 2008 02:38pm