Overview

Jiordan's family was never quite like everyone else's, with her father's mood swings, her mother's attempts at normalcy, and her two sisters with a different last name. But on the surface, they fit in. Until the day the FBI came knocking. After that, her father's mood plunged to a dangerous low. After that, there was an investigation and a sentencing in court. After that, her family changed forever. Reckoning with her father's incarceration, Jiordan navigated friends who couldn't quite understand what she was going through, along with the highs and lows of first love. But if her father was gone, why did Jiordan feel like the one disappearing? Recounting her own experiences, poet Jiordan Castle creates a searing YA true-story-in-verse about the challenge to be free when a parent is behind bars.

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9780374389772

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Reviews

"""Searingly honest and compulsively readable, Disappearing Act holds just the kind of poems--and story--I wish I'd had in hand when I was a young person."" --Sara Novic, New York Times bestselling author of True Biz ""This vivid memoir shines a light on the difficulty of navigating a complex family dynamic through a beautiful blend of prose and poetry."" --Robin Ha, New York Times bestselling author of Almost American Girl ""Disappearing Act is a gut-punch of a beautiful, honest book. As someone who has experienced watching a loved one navigate incarceration, this story spoke to me on so many levels. From Castle's thoughtfully rendered moments of negative space and loud silence on the page, to the lyrical letters to her future self and the tender care with which she portrays a family in crisis, I could not put this book down. A stunning, heart-opening work of art."" --Mariama J. Lockington, Stonewall Honor Award-winning author of In the Key of Us and For Black Girls Like Me ""A gorgeous memoir-in-verse, Jiordan Castle's Disappearing Act is a heart-wrenching look at the cognitive dissonance that occurs when trying to reconcile who someone is with who you want them to be. Coming of age amidst her father's incarceration, Castle's story is a testament to the strength it takes to navigate high school when everything is going wrong. A story of family, love, friendship, loss, and grief, this sharp and evocative memoir offers a personal look at mental illness and the power of friendship and family. Disappearing Act is a must-read."" --Ariel Henley, Schneider Family Honor-winning author of A Face for Picasso ""Disappearing Act is gorgeously written with heartbreaking honesty. Castle dispatches scenes from her teen self in a powerful exploration of trauma and hope. Castle's debut memoir-in-verse picks up the pieces from her shattered world and illuminates each fragmented memory with razor-sharp precision. The result is a stunning mosaic of a teen girl who discovers clarity and strength on the other side of a familial catastrophe."" --Jennifer Moffett, author of Those Who Prey"

Author Information

Jiordan Castle is the author of All His Breakable Things and Disappearing Act. Her work has appeared in Hobart, HuffPost, New Ohio Review, The New Yorker, Third Point Press, and elsewhere. She is a contributor to the LA-based food and culture magazine Compound Butter, and an Editor-at-Large for Pigeon Pages. Originally from New York, she has an MFA in poetry from Hunter College and lives in Philadelphia. Find her at jiordancastle.com.

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