Series: Elita Brown #2
Published by Moody Publishers on March 4, 2025
Genres: Children's
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Book 2 in the Elita Brown series.
December normally brings joy to Elita Brown’s heart with the coziness of winter and the anticipation of Christmas. But when Elita compares her life to others, her best friends seem to have it so much better. Margo hosts a fancy holiday dinner party; Joy discovers a hibernating bear on her family’s property, and Stephen shares his love of football with Joy. Even her little sister Cally has a seemingly perfect life with a special role in The Nutcracker. Every day, Elita grows more and more jealous.
To make matters worse, the principal of Siler Middle School insists on a school-wide speech competition. Can Elita get over her fear of public speaking? How can her jealous heart heal? And where is her mentor Mrs. Burgley when she needs her most of all?
In The Disappearing Seat, Elita discovers the secret to savoring the good gifts all around her. Through the wisdom revealed in nature and a loving spiritual mentor, Elita learns what it means to have access to the riches of God’s kingdom and how to enjoy the beautiful life God has given her. Readers will delight in what they learn about the bears, owls, and the frozen vernal ponds in the Pennsylvania forest (which all become symbols of Elita’s spiritual growth). With great discussion questions included, this book helps young readers on their journey with Jesus.
This is the second book in the Elita Brown series. The first book, This Seat’s Saved, explored Elita’s struggles with social exclusion and bullying in middle school. That book shared a powerful message about what it means to be “seated with Christ” (Ephesians 2:6), regardless of how you rank on the social ladder. In The Disappearing Seat, things are going much better for Elita, but she is struggling with some life transitions, and she feels like her life is boring and disappointing when she compares herself to her friends.
This book tells an engaging story about Elita’s school life, friendships, and passion for nature, and author Heather Holleman weaves in important life lessons, partly through Elita’s email correspondence with a mentor. Although this sequel isn’t as strong as the first book, I enjoyed it. The writing is excellent, the book has a vivid sense of place, and the main character’s thoughts and reactions feel very convincing. I appreciate how well Holleman represented a sensitive, introspective girl’s complex inner life.
The book will appeal to girls in late elementary school and middle school. However, even though this book is very appropriate for that age group, parents will want to be aware that a significant plot point involves Elita and her crush spending unsupervised time alone in the woods, working on a nature project for school. Elita and this boy have a healthy, non-sexual friendship, but most parents I know wouldn’t be comfortable letting their preteen daughter hang out alone in the woods with a member of the opposite sex. Parents should be aware of this as a potential talking point with their daughters.
I would recommend that people start with the first book, since it is important to already understand the characters and their relationships with each other. Some of the side characters don’t get much development in the sequel, and it’s important to already know who they are from the first novel. Also, even though I enjoyed this book, I felt that it wrapped up too easily at the end, and that aspects of the conclusion were over-the-top.
The Disappearing Seat is an engaging story that middle-grade girls will relate to, and it offers great messages about finding contentment in God and avoiding the trap of comparison. This story also highlights the spiritual and mental health benefits of journaling, and if girls would like to keep a daily log like Elita’s, they might enjoy the Sit and Savor Journal, which is a companion workbook from the same publisher.