"A veena is a stringed instrument from India dating back to the 11th century. It's made from jackwood and played by plucking the strings...All veenas have some kind of animal decorations. It's for luck." Neela has her grandmother's veena. It is the maya veena - a cursed instrument that keeps disappearing. It is stolen when Neela runs into a church to get out of the rain...And then is stolen several more times. Each person involved with the veena engages in some form of deception. Neela had "lied, spied on people, and broken into a church computer, just to get closer to the veena." Neela and her friends solve the veena's mystery and Neela's altruistic gift is heartwarmingly commendable. "Vanished isn't just a story about the balance between good and evil, but also how we can sometimes overlook the very things that we love."
"Sometimes when you have something precious it interferes with the rest of your life."
Mark Twain Award Preliminary Nominee 2013-14
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