Vanishing Girls Paperback – March 8, 2016

It is always very exciting when I am able to recommend a five-star book to all of you, and that is exactly what Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver is for me. This young adult mystery follows two sisters, Nick and Dara. As young children they were absolutely inseperable, but as they grow older they begin to grow apart. Everything changes when they are in a car accident together. Nick was at the wheel, and escaped with minor injuries, but Dara’s injuries are much more extensive. Vanishing Girls seeks to uncover the truth behind the accident. At the same time, a young girl named Madeline Snow goes missing from Nick and Dara’s town. The book explores whether these two mysteries are really as different as they seem.I was absolutely blown away by Vanishing Girls. I love a good thriller, and although I was pretty disappointed with myself that I didn’t figure out the plot twist, I was amazed with how well Oliver crafted this story. A lot of readers criticize Vanishing Girls because it is similar to other books out there. That is definitely true, and even I have read a book with the same ending. However, the journey leading up to the conclusion is what allows Vanishing Girls to truly stand alone.Oliver is an excellent writer. This is the third book I’ve read by her, and in each one she develops a unique voice. Not only is her writing poetic, and filled with beautiful descriptors, but she carefully crafted Vanishing Girls. It really takes talent to be able to weave together a mystery like this one. For the majority of the book things don’t seem important or connected, but in hindsight they are. I am so impressed with the writing and storytelling.Similarly, Vanishing Girls becomes a very rereadable novel because of this sort of writing. I want to pick it up again in the future to really key in on the clues I missed along the way. I read Vanishing Girls as an eBook, but next time I will get a physical copy. That is because intermixed with the prose are mixed media elements such as photographs, online news articles, and more. I would like to see those in print form, as I think that will add more to the reading experience.Moreover, I wanted to quickly discuss the character development in this novel. Part of me wishes that I knew the ins and outs of the characters more, but I understand why we only see characters in a limited way. The story needs to have a certain type of narration in order to be successful, so I’m glad Oliver was able to accomplish that. This will make more sense once you read the book, so I encourage you to still read it even if you usually like fully developed characters.Overall, I am so happy I finally got to Vanishing Girls. It is a very quick read, and one that is quite impactful. I absolutely love books like this one, and find them a lot of fun. I understand that not everyone likes a psychological thriller, but I highly recommend this one if you do! I will be continuing to read Oliver’s books – she hasn’t let me down yet!*This review originally posted on Adventures in Polishland

Plot:It took a little while to get into, but once it got going, it was intriguing. I never knew what was going to happen next. The two POVs worked well, even with the unexpected twist. The twist was so good and unexpected that I still think I'm in shock.Setting:I can't remember where the setting was exactly, but the overall town felt realistic. I especially liked the theme park.Characters:I thought Nick (Nicole) was a guy at first. Although she seemed a little off, it soon started to make sense. I began to connect with her throughout the book. Having a somewhat troubled little sister of my own (though not really much anything like Dara), I could emphasize with her as well. The twist actually made a lot of since when I thought about it. Seemed very believable.Dara felt just as realistic as Nick, though I didn't connect to her as well. Still, I felt bad for her.I also enjoyed Parker's character, as well as Alice.Relationships:The best relationship, is of course, the one between the two sisters. It's a bit of a love/hate relationship, one that is deeply connected. I know what it's like to have a little sister so it was very easy to relate to it. It also made the entire situation even sadder.I also enjoyed Nick's relationship with Parker. It was complicated but realistically so. And honestly the two seemed to work well together.Nick's relationship with her parents was interesting. They both seemed very distant and worried more about her than her troubled sister. It makes more sense later on, but it was realistic, especially given that they had just divorced.Writing/Voice:I've loved Lauren Oliver's writing since I first picked up Delirum. While I don't always enjoy her books (cough cough Panic cough), her writing is beautiful. It worked well in this one. It's told from two POVS--Nick and her sister, Dara. It also contains diary entries, articles, and e-mails, which also served their purpose. Oliver did a great job with the two POVs.Ending:It was difficult to stop reading the last few chapters, especially the ones working up to the climax. Very exciting. I liked the way this ended, though it also kind of made me sad.Overall:I pre-ordered this because Lauren was offering a signed book plate to anyone who did so. It's actually the first time I've ever pre-ordered anything. It was a very sweet deal--the book plate AND the price--so I'm pretty happy about doing it. I'm especially happy now that I've read the book. I was thinking it would be pretty good (3.5 stars) halfway through, but once the twist was revealed, I just had to bump it up. Delirium is still my favorite, but this was a very good suspense drama. Hoping to see more like this in the future!

On the one hand, I liked this book. On the other hand, oh my god, why did it not end about two hundred pages ago!?So, I recently read a book that had a similar twist in the end, which was maybe why I was disappointed with this one. I thought that ending had been so impressively done that I couldn't help but comare the books and found this one wanting. But it wasn't a bad book, it just wasn't as good as I'd hoped for. It wasn't the book I had hoped for (so Lauren Oliver averages about 50/50 with me it would seem). It felt too long, too jumbled, and just not what I felt as though I'd been promised.Now, that being said it was good, more or less. The story was complex and woven delicately through several different interconnecting threads, leading ultimately to strange twists of fate. The writing, as always, was good. Oliver has always done well on that front. And the story concept was good. Where I came up short was on execution.The story was too long and drawn out. We were dropped into the lives of these girls without enough to really get tied to them. It took until about halfway through the book before I was really invested in what was going on, both plot wise and character investment wise. I did really enjoy the scene with Parker in the car, because after the fact it meant so much more and that, strangely enough, was what hit me. I think we should have jumped ahead sooner and ended when Parker got home, but maybe that's just me. Also, kinda felt the pictures were out of place and gimmicky. And the stuff at the end with the viy (trying to avoid spoilers) seemed a little too... abrupt. Like where the heck had that come from anyway? Definitely not expected.So, it was okay, but I'd hoped for more. I would recommend it, just be in it for the long haul, okay?