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ARC Book Review: Vanishing Girls – Lauren Oliver


vanishinggirlsVanishing Girls
Author: Lauren Oliver
Series: None
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, Mystery, Thriller
Release Date: March 10, 2015
Publisher: HarperCollins

Goodreads | Amazon | TBD

Summary:

New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident.
Dara and Nick used to be inseparable, but that was before the accident that left Dara’s beautiful face scarred and the two sisters totally estranged. When Dara vanishes on her birthday, Nick thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl, nine-year-old Madeline Snow, has vanished, too, and Nick becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances are linked. Now Nick has to find her sister, before it’s too late.
In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

 
First Sentence: The funny thing about almost-dying is that afterward everyone expects you to jump on the happy train and take time to chase butterflies through grassy fields or see rainbows in puddles of oil slick on the highway.

I received a copy of the book from the publisher in exchange for a honest review. All opinions are my own and I was not compensated for this review.

My Review:

I wasn’t interested in Vanishing Girls at all when I first saw it. After how Lauren Oliver ended Requiem, I absolutely refused to read another one of her books, no matter how good her writing was. How did I end up reading Vanishing Girls then? Well, I learned that Vanishing Girls was about a girl gone missing, which automatically caught my interest since I’m a fan of anything that gives off a Criminal Minds vibe. My friends also enjoyed reading Vanishing Girls so therefore why not give it a try? In the end, after a lot of thinking, I’m still extremely conflicted about the book. Vanishing Girls was good, but not amazing.

“What do you think happened to Madeline Snow?” Margie calls after me, her voice loud and easy – too easy.
I freeze. It might be my imagination, but I imagine that the crowd freezes too, that for a second the whole day stills and becomes a picture filter… (ARC 111)

If Vanishing Girls just focused on the girl gone missing storyline without the missing girl storyline, it would be nothing special. However, since Vanishing Girls also focused on the sister sibling aspect between Nick and Dara, it made the book stand out apart from other missing person books. Lauren Oliver shows the very real miscommunication and jealousy that can happen between siblings (in this case sisters), although a very small part of it did come off as being cliché. I did find myself siding with one sister because of several reasons and I think a majority of readers will side with the sister I sided with too. I didn’t like the other sister as much because of several things she did, but I did understand why she did the things she did except for the one major decision that changed everything.

I remember really enjoying Lauren Oliver’s writing in Delirium and it being the highlight of the entire book. However, I didn’t feel Lauren Oliver’s writing in Vanishing Girls or thought that it was beyond amazing. In fact, there was such a huge difference between the writing that I couldn’t quite believe that the same author who wrote Vanishing Girls also wrote Delirium. Maybe it’s because I’ve read so many other books ever since I last read Delirium and I’ve just seen better writing or writing similar to hers during that time. Vanishing Girls just lacked the magic the words in Delirium made me feel.

I remember it was very cold.
I remember that she didn’t scream, or say anything, or make a sound.
And then I don’t remember anything at all. (ARC 320)

There was this huge, huge plot twist near the end of Vanishing Girls that I never saw coming. Sadly, even though I didn’t see that huge twist coming (which is a good thing), I don’t think it was done well. It took me a minute or two to figure out what Lauren Oliver was trying to tell me with that twist, and when I finally got it and thought about it, it took a mighty long time for things to make sense again. I’ve read another book with the same exact plot twist that Vanishing Girls has and it was done SO much better – there was no confusion and it shook me to the very core. Three years later, whenever I think of that book, I am still shaken up. As for Vanishing Girls, all I really did after that twist was shrug off my confusion and read on.

Overall, Vanishing Girls was an okay read and was definitely better than I had expected. Vanishing Girls is certainly not the best book out there focused on sister sibling relationships, but it does stand out apart from the rest (besides the one other book I was talking about in the above paragraph) because of its twist.

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-Kelly

Posted by Kelly on 3-06-15 · 19 Comments
Categories: 2015 book, book review

« ARC Book Review: The Winner’s Crime – Marie Rutkoski
The Week That Was Full of Snow, Rain, and Some More Snow Haul »

Speak Your Mind

  1. Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) says

    3-06-15 at 9:22 AM

    I’ve actually seen a few not so stellar reviews on this. I started my e-galley a day ago and am still trying to decide whether I want to finish it or not. I’ve got other e-galleys waiting, so I may not. Probably if I don’t finish it today, then I will move on. I am kind of okay with the writing, but it’s just not my normal story. And the characters don’t grab me like in other similar stories by other authors. Great review, you really made me think more about whether to keep reading or not.
    Lisa Mandina (Lisa Loves Literature) recently posted…Book Blitz and Giveaway: The Designed by Kate TailorMy Profile

    Reply
  2. Leigh @ Little Book Star says

    3-06-15 at 12:00 PM

    I love books that has mystery too, but I think I’ll be passing on this one because I thought her other book, Delirium was pretty ‘mehh’. I have Pandemonium and Requiem, but I don’t think I’ll be reading those because I don’t really care for the characters. I also read her book Panic but ended up DNFing it. Maybe her writing style isn’t just my cup of tea. I also wouldn’t want to read a book that has a plot twist not executed very well. I feel like this is a ‘mehhh’ book too :/
    Leigh @ Little Book Star recently posted…February 2015 Wrap UpMy Profile

    Reply
  3. Hannah says

    3-06-15 at 1:43 PM

    Lauren Oliver’s writing tends to me hit or miss with me. I loved Delerium, decided to spare myself the sequels, loathed Rooms, and thought Panic was okay. So I guess I’ll have to see with this one. I like the sound of the mystery aspect, but it all comes down to the writing.
    Hannah recently posted…Review: The Raven Boys (Raven Cycle #1) – Maggie StiefvaterMy Profile

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  4. Cynthia says

    3-06-15 at 1:45 PM

    Great review! I read that one too. I had some issues with the pacing. It was supposedly about the missing sister, but she didn’t even go missing until more than halfway through the book. I thought the plot twist was great, but I agree that it could have been handled better. Right after the twist, there were newspaper articles and doctor interviews or whatever. So right after the big reveal, it takes so long to even get back to the main characters that I don’t even care anymore.
    Cynthia recently posted…Friday MemesMy Profile

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  5. Katherine says

    3-06-15 at 5:33 PM

    I’m really pumped for this book. So far, I’ve really enjoyed all of Lauren Oliver’s other books and this one seems really intense and interesting! This is the first review I’ve seen for this one though. I still can’t wait for this to come out, but I am now looking forward to the plot twist. I guess I’ll have to see what I think soon. Great review!
    Katherine recently posted…Top Ten Friday?: ALL TIME FAVORITES (from the past three years)My Profile

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  6. Hillary R. says

    3-06-15 at 10:37 PM

    After reading the last book before Vanishing Girls, I’ve been afraid into getting into another Lauren Oliver book. I started with the Delirium series which I absolutely loved so I continued with Before I Fall which totally broke my heart, then I read Panic with the highest of expectations only for those expectations to plummet down so fast I’m not sure how I survived the disappointment. Ever since that happened I’ve been wary about reading another Lauren Oliver book. For a while it seemed like (to me) she was on a roll with the way she wrote her stories, but since Panic it feels like things aren’t the same anymore. All I can say is that when I get to Vanishing Girls, hopefully it won’t disappointment me as much as Panic did. Though I am impressed it did get 3/5 from you Kelly. Some people disliked the story or dnf’ed it.

    Reply
  7. Laila Campos says

    3-07-15 at 10:54 AM

    Same with you there…i sort of lost interest with her other works with how she ended Requiem and it was great writing IMO…but i might be convinced in putting this one on my tbr for March..will just see. Wait i have read her other book Panic but it didn’t impressed me too :/

    Reply
  8. Lia says

    3-07-15 at 8:52 PM

    Lauren Oliver’s writing is lovely! My favorite of her novels is Before I Fall, but I loved all the others of her that I read> (Although I agree the ending for Requiem was cruel)

    Reply
  9. Carina Olsen says

    3-08-15 at 11:20 AM

    Great review Kelly. <3 I'm sorry you had some issues with this book. But glad you ended up enjoying a lot of it :D I'm curious about this one. But after reading some negative reviews, I don't think it is for me :p Sigh. Which is depressing. Anyway. Thank you for sharing your thoughts about this book sweetie. <3
    Carina Olsen recently posted…In My Mailbox #175My Profile

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  10. Ana Mafalda says

    3-09-15 at 5:01 PM

    I have only ever read Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver and I really enjoyed it. I’ve been meaning to give this a go and I really like plot twists so it is going on my list, thank you so much for the review!

    Reply
  11. bn100 says

    3-10-15 at 8:38 PM

    interesting relationship aspects

    Reply
  12. Marissa Manning says

    3-29-15 at 10:32 PM

    I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews for this book. I’ve only read one of her previous books, so I’m not sure if I’ll read this one or not. The story line just doesn’t pique my interest like I want it to. I’m curious about the other book (with the similar plot twist) that you were talking about though.

    Reply
  13. Monica says

    3-30-15 at 8:58 PM

    I haven’t picked up any Lauren Oliver. She seems to get mixed reviews all around, but I really want to pick up one of her books to see for myself. I really like anything “Criminal Minds”-esk as well, so I think I might start with this one. Great review. I will make sure to go into this one without super high expectations.
    -Monica @ Tomes Project
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  14. Claire Salmon says

    4-02-15 at 7:35 AM

    Great review, I have a few books by Lauren Oliver on my TBR pile. Well done for giving it a go after your previous disappointment.

    Reply
  15. Jaime Lester says

    4-02-15 at 11:18 PM

    This book is just not one of the many that I have an interest in. The subject matter intrigues me, but I have heard too many things about this book, and the authors other books as well, that I honestly think I wouldn’t enjoy Vanishing Girls. So, after reading your review, I think my original assumptions were more than likely correct, and I am comfortable in saying I pass….
    Jaime Lester recently posted…The Infinite Expanse by B.C. Powell ~ Book Blitzed by Jaime ~ Xpresso Book ToursMy Profile

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  16. Juliann Grenier says

    4-12-15 at 2:33 PM

    I have heard many mixed reviews on Vanishing Girls. I wanted to read it, because anything giving off Criminal Minds vibes catches my attention. And I actually really like the cover. But after so many reviews saying pretty much the same as you are, I’m not so sure about it anymore. I haven’t read any books by Lauren Oliver either, so going in unknowing may make it more enjoyable, I don’t know, but would you recommend this still, or would you recommend something else of her works.

    Reply
  17. Kaitlyn A. says

    4-17-15 at 10:03 AM

    I really enjoyed this book! Great review!

    Reply
  18. Selena Yukino says

    4-18-15 at 5:07 PM

    Great review! I’m sorry you didn’t enjoy the authors writing as much as you did the years before.

    Reply
  19. Cali W. says

    4-28-15 at 7:42 PM

    Good review. I really liked Delirium and her second book, but I agree with what happened with the third. I couldn’t get into this story at all.

    Reply

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