asteriskpearl's book blog: ARC Review: Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Release Date: March 10th, 2015
Rating: 4.5 stars
Amazon | Goodreads

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Blurb:

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.

*I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review*

First Thoughts

I am completely devastated right now. My heart feels like it has been shredded into pieces. Vanishing Girls is not what I expected at all; not that I even really know what I expected. I've always enjoyed Lauren Oliver's work, but this is the first time she has ever made me feel downcast and broken.

Vanishing Girls maintained this sort of ominous feel that almost hurt to read. You know a mind-blowing plot twist is going to happen, you know you're going to shed some tears, and you know you're going to sit there for a while hugging your pillow in deep thought-- still, you can't stop turning the pages.

The plot hit home for me. I have a younger sibling that went through a reckless and impulsive phase, like Dara, and I worried myself sick for him all the time. I'd want to curl up in a hole and die if my situation had turn out like Nick's.

What I Enjoyed

Knowing, but not knowing. Lauren Oliver is so sneaky in this one! At the 50% mark, I had a realization of what the plot twist might be, but then the next chapter had me second guessing myself. This back and forth debate with myself kept on until the last few chapters.

The realism. Lauren Oliver hit the nose on the head with this one. She perfectly portrayed the trouble some teens get into when they're bored and I loved her accurate representation of a broken and traumatized family trying their best to hold it together.

The book made me think. The beginning of the book is actually a letter to the reader and it says something about how two people can grow up under the same roof, live with the same parents, and be expected to abide by the same rules, yet become remarkably different. I pondered this for quite some time.

Memorable Quote

That's what life is, pretty much: full of holes and tangles and ways to get stuck. Uncomfortable and itchy. A present you never asked for, never wanted, never chose. A present you're supposed to be excited to wear, day after day, even when you'd rather stay in bed and do nothing.