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3.45 AVERAGE
3.45 AVERAGE
It took me a long time to read this, mostly because I didn't really care about the characters. And once I started reading, I realized it was a YA novel. How did I know? It's juvenile!
I'm not sure how I keep stumbling into reading YA novels. Goodreads should list a category, or something, so I don't read another one.
I'm not sure how I keep stumbling into reading YA novels. Goodreads should list a category, or something, so I don't read another one.
*3.75-4.0*
So I finished the book today, and I have a feeling this will be a very ranty review.
First off, this book is in the psychological thriller genre. Which I love reading, although I haven't in a while til this one. For the most part I can't say that the book contained suspense from beginning til the end. But for a good 70-100 towards the end, I was hastily flipping the pages wanting to see what was going on and how it all was going to end.
I had a feeling about where the plot was going due to some minor clues in the novel that were spread throughout. Some of those predictions came true. I can't say I was shocked when reading the conclusion but I did find myself thinking back through the entire novel finding clues and connecting the dots. My initial thoughts were, "oh well, I can see that."
Second, the characters. For such a "short" novel I felt that the characters were very well thought out and lively. I'm sure this is attributed to Lauren Oliver's lovely writing style.
Now for some things I didn't like so much.
1. The way the dates were all flipped upside down and turned around. This can be done well and I think it was, but I had a hard time keeping the events and the dates straight. Which caused some confusion at times.
2. The conclusion seemed a little lackluster and rushed. We needed more information than what was given, IMO.
3. How there wasn't a lot of information about Nick in the end, you never saw her realize what was going on. I think that would have been very eyeopening.
4. The ending to Madeline Snow's story line was kind of bleh.
Things I liked very much.
1. Nick, she was a very complicated character as you will see. She was done very well up until the end. (She also had a very relatable air to her that I think people will like.)
2. The setting was very visceral. (Something that I find is hard to come by.) Kudos Miss Oliver.
3. John Parker.
4. Everything was very intriguing.
5. Writing style, dude.
So I finished the book today, and I have a feeling this will be a very ranty review.
First off, this book is in the psychological thriller genre. Which I love reading, although I haven't in a while til this one. For the most part I can't say that the book contained suspense from beginning til the end. But for a good 70-100 towards the end, I was hastily flipping the pages wanting to see what was going on and how it all was going to end.
I had a feeling about where the plot was going due to some minor clues in the novel that were spread throughout. Some of those predictions came true. I can't say I was shocked when reading the conclusion but I did find myself thinking back through the entire novel finding clues and connecting the dots. My initial thoughts were, "oh well, I can see that."
Second, the characters. For such a "short" novel I felt that the characters were very well thought out and lively. I'm sure this is attributed to Lauren Oliver's lovely writing style.
Now for some things I didn't like so much.
1. The way the dates were all flipped upside down and turned around. This can be done well and I think it was, but I had a hard time keeping the events and the dates straight. Which caused some confusion at times.
2. The conclusion seemed a little lackluster and rushed. We needed more information than what was given, IMO.
3. How there wasn't a lot of information about Nick in the end, you never saw her realize what was going on. I think that would have been very eyeopening.
4. The ending to Madeline Snow's story line was kind of bleh.
Things I liked very much.
1. Nick, she was a very complicated character as you will see. She was done very well up until the end. (She also had a very relatable air to her that I think people will like.)
2. The setting was very visceral. (Something that I find is hard to come by.) Kudos Miss Oliver.
3. John Parker.
4. Everything was very intriguing.
5. Writing style, dude.
teen girls always find god over the summer, on the coast, with a crush on a boy.
Meh... got weird and strained at the end. So much build up that really didn’t lead to anything great. 2.5 stars. Very much a YA read.
How did I feel about Vanishing Girls? Meh. It was very much just okay. I guessed the ending 20% in and then I was completely bored until the end. It seemed like the author was making the "twist" way too obvious. I was so focused on that that I couldn't really get into the story otherwise.
Ugh. This is the first time I’m forcing myself to write a review—even with books I hate, I usually jump on first thing to write about what I liked and what I didn’t like. But this book? I don’t know. I didn’t hate it, I was pretty invested with the story in the beginning.
The sister-dynamic with Nick and Dara was really interesting to read about. They loved each other to bits, but at the same time, they’re both jealous of one another. They always look at the qualities that the other siblings had instead of what they already had.
The sister-dynamic with Nick and Dara was really interesting to read about. They loved each other to bits, but at the same time, they’re both jealous of one another. They always look at the qualities that the other siblings had instead of what they already had.
“Sometimes people stop loving you. And that’s the kind of darkness that never gets fixed.”
And then it just got whiny.
You see, that’s not what really disappointed me about this book. What really disappointed me about this book was this: this book is 357 pages. We know for sure that Dara’s disappeared by page 220-ish. So . . . like 220 pages of just reaching the actual premise of this book.
“That's the problem with therapists: you have to pay them to say the same dumb shit other people will tell you for free.”
To be honest, I knew the ending. I guess that now it seems to be a trend to have some kind of ending that is supposed to blow your brains into outer space or something, but I’d already predicted the ending which was:
Spoiler(1) Dara is doing the vanishing from the conflict between her and Nick
(2) Nick is hallucinating everything and is an unreliable narrator
OR
(3) Dara is a paranormal thing that’s not real—and she’s seeing the past.
The other thing that annoyed me about the ending was that there were so many loose-ends that weren’t tied up. Usually, with an ending like that, the reader’s questions are all answered. And, you understand everything and it links back in together. But, with this one I was confused. Here’s why:
SpoilerIf Dara had been a ghost the entire time, then why?
We don’t actually see Dara becoming free? What happened there?
What the hell was it with Dara’s family not realizing their second child is dead? Did no one realize that Dara is not dead?
Why was Nick to only one sent to rehab if Dara was talking to everyone?
Why did the disappearance of Madeline Snow have to be so weird?
Nick figures out that the police have caught someone from “the photography circle” when she realizes a comment from one of the posts saying: he likes young girls. She then states that the comment looked like it was written in a hurry because there was no proper grammar or punctuation. FIRST OF ALL, the comment was under an article that suspected another guy. SECOND OF ALL, I’ve see SO MANY PEOPLE WRITE WITHOUT PUNCTUATION AND GRAMMAR ON THE INTERNET. SO HOW?
AND MANY MANY MORE QUESTIONS.
Overall, I thought that Vanishing Girls was kind of disappointing. I didn’t see the whole “mystery” or “thriller” aspect. If you want to read this and try it out, then you should go ahead, but I wouldn’t be recommending this to people who are a big fan of mystery.
The plot was obvious but I didn't expect her sister to have grabbed the wheel and cause the accident.
SHE PULLED A LIARS. GODDAMN. THIS CANNOT BECOME A TREND.