Vanishing Girls audiobook

See more reviews at YA Midnight ReadsI’ve said it before and I’ll say it again – I have a very rocky relationship with Oliver’s books. While she caught my heart with Before I Fall, Panic and the later books in her Delirium trilogy did not have me impressed. So I went into Vanishing Girls very much cautiously, and I ended up getting exactly what I was hoping for. Sometimes day and night reverse. Sometimes up goes down and down goes up, and love turns into hate, and things you counted on get washed out from under your feet, leaving you pedalling in the air. While Vanishing Girls might just seem like your generic tale of two sisters at a glance, you can trust Oliver to whip out something that is just so much more underneath the surface. While the central story-line is about the love between two siblings and how it slowly twisted into jealousy and loathing, there's also a nine-year old girl who goes missing in the midst of it all, and soon you discover that these two story-lines have more in common than meets the eye.Vanishing Girls comes to life at Oliver's writing. No one can deny - Oliver has some real skills when it comes to putting gorgeous words onto the page. They definitely hold a poetic quality, and you can really tell by the quotes I've scattered across this review. Sure, her words a really simple, there's nothing all that fancy to them but there's this thing I like to call "beautiful simplicity" and Oliver's writing is exactly that. Heck, the epitome of that self-made term. If you're unsure of whether you'd like the plot, read the book for it's beautiful words, I promise you'll eat them right up.Sometimes people stop loving you. And that's the kind of darkness that never gets fixed, no matter how many moons rise again, filling the sky with a weak approximation of light.This tale is told in a very unique format. Oliver utilizes the 'before' and 'after' trope, as well as telling the story in dual perspective, so us readers can acquaint with both the girls - Dara and Nick. There are also newspaper clippings and other articles slipped in between chapters, as well as diary entries and emails. Basically, Oliver whips in anything that can be whipped in, and turns it into this magnificent tale that is told with so much poignancy and and depth.Don't ask me how I know. I just do. If you don't understand that, I guess you've never had a sister.Being an older sister myself, I found myself clicking with this story from the very first page. (Not that if you aren't a sister you won't connect with this story, it's just that I found that I could resonate with this story better.) Immediately, you can feel the tension and competition that is lingering in the air between these two sisters, but at the same time, there is this unconditional love that is always present. It's the differences that set us apart, and Dara and Nick really do prove that exact statement. These two girls, while they do share some of the same genes, are miles and miles apart in terms of their personality and interests. It's basically an invisible barrier between them,  and the older they got, the wider that barrier seemed to get. I certainly think that Oliver did an excellent job at pulling of the sisterly dynamic. It felt plausible and just so very real.In terms of the ending, I definitely didn't see it coming. Oliver brings a nice twist to the table, and makes this thriller a whole lot more thrilling and unique. Unfortunately, at the same time, the ending did lessen the book's credibility for me. I wasn't able to fully accept it, mainly due to how it unravelled. As the first half of this book is considerably slower than the second half, the change in pacing for the second half really threw me off, and consequently made the ending not give the impact that it was hoping to bring.Beautiful writing, a gripping tale and a thrilling sisterly dynamic, Vanishing Girls is certainly my favourite book by Lauren Oliver.  ~Thank you Hachette Australia for sending me this copy!~

I find it interesting that a quick scan of other reviews shows that many readers didn't like it for the very reason that I give it five stars! There are lots of complaints about, "Oh, blah blah, sisters fighting, and then the ending! Whatever." These people are being silly, and they need to look at this book again. This is much more like my beloved BEFORE I FALL than her DELIRIUM books. There aren't big fight scenes, nobody's trying to overthrow the government. These are real people having real problems in a realistic way. And at first I was thinking, What a very well-written look at family dynamics, and sisterhood, and such things! Lovely! Solidly four stars!AND THEN THE ENDING HAPPENED.All I have done today is pore over the last 75 pages of this book, then flip back through the earlier pages, checking chapter headings and putting the timeline together in my mind, looking for clues, conversations, and hints. Hints about what, you ask? I'm not going to tell you! But there was a plot twist that I did not see coming, and it is FRAKKING CRAZY and I loved it to bits and pieces! Just trust me: the twist works, the hints are there, and it is VERY well done. This is a book that begs a second reading, and it is my new favorite and my best.Five stars. Five very solid stars.

This is my first Lauren Oliver and I was originally hesitant to begin it due to the mixture of opinions this book has received. Thankfully, I was firmly placed in the category of those who love it, although I can see where some of the more negative opinions stem from.This is a very slow-building novel. Much of the first portion is filled with descriptions of protagonist, Nick's, summer. She has returned to her childhood home after a few months spent recuperating with her father, after to a tragic car accident that saw her bruised but sister, Dara, with permanent facial scarring. Nick was not only involved but was the driver during this accident and she has returned to a sister who ignores her existence and a mother who oscillates between over-protective parent and mentally and emotionally unavailable due, to her depressive state and possible sleeping pill addiction. Her childhood best friend also seems to be avoiding her and even when they are forced to work together, in the town's small theme park, do they not seem to be able to confront the growing distance between them.I found this an initially interesting contemporary read but nothing especially gripped me, during this first portion of the book. Events surrounding the crash were hinted at, but little forward progression in solving this mystery was made, until much later. I was enjoying the summer vibes, however, and there was nothing inherently bad about this section.During the second portion is where my intrigue was really captivated. The focus subtly shifted, over the course of the novel, until the mystery became, again, the central focus. With it the pace was notched higher and so, too, was my investment in this book.I have read other reviewers state the ultimate grand reveal was an obvious one, but I was taken completely by surprise. I have seen it done, in other thrillers, but that did not hinder the intensity of shock and overwhelmed emotions I experienced when confronted with the device, here. Open-mouthed awe can only begin to cover how I felt when the mystery dogging this plot was revealed.I found this final twist one that made any slow moments completely worth it, as it had lulled me into a state of presumed knowledge about both the course of recounted events and the steady narrative structure. It made this an ending one I won't forget quickly and also one of the strongest YA thrillers I have had the pleasure of reading.

3.5 starsI've read all of Lauren Oliver's YA books except Requiem and I've always enjoyed her books. She has such a distinct style and vibe to her books. I feel like even if her name wasn't on the cover, once I started reading the book, I could tell for sure that it was a Lauren Oliver book. I think all her books have mixed reviews and it's kind of a toss up if someone will love or hate her books. I personally like her stand-alones way more then the Delirium series and even though I seen a lot of mixed her reviews for Vanishing Girls, I knew that I'd want to it no matter what. Lauren is definitely an auto buy author for me. I definitely think Vanishing Girls was exactly what I thought it was going to be and I liked it exactly how much I thought that I would. It's hard to explain how I feel about Vanishing Girls because it's very Young Adult in a way that I didn't find to have a whole of anything. I felt like the plot was all over the place and disorganized. So insanely messy. It bounced from Dara's POV to Nick's. From website posts to personal messages to diary entries. From "before" to "after". Just a whole lot of mess. I had a hard time keeping things in order in my head and towards the last half of the book, I felt really frustrated because I couldn't remember what was going on and I just really wanted to know what was happening. Every time I picked this book up, it felt like starting a tv show in the middle of season 5. The writing style was so Lauren Oliver. On one hand, it was nice to feel already comfortable with the writing style but on the other hand, I wanted something new and different. If you've read Lauren's books in the past and didn't like the writing style, you won't like Vanishing Girls. The characters are fairly good. I liked Nick a lot more over Dara, just because I couldn't stand Dara's attitude and I felt like she was written with the sole purpose to be disliked by the reader. I couldn't understand her reasoning for the things she did and I was frustrated with her 100% of the time. The pace was really quick. I was able to buzz though this book fairly fast. There wasn't a whole lot of boring parts but I felt like the first half was kind of slow. Overall, Vanishing Girls was a pretty good read. I enjoyed it for most part. It's not my favorite book by Lauren but I still liked it. The plot was pretty empty of substance and it was confusing at times. It actually reminded me a lot of Pretty Little Liars. Entertaining but not the most intricate.

I received a free copy via Edelweiss for review purposes.First Impression: Damn, this book was something else. I love books with unreliable narrators, intentional or not. And, as someone with two sisters (one of them being my twin), I really loved Dara and Nicks relationship, despite the dysfunctionality. A fantastic book for those who like suspenseful, darker and character driven novels. Review: I'm not an 'avid' fan of Lauren Oliver. I enjoyed her book Delirium, but have never really got around to the rest of the series. I keep my eye out for Panic and her adult fiction novel, Rooms, but I haven't made myself familiar with her works. After finishing Vanishing Girls, I can't help but think that maybe I should. Over recent years I decided that if and when I read contemporary, it is more than likely going to be dark contemporary. Someone gets murdered, or blackmailed, or go through something really traumatic and it's character driven, dark and suspenseful. I found that Vanishing Girls was a mix between between that, and a lighter contemporary with swoon-worthy boys and endlessly fun summers.Dara and Nick are inseparable but are two very different people. A car accident changes both their lives forever and the two, for the first time, become estranged. When Dara goes missing on her birthday, Nick can't help but think that her disappearance and a local girls disappearance, are connected. Nick is desperate to find her sister, and in doing so uncovers some unlikely truths. As I stated before, Vanishing Girls is very much a character driven novel, focusing primarily on the altered relationship between Dara and Nick after a car accident. For those with sisters with whom you are close to, Vanishing Girls will surely leave an impact. Those who don't, don't worry, because this novel is fantastic nonetheless. I really enjoyed the contrasting personalities of Dara and Nick, and the thought-processes of both of them, specifically when it came to how they saw each other. Whilst at the end, everything is sort of turned on it's head, I still loved their relationship and how it's portrayed. Fans of We Were Liars and Twisted Fate will surely devour Vanishing Girls. Personally, I think that Vanishing Girls is better than the two previously mentioned.Overall a fantastic piece of work from Lauren Oliver, which explores the ever changing relationship between sisters.

Wow... I started this book when I was looking through my kindle for something to read. Noticed I haven't read this one yet, and said 'why not'? I also started reading this book not loving it. I liked the characters, the drama (even though I'm not the drama queen, myself), the story. But it was going really slow. Until about halfway. When everything clicked together, one by one like clockwork. The little girl, the sister, Parker. Everything was so much deeper and meaningful, it filled my heart, shattered it, and put it back together. I was going to give this book a 3 star, but I think the last half of the book was so good, it earned 4 stars. This story was so sad and happy and tearful and thrilling all at once. Could've been better, but I loved it.

I loved this! Fast paced, engaging, fun to read and great writing!

3,5 Stars(Mild spoilers towards the end. Sorry, I just couldn't keep them out of this review. So if you're like me and every single hint makes your head go crazy with the sudden urge to figure out plot twists, you should skip the penultimate paragraph.)Beautiful writing, well-developed characters and a slow, yet never boring storyline because Lauren Oliver never fails to pull me in with her magical choice of words.Still, the twist. I had, at some point, already considered the possibility of what finally happened, but always shrugged it off because it seemed too illogical - it just wouldn't have made sense to me. So when exactly this happened, I was startled and started flipping back the pages to scenes that, I had thought, would prove the impossibility of said twist. But as I reread these few pages, I found myself shaking my head because it made sense. There was no catch. Still, I'm not happy with how the author decided to tell us the truth, mostly because it happened too sudden. I expected my heart to be racing for two pages due to the certainty that the big reveal was about to happen, but instead, it just... happened, all at once, and I was so unprepared that it didn't hit me as hard as it could have, had I expected it for a few sentences ahead. And I just realized how orthodox that sounds, but it's precisely what I felt in that moment. In addition, I feel like there is a massive lack of explanation that would have given the whole reveal more of an impact and credibility.Also, the reveal makes me sad, and not necessarily in a positive way. Because it means that there is a character we never really got to know, and I guess that's what hurts me the most.Still, if you're a Lauren Oliver fan, you should definitely pick this up. It's a quick read (at least it feels like one while you're reading) with gorgeous writing that will definitely leave an impression. The ending could have used a bit of improvement and I can see why people don't like it, and I'm sure I'll need some time to fully wrap my head around it, but I'm sure that if you liked the author's previous books, this one won't disappoint you, either.I can't remember the last time I spent this much time on putting my thoughts on a book into written words.

4.5 StarsWell, Lauren Oliver has done it again: Written such lovely words, told such a moving story, and reminded me of why she's one of my favorite authors of all time. Vanishing Girls was exquisite.Vanishing Girls features Nick and Dara, sisters who used to be extremely close, but are now anything but. Not having a sister, the dynamics have always fascinated me, and the relationship in this book is no exception. Nick and Dara were best friends, seemingly soul mates, until life started to come between them. Different tastes and opinions, boy trouble (well, that may be putting it mildly), and most horrifically, a serious car accident, have pushed them far apart from the close siblings they'd been.I connected with Nick from the start of the book. I don't know why, she simply resonated with me, and reminded me a bit of myself I suppose. Yes, she had her faults, but I feel like I have quite a few of the same faults, so I found her insanely relatable. I didn't connect to Dara as much for a plethora of reasons, some of which made a lot of sense to me as the book progressed. But I was still captivated by her story even if I couldn't relate to her as much.There is so little I can say about this book without spoiling things, so I will provide you with a few tidbits that really solidified my love for this book, and then I will suggest that you read it, okay? Fabulous. There is mystery. Oh no, this isn't just a story about sisters. It starts off with some talk about a young girl who has disappeared, and I am going to be honest (and this may make me an awful human being), I didn't care at all at first. I just wanted to get on with the real story. Silly me, this was all part of the real story. Sorry! The writing is magnificent. I have said before that I'd pay to read Lauren Oliver's grocery list, and that applies now more than ever. There are times when I was thinking that maybe some of the descriptions were superfluous, but then I realized that I was so very in the scene, that it all made sense. She was able to evoke such a feeling of being present in the story, that the words became necessary. There was one scene in particular (and don't worry, this is not even close to a spoiler!):“I towel off with the scratchy brown paper towel unique to public restrooms, the kind that smells like wet earth.”*I felt absolutely in some grimy public bathroom! How is that even possible? Oh, because Lauren Oliver paints magnificent word pictures, that’s how. There's a big old twist. Now, I figured out the twist (not incredibly early, but quite a bit before it was all revealed) but it didn't decrease my enjoyment of the book at all. In fact, it was almost the opposite. I felt like I had a better appreciate and understanding about what was going on and that my newfound insight helped me connect with the story more. Bottom Line: I can’t and won’t say anything more for fear of revealing something, but Vanishing Girls and I got along quite well. I cared deeply about the characters and the story, and my emotions were all over the place, in the best of ways. Definitely a win for me.*Quote taken from uncorrected proof, subject to change.**Copy provided by publisher in exchange for review.This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight

*I received an Advance Reader Copy in exchange for my honest review*First ThoughtsI 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 EnjoyedKnowing, 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 QuoteThat'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.Recommended ForThose who enjoyed reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. Fans of psychological thrillers and mysteries.Pearl @ AsteriskPearl's Book Blog

Oh Vanishing Girls what to say about you. I adored it for the most part and I have always been a huge fan of Lauren Oliver’s stunningly beautiful writing that just pulls you into every story she tells. But I had my issues with this one. Small, to be fair, but still…Anyway here we meet Nick and Dara, sisters, friends, their relationship suddenly takes a downturn, then they have an accident that further pulls them apart. Told from both points of view, both before and after the crash, Lauren Oliver paints us a portrait of a beautiful yet often diversive sibling relationship.The teenage state of mind is once again beautifully captured here and around the girls are a cast of other characters informing and changing their relationship. It is utterly compelling, addictive storytelling at its best, where you are absolutely drawn into the world they inhabit and feel every last emotion right along with them. There is a mystery element added in here as a young girl goes missing, this is interwoven into the narrative giving it a certain anchor and an extra frission to the whole thing.The ebb and flow of all the friendships, family and otherwise, is elegantly done and often very emotive, but always authentic and believable – Trademark Lauren Oliver and what we have come to expect from her. I knew I would love it and I did. However…The resolution and ultimate outcome made me shake my head. Not because it wasnt realistic or because it was badly done in any sense of the word, but because it is so so predictable and becoming a bit of a cliche. Everybody seems to be doing it. I had my suspicions quite early on, I’m not entirely sure that Ms Oliver attempted to hide anything within the narrative, but I have to say I was hoping to be wrong because truly I (personally speaking) am bored with this particular plot twist. For me the relationship between Nick and Dara deserved more. Of course having said that, this was not my story to tell.As it turns out I was still left feeling emotionally wrung out, a tear in my eye and looking back on the whole story with a hint of nostalgia despite, not because of, the ending to the whole affair. Overall then still an emotive, wonderfully written and utterly compelling coming of age story that I would still have no hesitation recommending. 4* not 5* though – a very subjective rating.Happy Reading Folks!

Vanishing Girls is mainly told through the point of views between Dara and Nick. The story is also composed of pictures, diary entries, emails, and website posts. I really enjoyed all the different ways this story was told and I think that it gives the reader a more well-rounded experience.The first half of this book wasn’t slow, but it wasn’t very fast paced either and I was ok with that. I didn’t mind that the first half of the book was evenly paced because the story was still interesting and I didn’t feel like I was wasting my time. The events begin to pick up about half way through the book and I just couldn’t put the story down. The plot twist in the ending just blew my mind away. I actually had to go back and read the same sentence again because I was completed stunned.At the end of the book, the reader gets a thorough and a mind-shatter explanation for all the events leading up to the very moment where everything “clicks.” I seriously enjoyed this book. I honestly have never read anything by this author before and now I don’t know what’s wrong with me! This book is perfect for anyone who enjoys a great thriller/mystery with a hint of romance!