ARC Book Review: "Vanishing Girls" by Lauren Oliver

Title: Vanishing Girls

Author: Lauren Oliver
Publisher: HarperCollins
Release Date: March 10th 2015

Synopsis:

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.

"Alarming and uplifting, a rare psychological thriller that has a kind heart at its center. Read it with all the lights on." -- E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars.  (taken from goodreads)

Review:

*I received an eARC copy of this book from HarperCollins through edelweiss in exchange for an honest review*

Nicole and Dara have always been the closest of sisters. Basically best friends. Until the night they get into a car accident. Since Nick was the one driving, all blame falls on her.

Dara is left with scars and both sisters go through drastic changes while they live pretending that the other doesn't exist

With their parents divorced, Nick has to live with their  dad and Dara with their mother. Soon their dad sends Nick to spend some time at her mom's due to the rash and out of control decisions shes has been making. In the midst of her risky decisions, Dara goes missing. While this happens there is also the disappearance of Madeline Snow, a little girl who went missing when she was with her sister one night. Dara starts doing everything possible in order to find her sister while she is under the impression that maybe both disappearances have something in common.

When i read the synopsis for this book i was expecting a straight forward mystery/ thriller book. So I went into it expecting just that. Early into it, though, i couldn't help but feel like I was reading your typical contemporary book. But then things started picking up and getting very dark and creepy. Just when i thought i had the whole book figured out, Something happens towards the end that left me completely dumb-founded and somewhat numb. 

I dont really know what I just read exactly, but whatever it was, was outstanding. Seriously, whatever you expect from this book, is not what you'll be getting. You'll get so much more epic-ness and twists and dark things. So brace yourself when you decide to pick it up.

While the majority of the book is told in Nick's point of view, we get insights of Dara's through her diary entries. And i really loved that aspect of the book. It really added something extra to the story. The characters themselves were amazing. Lauren Oliver always makes very substantial and deep characters that you really get to relate to one way or another. And her writing, oh my gosh, her writing! She has such a way with words and creates such beautiful writing that can be best described as breath-taking. And she takes a really insightful view on family.

Family and relationships is a very important subject in this book. Oliver conveys a very believable portrayal of of family and relationships. It wasn't depicted as perfect and unrealistic. It showed how easy it is for friendships and relationships to fall apart and how arduous and difficult it is to fix them or at least remotely save them. I really appreciated that. 

I truly adored this book. It was gripping and intriguing and I couldn't put it down. Another great read from Lauren Oliver, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. 

Rating:

5/ 5

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