It's been months since I last chatted to you guys about my recent reads, and that's because I hardly had the time to read for my own pure pleasure with all my finals crashing over my head as well as working on my thesis.
However, you will know that I've made a promise to myself to read as much as I possibly can during my summer holidays if you've seen my summer book haul. I actually managed to make a lot of time for reading this summer - especially during my time in Teneriffe. A lot as in devouring a book a day. Is there anything better than reading a great book on the beach or by the sea?
One of the books I read while I was away was "Vanishing Girls", a thriller by Lauren Oliver, which I didn't know anything about prior to purchasing it. But as it was praised to live up to the likes of "Gone Girl", I decided that I should give it a shot. But was it worth it?
One of the books I read while I was away was "Vanishing Girls", a thriller by Lauren Oliver, which I didn't know anything about prior to purchasing it. But as it was praised to live up to the likes of "Gone Girl", I decided that I should give it a shot. But was it worth it?
Vanishing Girls follows the story of the two very different sisters Dara and Nick, Nick being the studious, quiet child while Dara always seems to get herself in trouble for partying, drinking, smoking and the like. The two of them had used to be as thick as thieves until they got into a car crash one night that left half of beautiful Dara's face completely scarred and the bond between the siblings broken and poisoned.
When Dara disappears on her birthday, Nick supposes that her sister is just playing another one of her games with everyone. However, as time progresses, Nick starts to connect the disappearance of her sister with that of an eleven year old girl from their town. As more and more evidence proving that the cases are linked shows up, Nick's search for her sister becomes more and more urgent because she is convinced of one thing - Dara is running out of time.
Now, how did I like this novel? Was it really as good as I was told it would be?
Well, for one, it was quite hard for me to get into the story at first, I'm not going to lie. It takes at least a third of the book for the whole thriller aspect of it to pick up, which can be quite annoying when you expect something to finally happen for a hundred pages.
I did, however, really like the way the plot ended up unfolding once it finally did. The storyline is pretty intense and - if you're a young woman and can imagine yourself in a similar situation to either of the two sisters - even terrifying. It's a clever and incredibly thought through book - but you will only realize this once you reach the book's plot twist, which I could never have predicted. I actually had to put down the book for a hot minute because I couldn't believe what I had just read!
I also really enjoyed the dynamics between the two sisters, and I think everyone who has siblings themselves would, too. I myself have a younger brother who I have a real hot-and-cold relationship with (really, it's either "Don't breathe in my direction" or "I'll help you burry the body" and nothing inbetween), so I could really identify with Nick, who is the older sister. I often felt like Lauren Oliver somehow took my thoughts and feelings and put them into Nick's mouth, and that's also what made her so incredibly relatable for me!
Overall, I think this book is a great read, especially if you're into thrilling and/or dark reads. It's an incredible potrayal of the relationships between siblings and sibling rivalary as well as the dark depths of human nature - and the plot twist is incredible.
Well, for one, it was quite hard for me to get into the story at first, I'm not going to lie. It takes at least a third of the book for the whole thriller aspect of it to pick up, which can be quite annoying when you expect something to finally happen for a hundred pages.
I did, however, really like the way the plot ended up unfolding once it finally did. The storyline is pretty intense and - if you're a young woman and can imagine yourself in a similar situation to either of the two sisters - even terrifying. It's a clever and incredibly thought through book - but you will only realize this once you reach the book's plot twist, which I could never have predicted. I actually had to put down the book for a hot minute because I couldn't believe what I had just read!
I also really enjoyed the dynamics between the two sisters, and I think everyone who has siblings themselves would, too. I myself have a younger brother who I have a real hot-and-cold relationship with (really, it's either "Don't breathe in my direction" or "I'll help you burry the body" and nothing inbetween), so I could really identify with Nick, who is the older sister. I often felt like Lauren Oliver somehow took my thoughts and feelings and put them into Nick's mouth, and that's also what made her so incredibly relatable for me!
Overall, I think this book is a great read, especially if you're into thrilling and/or dark reads. It's an incredible potrayal of the relationships between siblings and sibling rivalary as well as the dark depths of human nature - and the plot twist is incredible.
If you want to see and find out how all this turns out in the end, you can get "Vanishing Girls" off Amazon for 8.99€.
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Definitely gonna be adding this book to my reading list! Great post! x
ReplyDeleteKate// katerosexo1.blogspot.com
Glad I introduced you to this book, it's a good one! And thank you. :) x
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