Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Dara and Nicola used to be inseparable, but that was before - before Dara kissed Parker, before Nicola lost him as her best friend, before the accident that left Dara's beautiful face scarred. Now the two sisters, who used to be so close, aren't speaking. In an instant, Nick lost everything and is determined to use the summer to get it all back. But Dara has other plans. When she vanishes on her birthday, Nicola thinks Dara is just playing around. But another girl has vanished, too - nine-year-old Elizabeth Snow - and as Nicola pursues her sister, she becomes increasingly convinced that the two disappearances may be linked.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as I'd hoped. It took me a while to get a real feel for the characters and I felt the first three quarters of the book moved quite slowly. The last quarter of the book really picked up and from here I couldn't put it down. I'm interested to read more of Lauren Oliver's books as there were elements of this book that I really enjoyed but not enough to make it to 4 or 5 stars for me.

before I read this I read some GoodReads reviews b/c I was trying to figure out if it was a “sad” book (I had to read a “sad” book for our monthly Reading Wildly challenge at work), and all the reviews were like “ugh the twist ending is so predictable!” I was like whatever, I'll read it anyway, I can never guess twist endings. Also, I feel like the bar is different for YA literature–if you're an adult reading it and you guess the twist, good for you, but a lot of teens prob won't because they haven't already read a bunch of books with that same twist. Because they have fewer years on this earth. Anywho: no, I did not ~guess the twist~ although it was obvious that something was afoot. Also I gotta say: I sort of question if this twist is actually medically possible?! seems like a very plot-convenient mental illness to me.I thought the ~found photo~ and diary entries were cool–kinda wished it had more photos, but okay. I dunno–for me this doesn't compare to Lauren Oliver's earlier books, which I ADORE, but also I liked it more than I liked [b:Panic 17565845 Panic Lauren Oliver https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1374066076s/17565845.jpg 24500875]. BUT I think this kinda thriller is very appealing to a lot of teens and they'll like it. Also heads up that there is a subplot about underage girls being coerced into child pornography?? It's not very explicit exactly but...it's there...so maybe recommended for high school and up.

Dara dan Nick adalah dua bersaudari yang sangat dekat. Tapi setelah keduanya mengalami kecelakaan, mereka tak lagi saling bicara, bahkan sebisa mungkin tidak bertatap muka. Ketika Dara menghilang di hari ulang tahunnya, Nick pikir dia hanya bercanda, berulah untuk mencari perhatian, seperti biasa. Tapi foto-foto tak senonoh dan pesan ancaman yang Nick temukan dalam ponsel Dara membuat Nick curiga bahwa adiknya ini terlibat sesuatu yang berbahaya. Mungkin nyawa Dara terancam, dan Nick harus berpacu dengan waktu untuk menemukannya.
Aku memasukkan novel ini sebagai YA contemporary, dan aku cukup menyukainya. Plot twistnya agak mengejutkan walau kurang greget. Menurutku ada plot hole di awal2 dakam POV Dara, ketika Dara bertemu pertama kali dgn org2 yg dekat dgnnya, seperti Parker & Ariana.

Meh. The twist is obvious from the get-go. I would have preferred that it leaned into the mystery of Madeline more, while Nick actually dealt with the death of her sister. It could have been an interesting story, having Nick learn more about Dara's secret life at Beamers while slowing piecing together that Madeline's "abduction" is related, all while Nick deals with grief. Her relationship with Parker could have added that extra layer of guilt, too. But instead we get split personality because of course.

Overall, a 1.5/5, rounded up because Lauren Oliver generally keeps things at the very least somewhat compelling.