Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

MAJOR SPOILERS IN THIS REVIEW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

Okay, after being deeply underwhelmed by Panic, my hopes weren't all that high for this book. The blurb sounded interesting but I wasn't sure what to expect. To my surprise though, I actually got drawn in pretty quickly. Unlike Panic, the characters in this book were very compelling and actually felt like detailed, potentially real people.

Imagine my horror when I discovered one of them wasn't real.

Yeah, unfortunately this book decided to go with the whole split-personality thing. To its credit, I didn't see it coming. However, that's mostly because it makes NO FREAKING SENSE WHATSOEVER.

Seriously, I understand that twists kinda seem necessary these days but this book definitely didn't need one. All it needed was a decent resolution to the plot it set up but instead of that, we get this cheap copout ending. It doesn't fit at all with the story-if Dara has been dead all along, why are her parents talking about her in private emails (that Nick doesn't see) as if she's still alive? Why aren't they more concerned by Nick expecting her sister to show up? Why is her phone still so active? When I read the big reveal, I didn't feel excited or satisfied. All I felt was shock followed by a slow, sinking feeling in my gut.

I can't even begin to really explain how disappointed this book made me. There's nothing worse that a book which is almost enjoyable and for that reason I can't give it a very high rating, no matter how good 3/4s of it were.

Overall Score:

.5

All the Rage by Courtney Summers

One of the many things I love about Courtney Summers as an author is that her books always, always have something to say. They're brutal and ugly and almost painful to read in their honesty yes, but each one says something that needs to be said. Unfortunately, I don't think All the Rage follows this trend.

Rape books. Rape is a tough subject to write about and I am not one of those people who think you shouldn't write about something just because of that. But rape has been covered so many times in YA fiction that honestly, I don't see why we need another book about it. Yes, the majority of rape books cover the subject so badly that it shouldn't be allowed. Yes, All the Rage actually manages to cover the topic well and doesn't shy away from the unpleasantness of it all. But it's still a rape book and, as a story, we all know how those go. I don't think anyone thinks rape is right (what constitutes as rape is a different matter but that's not touched on here) and so, what does this book say that is new?

Don't get me wrong, this is still a fantastically-written story and it does have some interesting elements presented in the usual raw style. It doesn't pull any punches. If you read any book about rape it should probably be this one. I just think in comparison to Summers' other books (particularly Some Girls Are which is very similar but infinitely better) it falls a bit flat.

My other main problem with it was the ending. Summers' usually ends books abruptly and without resolution but this was one of the worst examples I've seen. While with the others I can usually make some excuse for it, this book was definitely lacking. That doesn't mean I don't understand why it ended where it did but it was incomplete in a way that doesn't justify it. I felt the story owed me more that it gave and there was no true payoff to getting emotionally invested in it.

The bottom line? If you only read one book by Summers, go for Some Girls Are. Otherwise this is sill miles better than most YA fiction out there, if not deeply more uncomfortable to read.

Overall Rating:

.5