Vanishing Girls

Reviewed by: Brooke Faulkner - McArthur Library, Biddeford, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: June 9, 2015

Review

After 17 year old Nick seriously injures her younger sister in a car accident for which she’s responsible, she struggles to come to terms with the changes in their relationship and with the way it has affected their family life – already strained by their parents’ ugly divorce. Older sister Nick has always been the responsible one, while Dara has been the impulsive, wild child – routinely experimenting with drugs and alcohol and teasing her sister for not having yet had sex with her boyfriend of several months – so part of the discord is due to the unfamiliarity Nick has with having wronged her sister, who has avoided her religiously since the accident. Alternating narration between the two sisters and interspersing flashbacks with the present-day chapters makes for an interesting if complicated read that requires attentive focus and another separate plot-line about a 9 year old girl’s disappearance weaves its way throughout. The dark, moody atmosphere suits the subject matter well and Oliver’s dreamy, vivid writing is evocative. However, seasoned readers will spot the big twist at play in this suspense novel early on, leaving them in the position waiting for the other shoe to drop for the duration.

Overall Book Score: good