Vanishing girls - Review

Vanishing girls by Lauren Oliver 

What's it about?

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.

My review

Vanishing girls is a compelling and gripping thriller that you won't be able to put down.

I'm not sure at what point I got hooked into Vanishing girls while I was reading it, I just remember not being able to stop. I knew I was reading a good book, that I had to find out what was going on, and by the end, my mind was blown.

The pacing throughout the book is so subtle that you don't even notice it picking up until you realise you're on the edge of your seat, white knuckling the book. The story and the characters both keep you wrapped up tight until you reach the last page in the early hours of the morning, at least, that's what happened to me.

I really can't fault this book, Nick and Dara were both complex and completely different characters with enough personality to make you care about them and want to learn more about their lives, thoughts and feelings.

As far as YA thrillers go, this is easily one of the best I've read and I would wholly recommend it  to fans of the genre or anyone looking to get into it.

Requiem - Review

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Delirium book three

Available now

www.hodder.co.uk 

What's it about?

I've started dreaming of Portland again. Like a monster from one of the ghost stories we used to tell as kids, the past has been finding its way in. It bubbles up through the cracks when I'm not paying attention, and pulls at me with greedy fingers.

This is what they warned me about for all those years: the heavy weight in my chest, the nightmare-fragments that follow me even in waking life.

I warned you, Aunt Carol says in my head.

We told you, Rachel says...

Other titles in the series

Annabel - Book 0.5

Delirium -  Book one

Hana - Book 1.5
Pandemonium - Book two

Raven - Book 2.5

My review

After not loving Delirium, it took me a long time to end up picking up Pandemonium and Requiem, but I'm so glad I did because I ended up really enjoying the other two books.
Although I'm still struggling to get a grip on the emotions of the 'cureds' I liked everything else about the book. My struggle isn't the idea of that they can't feel love, its the emotions they do feel, like anger, to feel angry about something, you must be passionate about it and for passion, there has to be love, or at lease that's how I see it, so these elements still don't work for me. However, with these kind of series, I always enjoy the end books, when a rebellion of some sort starts and our characters that started off repressed start to fight back so I liked these a lot more, and the fact that they're mostly set in the wilds rather than the city helped because I got to read the 'real' people instead who haven't been cured.
Anyway, what I liked about Requiem in particular. Well, once again its been changed, this time into two narratives, Lena and Hana's. I like how each book is slightly different in the way it is written, the story is continued but each stands out as something unique. In Requiem we see Lena still on the outside trying to help out the cause and we also follow Hana, about to marry the mayor and wondering if her cure hasn't worked properly. It was a good 'two-sides-of-the-coin' kind of story as we get to see what's happening on either side and it split up the story well and each narrative managed to match each other in pace so they picked up at the same speed and complimented each other, much like Pandemonium's past and present scenes, Lauren Oliver obviously has quite the knack for this kind of writing.
The little love triangle storyline didn't completely take over either and I'll admit I was converted to team Julian during Pandemonium! Sorry Alex fans!
The only thing I will say is the end didn't feel like enough, I still had some questions that felt like the could have been answered with some kind of epilogue a couple months later so we could see what became of everyone after the events at the end of the book but other than that, I really liked it!

My thoughts on the cover
I like the blue and it matches the other covers nicely and somehow they managed to make the barren ground look really pretty lol It is a nice cover, just not an awesome one I guess.

Sorry no favourite quotes as I read a proof copy that cannot be quoted from.

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Pandemonium - Review

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver

Delirium book two

Available now

www.hodder.co.uk 

What's it about?

Lena's been to the very edge. She's questioned love and the life-changing and agonising choices that come with it. She's made her decision. But can she survive the consequences?

Other titles in the series

Annabel - Book 0.5

Delirium -  Book one

Hana - Book 1.5

Raven - Book 2.5

My review

I wasn't a huge fan of the first book Delirium, anyone who knows me already knows that, I struggled with the concept and just didn't 'get' it, so I had no big plans to move onto book two until I received a random copy of book three for review so I decided to give the rest of the series a try and ended up liking book two a lot more.
I always prefer the books in these kind of series' when some kind of rebellion is starting, where the characters start to grow, learn the truth and fight back, I don't know why maybe its the rebel in me, but that's what's starting to happen in Pandemonium and why I liked it.
Pandemonium picks up not far from where Delirium left off, Lena has entered the wilds, has to figure out how to survive in this new environment with new people while dealing with the loss of Alex, the boy she fell in love with in book one. We get to see her grow and learn what she's capable of and how far she'll go to survive. I liked this tough side of her, the side that makes her stand up for herself and not compromise who she is, even at the times that she's struggling  with her own identity.
But the thing I enjoyed the most about Pandemonium is the very real glimpses we got into the 'underworld' of the book, all the hidden places and people we didn't see or know about in book one, all the little sights into the rebellion and the savages as they grow stronger. I also got a better sense of what the cured people are like as this book goes into a little more explanation so I'm finding it easier to get a grasp, though not completely, on that story element, meaning I had no trouble getting into this one.
I also found it interesting how each chapter went between Lena finding her way in the wilds and a more present day where she is working for the rebellion, I thought the time changing was handled well and the chapters even managed to compliment each other and grow at the same pace.
I liked all the new characters and learning about their pasts, everyone seems to have a story to tell but I was bogged down in back story, just enough to know that there is more to come.
So, if, like me, you struggled with Delirium that doesn't mean you might not enjoy Pandemonium, because I did and I'm moving straight in to book three which I'm actually pretty excited about.

My thoughts on the cover
I do like this cover, the pretty flowers and the open space gives a sense of the freedom Lena experiences in the book, the birds and sunshine are pretty too.

Favourite quotes

''We're on the other side of the fence now, Lena,' she says, tiredly, as she passes. 'Don't you get it? You can't tell me what to feel.''

'I count three long seconds of silence, and in each one of them, Julian's heart drums against my back. I'm not cold anymore. If anything, I'm too hot. Our bodies are so close - skin sticking to skin, fingers entangled. His breath is on my neck.'

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UK vs. THE WORLD! (16)

UK vs. The world is a weekly meme I made up lol.

It's simlair to UK vs. US except the UK covers are battling it out with their foreign counterparts from all over the world, because who doesn't love judging books by their covers!



UK                          vs.                       France



Allison Hewitt is trapped by Madeleine Roux

Zombie book one.

('Un Blog Trop Mortel' translates to 'A blog too deadly.' - According to Google translate.)

 

Mist: That French cover is creepy and 'Goth' I really like it, I like that it's black and grey with the red 'horror' title, the UK cover is cool to, both have an axe which makes me think there's one in the story lol and I love the tag line, both great covers but I think I'm slightly swayed by the French cover.

Ninfa: Okay, both covers are creepy but I guess it kinda makes sense since it looks like it's a zombie book  :p Again, I think I prefer the UK cover for this one, it's different and I love the colour contrast with the reds and dirty white. Not keen on the French cover, the model with the axe just doesn't interest me, although the make up is quite good, I guess.



UK                             vs.                  Slovakia



Before I fall by Lauren Oliver

('Kým dopadnem' translates to 'While come undone.' - According to Google translate.)

 

Mist: Hmm both covers are nice but the UK cover is kinda boring, there isn't much to it, a girls face and some grass, blah. The Slovak cover however is different, I love the quirky font with the letters 'falling' and the girl floating in water is just weird, the blue is a lovely colour to, I vote slovakia!

Ninfa: The UK cover is really sweet, I love the expression of the eyes, it's melacholic and dreamy and it really matches the tagline which I also really like. The Slovakian cover is a bit creepy for my taste, looks like the girl has drowned in water...I like the blue colour on it, but it's definitely a UK win for me

Which do you prefer?

Delirium review

Delirium by Lauren Oliver.

What's it about?

There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it. Then, at last, they found the cure. Now, everything is different. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the government demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Haloway has always looked forward to the day when she'll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy. But then, with only ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable.

My review:

3/5

After hearing such great things of this book I was pretty excited to start it so it was unfortunate that I was disappointed. The idea is a very intriguing one and the writing is just beautiful but everything just felt so dragged out I found myself getting irritated often with the slow flow of the book.
I did however really like the quotes at the start of each chapter from the book of Shhh and various other writings in the book, they really helped show what this almost cult-like society is like and what they believe in. I found it hard though to get a feel for what the ‘Cureds’ – that’s people who’ve had the procedure to stop them feeling love – were like. At first they seem to be pretty much like zombies because they have no emotion, but other times they show fear and they care for each other and want to be happy, but aren’t they other elements of love? It felt contradictory often and I struggled to imagine the ‘world’ the book is set in.
As for the characters, I liked them but didn’t love them. Lena is a nice girl who’s caring and is dealing with a lot of issues from her past, whilst I found her interesting I can’t say I really cared by the end what happened. I also was pretty disappointed with the ending but I can’t say more without revealing spoilers!
So in summary, there were bits I found very interesting, like the brain washing of people by the government who have “discovered” love is a disease that must be cured but there were other parts I struggled with, like how can people feel happiness if there is no love?
I’m pretty sure this is a stand-alone novel but if there is a sequel I think I’ll skip it.