Juliann Guerra: lauren oliver

Tuesday, January 26, 2016

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver | Book Review

Vanishing Girls by Lauren Oliver

Reading Group: High School+

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver delivers a gripping story perfect for fans of We Were Liars and I Was Here, about two sisters inexorably altered by a terrible accident.

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.

In this edgy and compelling novel, Lauren Oliver creates a world of intrigue, loss, and suspicion as two sisters search to find themselves, and each other.

Cover: The cover of this novel shows a fuzzy picture of Nick. It's as if the picture and the girl in it are vanishing.

My Review: (Careful...Spoilers) HOLY PLOT TWIST! I was expecting Dara to be running away from Andre and fall of the lighthouse or something else to result in her death or disappearance, I was not expecting Nick to be hallucinating being her sister! It makes other parts of the book make so much more sense. When Parker and "Dara" were kissing in her car and she gets mad at him for saying the wrong name, but HE DIDN'T! I absolutely loved the plot twist because it was different and unexpected for me. The book itself is actually kind of sad and shows how trauma can effect a persons mental state. I would have liked the ending better if she and Parker ended up together. And I mean, I guess they did, but not really and I would have liked it to me more official, but that's just because I like when the people end up together in the end. This novel is different from others that I've read and I really enjoyed the mystery aspect of it.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2016

Panic by Lauren Oliver | Book Review

Panic by Lauren Oliver

Reading Group: High School+

Personal Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Given Summary: From New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver comes an extraordinary novel of fear, friendship, courage, and hope that Kirkus Reviews says "will have readers up until the wee hours," School Library Journal raves is "fast-paced and captivating," and E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars, calls "a thrill a minute."

Panic began as so many things do in Carp, a poor town of twelve thousand people in the middle of nowhere: because it was summer, and there was nothing else to do. Heather never thought she would compete in panic, a legendary game played by graduating seniors. She'd never thought of herself as fearless, the kind of person who would fight to stand out. But when she finds something, and someone, to fight for, she will discover that she is braver than she ever thought.

Dodge has never been afraid of panic. His secret will fuel him, and get him all the way through the game; he's sure of it. But what he doesn't know is that he's not the only one with a secret. Everyone has something to play for. For Heather and Dodge, the game will bring new alliances, unexpected revelations, and the possibility of first love for each of them—and the knowledge that sometimes the very things we fear are those we need the most.

Cover: The cover of this novel shows presumably Heather with her hair blowing across her face. It doesn't give anything away about the plot of the book.

My Review: You know when you get off of a roller coaster or finish a race and you're just so hyped up and have insane amounts of adrenaline punning through your veins? That's what the game Panic is like. That's why so many people played it and why the book is so interesting to read. You get sucked in to believing that you're the one accomplishing the tasks and you can't wait to see what the next one is. This story also has personal stories that make us root for the winner to be Heather or Dodge for multiple different reasons. This book reminded me of Assassin, a game my high school plays senior year where you're assigned a person and you use a water gun to "kill" them. However, if Assassin is a level 4, Panic is level 104. This novel is certainly an adventurous one that keeps you interested throughout the whole thing. I would definitely recommend this one to anyone who enjoys stories that keep you guessing and maybe understand what it's like to not like their current situation.