Initial Impressions 4/5/15: Actual rating probably around 3.75 stars 
 This was interesting! I was hoping for it to get a bit more thrilling in the beginning and I really wasn't sure about the constant switching back and forth between before/after and Nick/Dara but it really came together at the end -- in more ways than one! I wasn't tooootally floored? It took kind of a long time for me to get into. Not bad but I was just really WAITING for the madness to start! 
 I really ended up liking it a lot in the end! Honestly, I guessed the mystery/twist/thrill (ya know, I don't want to tell you what it is) about halfway through BUT probably around the time when the reader should start picking up the clues on what's going on. It was actually very interesting and I really loved seeing everything come together! 
 Full review as originally posted HERE on The Book Addict's Guide: I had heard a lot of interesting things about VANISHING GIRLS before I started so I was pretty anxious to jump in once I had decided the time was right! I had just finished THE DEVIL YOU KNOW by Trish Doller (review to come!) so I was in a very mystery/thriller mood and I had hoped VANISHING GIRLS would keep me on that streak! 
 The book was really interesting but I do have to admit that I sort of waffled back and forth between being really curious and feeling a like the book was a little sluggish. I think some of that stems from my impatience whenever I read a mystery or thriller (I get too excited!) but Lauren Oliver's writing is always a bit lyrical and her words are very carefully chosen so I tend to feel frustrated when that drags out the mystery a bit longer. That being said, I do think that it worked very well for VANISHING GIRLS (impatience and all) because of the way the story was put together and how the ending came to be. 
 The relationship between Nick and Dara was really interesting. I really wasn't sure at first why the two POVs were necessary, plus a constant switch from past to present, but it ended up not feeling as jarring towards the middle of the book and felt downright necessary towards the end. I also had a hard time in the beginning just getting into the book because I'm always greedy for immediate mysteries and clues to present themselves when I know something is coming, so I always hope for just a touch of something to really hook me at the start. The first half of the book felt a bit slow and I felt like there was a lot of time spent developing the story between the two girls which in retrospect the reader does need in order to fully understand them both BUT it did feel like a lot of set-up and so it dragged for me just a little bit. 
 I was able to predict the ending but I also think that I picked up just the right amount of clues. I didn't really start forming theories until about halfway through and by that time I think the readers are supposed to be picking up what's going on. Nick is hot on the trail of the "vanishing girls" (including her sister) and the reader starts to realize what happened even before Nick does so it's a really interesting dynamic to the book! It was actually really neat to see everything come together and the fact that I was able to guess how the book ended really didn't affect my reading experience negatively. Actually, it allowed me to seeing a wider perspective than just Nick or Dara's POV so it was really cool to put those pieces together and watch the ending unfold around them. 
 I was hoping for a BIT more thrill from VANISHING GIRLS but it was a really interesting story! I love mystery/thrillers and Lauren Oliver threw in some nice twists for the reader! I think if you don't pick up the clues, the ending will SHOCK you and if you do, it's still a ton of fun!