Vanishing Girls

by Lauren Oliver
Published by Harper
Contemporary Fiction, Multi-Cast Production

Multiple narrators give voice to Oliver’s realistic young adult novel, which follows sisters Nick and Dara as they recover from a traumatic car accident. The narrations of the girls’ voices are saturated with a harshness and negativity that initially add to the sense of darkness that pervades the novel. But eventually the mood becomes tedious as the story continues. Only a dramatic plot twist lends either sister’s voice any variety, but this occurs so late in the performance that listeners may have already lost patience. The supporting cast, who narrate articles and online comments revolving around a local girl’s disappearance, serves up refreshing but underutilized vocal changes. AudioFile Magazine

 

Sisters Nick and Dara haven’t spoken in the months following a terrible car accident that left Dara disfigured and Nick, who was driving, wracked with guilt. Their close relationship had already become strained in the months leading up to the accident, complicated by the girls’ changing feelings for their neighbor and childhood friend Parker. Nick is determined to manufacture an opportunity for the two of them to reset to a time before the accident, and the unexpected love triangle changed everything. Author Oliver’s psychological thriller is told from multiple points of view and unfolds before and after the accident. The capable performances by Saskia Maarleveld, Elizabeth Evans, Dan Bittner, Justis Bolding, Tavia Gilbert, and Joel Richards vividly create the tension-filled atmosphere between the two sisters. Nick’s guilt and desperation to set things right with Dara and her confused examination of her feelings for Parker are palpable, as are Dara’s recklessness and growing bitterness and jealousy of her sister. The quality and depth of feeling in the narration will keep listeners engaged as the action slowly escalates to a shocking climax and tidy, if open-ended, conclusion. Booklist