Not Your Typical Ghost Story: The Vanishing Season - Jodi Lynn Anderson

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Date Released: July 1, 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 256 pages
Format: Hardcover
Source: For Review
Rating: Liked
Series: Standalone

Goodreads Synopsis: Girls started vanishing in the fall, and now winter's come to lay a white sheet over the horror. Door County, it seems, is swallowing the young, right into its very dirt. From beneath the house on Water Street, I've watched the danger swell.

The residents know me as the noises in the house at night, the creaking on the stairs. I'm the reflection behind them in the glass, the feeling of fear in the cellar. I'm tied—it seems—to this house, this street, this town.

I'm tied to Maggie and Pauline, though I don't know why. I think it's because death is coming for one of them, or both.

All I know is that the present and the past are piling up, and I am here to dig.I am looking for the things that are buried.

From bestselling author Jodi Lynn Anderson comes a friendship story bound in snow and starlight, a haunting mystery of love, betrayal, redemption, and the moments that we leave behind.

From Goodreads

The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson was a definitely not a ghost story you would expect. Jodi took a different take on ghost in the contemporary side of YA fiction and in the end it was an okay book. It didn't blow me away or exceeded my expectations. It was just a well written book, but it was not for me.

Here are a few things I like and disliked in the book:

Liked:

The Quickness/Pacing Of The Novel - The novel was fairly short and I'm glad it was. Any longer it would have been such a drag. But Jodi did get her point across with the girls missing and how Maggie and Pauline dealt with their friendship and relationships. It could easily be finished in one sitting.

The Cover - The cover was done amazingly! I love the design and it gives you a feel for the book. 

Disliked:

The "Ghost" aspect - To be honest, I was expecting a haunting and creepy book, but instead I got a simple clean book that did bore me at times. I wanted action and suspense and I got tired, boring, and paunchy all throughout. 

The Characters - From Pauling to Maggie to the killer they were all one note and flat. There was no spark in any of them and I just expected more from them. Maybe Jodi wanted a simple approach? And made her characters less complex? I like Maggie from time to time and when she was with Liam it was a great combo. But come on, it needed better, well-developed characters.

In the end, The Vanishing Season by Jodi Lynn Anderson was an okay book from beginning to end. It needed something more from the characters to the plot line. Don't expect much from the book, but if simple and clean is your book game definitely pick this one up!

      Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Goodreads