Date of Publication: January 27, 2015
Pages: 338
Source: Netgalley - Thank you!
Every night after Ember Pierce falls asleep, she disappears. She can teleport anywhere in the world—London, Paris, her crush’s bedroom—wherever her dreams lead her. Ten minutes is all she gets, and once time’s up, she returns to her bed. It's a secret she’s successfully kept for the last five years. But now someone knows.
A week after her eighteenth birthday, when frustratingly handsome Caden Hawthorne captures her, delivers her to the government, and then disappears before her eyes, Ember realizes two things: One, she is not alone. And two, people like her—teleporters—are being used as weapons.
Dragged off to a remote facility where others like her live, Ember’s forced to pair up with her former captor, Caden, to learn how to survive inside until she can escape. Only Caden’s making escape seem less and less appealing.
But even as Ember falls for the boy who got her into this mess, she knows that she is running out of time. Because the government has plans for those like her, and those plans might just cost Ember her life.
Review:
There were definitely holes as there often are in such books but like watching the next Taken movie, you take some things with a grain of salt and just sit back and enjoy. This book was like watching an action movie unfurl in my head. It was fast, it was kickass and scared me to death at some point but at its core it was very enjoyable. I look forward to the sequel.
This one's a book I’m surprised to say that I hadn't heard much about. I’m surprised because it has a gorgeous cover, an experienced author and a fantastic synopsis. The best part, however, was the story itself. I thoroughly enjoyed this fast-paced action-thriller.
The Vanishing Girl is a story of teleporters. People who, with the help of genetic manipulation, have the unique ability to teleport to a random or government controlled destination for the first 10 minutes of falling asleep. Our heroine, Ember, is one of these unique few who have managed to remain out of the reach of the government. However that issue is amended soon enough.
The whole set up of how the teleporters and the Generation Project came to be was fascinating. The idea of male and female pairs was interesting; it sure did leave room for some awesome sexual tension. The project itself and the training, schooling and missions were another fascinating aspect. I do think, however that more time could’ve been spent on the development of skills via training and more missions as at some points Ember’s sudden display of skill was jarring since it seemed to have sprouted from nowhere, despite the DNA explanation.
After being captured and taken to the teleporters' facility, Ember is introduced to her pair, Caden, Blonde, beautiful and deadly, Caden is the perfect soldier; the project's best. Their interactions were kind of weak in the beginning, now that I look back, but Caden was quite likeable and they quickly grew to understand and like each other. For ever loyal soldier's bone in Caden’s body, there is a similar curious and suspicious one in Ember. Together they could find out anything, which gives me hope for the next book especially after that devastatingly evil ending.
I would categorize this books as new adult, because there are sexual relationships and a focus on the scientific side of teleporter reproduction. I actually really enjoyed this aspect. In no way was the story centred about the characters' sexual relationships. Instead, sex was recognized as a very human thing and used to further the relationships but besides that it never really overshadowed the plot.
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