(ARC) YA Book Review: The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Meyers

Release Date: 14 February 2012

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Format: eARC
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

Get a copy!

Goodreads description:

Jocelyn's twin brother Jack was the only family she had growing up in a world of foster homes-and now he's dead, and she has nothing. Then she gets a cryptic letter from "Jason December"-the code name her brother used to use when they were children at Seale House, a terrifying foster home that they believed had dark powers. Only one other person knows about Jason December: Noah, Jocelyn's childhood crush and their only real friend among the troubled children at Seale House.

But when Jocelyn returns to Seale House and the city where she last saw Noah, she gets more than she bargained for. Turns out the house's powers weren't just a figment of a childish imagination. And someone is following Jocelyn. Is Jack still alive? And if he is, what kind of trouble is he in? The answer is revealed in a shocking twist that turns this story on its head and will send readers straight back to page 1 to read the book in a whole new light.

My Thoughts...

The Vanishing Game is a read that I didn't really see coming.  Does that make sense? It surprised me at every turn and kept me on my toes.  There is a fabulous combination of mystery and action with a light sprinkling of romance and a surprising twist of an ending.  The most exciting part of this book was really the puzzle that you were trying to solve.  I felt like I never knew what was coming next!

Since then, everywhere I went the pain of losing him went with me. It wore me like a backpack, slapping a rhythm of heart-ache against my soul with each step.

-p2, eARC

The main character, Jocelyn, is devastated by the hole that her brother's death has left in her life. When she receives an anonymous letter/clue from "Jason December," she knows that it must be her brother (Jack), leaving her clues to find him and unravel the mystery of his apparently faked death.  Jocelyn is a character that is clearly broken and hurting and her desire to find out what really happened to her brother is so...fierce and clearly displays her strong sense of family loyalty. Noah is also a really interesting character. He's cautious around Jocelyn and about the somewhat crazy notion she has that her brother is still alive.  I appreciated that despite his misgivings that he was willing to stick with her, especially when things started getting crazy and dangerous.

The characters and the writing are fabulous in this one, but what really, truly shines is Kate Myers' fabulous storytelling.  The mystery is not easy to unravel and you have to play along with Jocelyn and Noah the entire time.  On top of a fabulous mystery, Myers has thrown in addicting action and a fair amount of creepiness that will keep readers on their toes the entire time.

When the blurb says that the "answer is revealed in a shocking twist that turns this story on its head and will send readers straight back to page 1 to read the book in a whole new light," it's spot on.  I never saw the end coming.  This book was a fabulous read that I hope more and more people pick up.