Review: The Vanishing Game by Kate Kae Myers

Summary/Cover Image from Publisher's Website: 

A riveting thriller about a teen who thought her twin was dead - until he started writing her letters. 

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.

Review:

As soon as I first heard about this one, I KNEW that I HAD to read it. The summary made it sound like a delightfully creepy YA thriller. The cover was gorgeous as well as eye catching. In addition, this had been compared to The Lying Game by Sara Shepard, a book I had read and loved last year! Thankfully, The Vanishing Game ended up being just my kind of book! Full of thrill as well as plenty of twists and turns, it kept me guessing until the very last page, something that rarely occurs!

From the first page of this one, I was instantaneously hooked, because Myers threw a curve ball straight up front: Jocelyn's brother is dead...but is he? That question kept The Vanishing Game moving until the very, very last page, because not only did it lift that plot line as well as others fully off the ground, but it also created lots and lots of character development, something I love just as much as excellent plot lines!

However, before I get too far into that, let me talk a little about the characters in this one. First, Jocelyn was an interesting character from the start. I truly never knew what to expect from her, especially towards the end, but that was part of what made it so much fun! However, two things I did know for sure were not only did she love her brother but she also loved Noah, the boy who has kept her heart racing for years even if he never seemed to notice. Talking about Noah, I really enjoyed reading about him as well. He was the total reformed bad boy with quite a few secrets of his own, so once him and Jocelyn meet up to research the death of her brother as well as the letters from the grave, the story really got going.

As I've mentioned before, I really enjoyed the plot line of this one. Kate Kae Myers truly knows how to weave a great YA thriller together as well as the perfect cast of mismatched characters that never fail to bring a few surprises with them as well.While I would love nothing more to go on and on about the plot, I don't want to ruin anything for anyone, because part of what made this book as good as it was not knowing anything, trust me.

Creepy as well as frightening, The Vanishing Game is the perfect book to curl up with late at night, but word of warning: it won't let you go until you finish, and even then, I'm sure you won't manage to get that much sleep. ;)

Highly, highly recommended! 

Grade: A+

The Vanishing Game (Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads) will be released February 14, 2011!

Source: Publisher via Netgalley