The Vanishing Place

Thank you so much for the earc to review! All opinions are my own.

This was a quick and easy read, that was written in verse. While the poem part was hard to like at first, it did grow on me. I love the idea behind the story and using the Bermuda Triangle in the story was a cool aspect (I don't think I have read a YA book that has featured the Triangle). The cover is very beautiful and drew me in. The title did the same.
I like the idea behind the story, although, I feel it would have done better as a non-poem novel. The book ended suddenly and I felt like I was missing half the story and I wanted to know how things ended. The characters were one dimensional and came off as annoying.

In the end, I was addicted because I wanted to know what happened. The ending felt rushed and then it ended and I had no answers. There are definitely some pros and cons, but either way I am glad I got to review and read this book.

First things first, CLIFFHANGER!!! Moving on. This book is written in verse, which I thought added to the story itself. It was a quick read, and it keeps your interest. There isn’t any slow, boring parts that make you want to put it down. It is very well written. There are four characters and the story switches through each ones point of view as the storyline progresses. I personally didn’t like how it ended, but that is just because of the major cliffhanger. She definitely has to write a second book so we can have answers. Overall, I loved this book. I would definitely recommend it.

This is a novel written in verse, from four perspectives. Each details the fateful night four teens found themselves aboard a small ship in the centre of a large storm. The resulting shipwreck forces them to fight for their daily survival, on the small, uninhabited island they must now call home until rescue arrives.

The premise was thrilling and the narrative quickly jumped into the action. I found it more interesting to note the emotional transformations that were wrought from the character's new reality, rather than the details of their survival, which were bare and basic.

This was a thrilling read, which kept me guessing right until the end. I didn't really gel with the blunt conclusion, that gave no hint as to what exactly was occurring and what the future held for these teens, but I remained engaged prior to this. I would have appreciated some padding to the story, as it felt like much of what transpired was glossed over, but did enjoy the straightforward poetry style and what it did deliver, throughout.

Many thanks to NetGalley and West 44 Books for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

After meeting Jay and Nate, Brooke and Eva are excited about their night boat trip with the boys. Especially Brooke who thought this could possibly be a romantic rendezvous for all involved. However, shortly into their trip things take a turn for the worst. Instead of romance, survival becomes the main motivation.

This is one of the few action adventure stories I’ve ever read written in verse. However, it is very well done. For such, a quick read this gripping tale never seemed to slow down or drag. Written from each of the characters own POV, the reader gets to know each character as an individual while they experience this harrowing, life altering event.

I really did enjoy this book. However, I think I might be the oddball because I also enjoyed the ending. It didn’t feel like a cliffhanger to me. It felt more like a true understanding of the mystery that is the vanishing place. It felt like real finality.

This is a great action adventure with just a dab of mystery. I would gladly recommend this for teacher classrooms, for reluctant readers, and for middle schooler's in general.

First off, this book is way too young for me. I often love YA, but everything about this book is just too YA, including the way it's written - in verse. I didn't know about the formatting and style before I requested it on NetGalley. I imagined it as a sort of island-Hunger-Games, with the perils of nature thrown at shipwrecked teenagers. Instead, it was basically one long poem about the Bermuda Triangle.

That's not to say I don't think The Vanishing Place will have its fans. The writing is crisp and lyrical, and often literal, with the words falling, skipping and SHOUTING all over the pages. The premise itself is quite haunting - what if the teens have slipped through to another time, another place, another dimension? Can they ever escape? Or will they keep circling back to the island, like a shark around a pool of blood?

While The Vanishing Place wasn't strictly to my taste, it's a quick and engrossing read, and I definitely recommend for new readers, young adult fiction fans, and anyone who enjoys a non-traditional format.

I received an ARC of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to the publisher!

It was the blurb rather than the cover that attracted me most to this book. The way the blurb hints that there is something “other” that keeps the teenaged characters stranded on an island when they are shipwrecked made me want to learn more.

The book begins with two teenaged girls listening to the parents of Brooke getting drunk. Brooke has talked her friend Eva into sneaking out to see the two boys they met earlier who have promised to take them out in a boat. Brooke is the skinny, beautiful, confident and more talkative of the girls with Eva, the curvy, less confident one dragged along for the adventure. The two teens make their way to meet Nate whose fathers boat they are going out on and his friend Jay. Unfortunately, none of the teens are used to drinking much alcohol so quickly become intoxicated. The weather turns bad, the sea becomes rough and the boat is wrecked with the four teens finding themselves washed up in the shallow water next to an island none of them recognise.

The book is told from three points of view starting with Eva, who is thinking about the Three rules of survival, A person can survive: 3 minutes without air, 3 days without water and 3 weeks without food. Then Eva looks around and see’s that only three of them have survived Brooke’s body is laying broken over the remainder of the boat.

We learn more about the three different characters by how they handle being stranded on the island. Nate is an organiser, a checker, and a planner. He counts the hours, days, weeks they are stranded. Every morning he checks on and counts the dwindling supplies/equipment they have.

Jay’s initial reaction is to get angry with Nate, demanding to know where they are, why Nate got so drunk he didn’t realise they were drifting off course. Yet Jay seems to accept the situation they are in much quicker than the other two. Jay seems quite quickly and easily resigned to living the rest of his days on the Island. He doesn’t believe they will be rescued, when an “escape” attempt ends up in near death and them back on the Island he seems to think its “fate” that they are in a “Vanishing Place”.

I did enjoy reading the book, learning about the different characters and personalities. It was a shame Brooke was “killed off” it would have been interesting to see what she would have brought to the group dynamic.
I’m not so sure about the three teens handled the death and dealing with Brooke’s body….should they have tried burying her, …should they have kept the body somewhere on the island for if/when they were rescued….I’m not so sure I would have immediately thought of burning a best friends body!
It’s quite strange that the two perhaps perceived as quieter characters are the ones that become more confident in their own abilities and take charge of the situation they are in, making the best of it. For Jay life on the Island is an improvement on his life at home, so he doesn’t feel the need to try get back everything he had before he was shipwrecked. Whereas the more confident Nate just keeps trying to find ways to escape the island to get back to his life as the popular guy at school and the company of others, back to civilisation. Eva ends up being happy with either eventuality as long as she isn’t alone, she is happy to make the best of a bad situation.

My immediate thoughts upon finishing reading this book were that this book was yet another great short read, that is classified as Hi-Lo and prose/poetry which not so long ago would have been a genre I would have just dismissed and not even thought of reading.
To sum up The Vanishing Place was an interesting, different kind of read with an eerie quality to it. The book is initially based on four characters but is told through the points of view of three of the characters. Great short read, perfect bit of escapism to read with a cuppa.

The Vanishing Place is a YA verse novel aimed at reluctant readers. It is a quick, easy read with plenty of white space. The story is told from the POV of the four main characters: Brooke, Eva, Nate, and Jay, who leave on a secret boat ride off the Florida coast and end up stranded on a mysterious island. The story will appeal to fans of Hatchet and Lost - it is a story of survival with an edge of the supernatural (the characters believe they are somewhere in the Bermuda Triangle).

I enjoyed the story and characters, although I did wish the ending had a bit more closure.

Opinions: What?!?! Excuse me?!?! I almost can't describe my feelings about this book. It was shocking, heart-wrenching, and climactic, yet so simple and bare! The Vanishing Place was the fastest read I've had all year - not because of its length, but because of how immersed I was while reading! Every page was not only a piece of poetical art, but a piece of a puzzle that shows no image. It's like the pilot of "Lost" except there's no second episode, just a massive cliffhanger! In a way, there was no plot, but lots of imagination on the reader's end, therefore emotions are necessary while reading The Vanishing Place! Teen readers will love this book because it's a mystery with no clues, a psychological thriller with very little drama, and a terrifying ending without any monsters. I am impressed with Emminizer's creativity and craft with this one!

My Favourite Thing: I love how ominous The Vanishing Place is! Like I mentioned above, lots is up to the imagination and most of the character's struggles are read between-the-lines, creating a mysterious and sinister atmosphere. But when you look at the text itself, it's straightforward and impassive! Emminizer's craft and writing style was key to the emotional connection between the readers and the book.

My Least Favourite Thing: This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but a comment that needs a place. I seldom read poetry voluntarily, so reading this book in verse was stepping outside of my comfort zone. Personally, I did not prefer it, but that doesn't mean the book was bad! Obviously, I'm keen on Emminizer's writing style, I simply don't like the fact it's in verse.

Total Rating: PG-12+
Language: PG-12+
Adult Content: PG-12
Violence: PG-13

Recommended For and Similar Reads: This is a quick and simple yet eerie and daunting read for teenagers and mature preteens! It is very creative and leaves a lot up to the reader, meaning you can make The Vanishing Place what you want. If you've watched "Lost", "Catching Fire," or "Cast Away," you should give this book a shot! If you're like me and aren't too sure about the poetry aspect, I would go for it anyway, because it's a quick read and the poetry made it fun. Give it a try!

The Vanishing Place is a short book about four teens who's fun sailing trip turns into a nightmare, when they're shipwrecked on an island.  Battling the elements, food shortage and their own minds, for survival, they need to find a way to get back home.  

I really enjoyed this story, but honestly, I wanted it to be longer.  I needed a bit more than it gave.  They'd barely made it to the island when it felt like it was all over and I was finishing the book.  I'm a sucker for mysterious castaway type stories, so I enjoyed the struggles the characters faced and the truly scary situations they found themselves in, but I just wasn't a fan of the choppy, almost poetic format of the writing.  I couldn't relax into the story as much as I would have if it was in a novel style. 

I definitely don't want to put anyone off though - it is a fast past, gripping story that's worth a read!

I didn't really know what to expect when I started The Vanishing Place. I really enjoyed this book and was left wanting more. It is definitely a quick read and I recommend giving it a try. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

What an interesting book. I love poetry and it was definitely that. And I am obsessed with the Bermuda Triangle. This book had both of those. A captivating short poetry read regarding a group of friends stranded on an island facing some decisions no friends should ever have to face. Such a page turner, did not want to put it down. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I found this to be an enjoyable read, keeping me on my toes throughout. The storyline was written well and flowed seamlessly. I look forward to reading more by this author!