Review: Vanished by Kate Brian

CONTEMPORARY TEEN FICTION

Lost and found...

Against all odds, Reed Brennan re-established Billings as an underground literary society. She and the new initiates created a glamorous secret headquarters and were ready to show Easton Academy that even though Billings House is gone, the Billings Girls are stronger than ever. But before Reed had a chance to revel in her success, something horrible happened:

Noelle disappeared.

Now Reed has no idea who wants to hurt Noelle or why, but it's up to Reed to save her. As the clues build up, the clock ticks down, and Reed fears that unless she finds Noelle soon, she'll lose her friend forever...

Oh, the drama, the drama! God, I feel like I'm actually in a soap opera, jus reading this. Except the majestic Italian show revolves around the lives of overprivileged (except for Reed) teenagers.

Now, the kidnappers have been texting Reed all along. She must do these ridiculous tasks in order to get her friend back, and when she receives a video from Noelle that shows her with a gash across her face and pleading for Reed to do whatever they ask of her to do so, Reed knows that she has to. She has to save Noelle's life, after all, and what could be more important than the girl who's stuck by her side for years?

So Reed goes out and does all the stupid tasks. Shoplift, piss off the headmaster, break up with the love of her life, the cutie Josh Hollis, in public, and finally, walk seven miles to find Noelle in a shed. She does this all, for her friend, and my heart breaks. Reed is so strong, so brave, so courageous. She risks her own life, her own health, her own love, her own reputation, to find her friend and save Noelle. Reed does everything in her power to do so, and I was about to cry at these torturous tasks. I know who the kidnapper is now, but throughout the book, I was thinking: Geez! Why would anyone want to hurt Reed like this so badly? And yet Reed does it. Even though Noelle's called her glass-licker, even though Noelle's been stomping on her pretty face ever since Reed was initiated into Billings. But she's out to save Noelle because of the girl's positive side, because of Noelle's personality. Noelle's accepted Reed wholeheartedly, and now it's Reed's turn to give back to her friend.

I think I've ranted enough about the plot, so moving on. Josh was SO cute in this one! Reed has excellent taste in boyfriends, if I do say so myself. When Reed received the first message from the kidnappers, Josh read it, and he vowed to stay by her side for the whole ordeal ever since. I mean, what kind of boyfriend would do that? The immature ones we have to deal with at our schools would probably run away, white as a ghost, and never look back again. Josh is sweet, strong, and though he has his flaws, he's perfect for Reed because he takes care of her so well and makes her such an independent person while making sure that she has plenty of time to kiss him too. What a great guy, honestly.

Kate Brian has really outdone herself in this novel. The plot is superb, with so many twists that you couldn't straighten it out with a Chi flat iron. She's got depth in her characters, the element of unpredictability in her plot, and a world as a whole that draws me in so well I don't want to let go. I know I've mentioned this before, but the plot was excellent. The tasks were outrageous, the ending was hugely revealing and yet kind of pissed me off as well, and...I loved it. What can I say? I loved every minute of this book...

And if you know what's good for you, you will too. Anyhow, congratulations to Vanished, which gets a fantastic five stars! Make sure to check out the rest of my reviews of the Private series. And after the Private series, I'll be reading the Privilege series, which is a spinoff of Private. So yeah--look out for the rest of my reviews.