Girl Last Seen

Girl Last Seen
by Nina Laurin
Narrator: Vanessa Johansson
Pages: 352
Published by Grand Central Publishing
Publication Date June 20th 2017
Goodreads

Two missing girls. Thirteen years apart.

Olivia Shaw has been missing since last Tuesday. She was last seen outside the entrance of her elementary school in Hunts Point wearing a white spring jacket, blue jeans, and pink boots. I force myself to look at the face in the photo, into her slightly smudged features, and I can't bring myself to move. Olivia Shaw could be my mirror image, rewound to thirteen years ago. If you have any knowledge of Olivia Shaw's whereabouts or any relevant information, please contact... I've spent a long time peering into the faces of girls on missing posters, wondering which one replaced me in that basement. But they were never quite the right age, the right look, the right circumstances. Until Olivia Shaw, missing for one week tomorrow. Whoever stole me was never found. But since I was taken, there hasn't been another girl. And now there is.

Book Impressions

With the likes of the Cleveland Three, and Elizabeth Smart in the news, kidnapped women who eventually are found is a hot topic. Girl Last Seen was more on the cold side. The characters were all one dimensional, particularly the two missing girls. Because of the lack of development I didn’t form a connection to even care if Ella overcame her drug addiction or if Olivia was found. The plot twist was so ridiculous and I couldn’t believe I had wasted my time on not only a mediocre novel but a underwhelming ending as well.  Girl Last Seen ran with a hot-buttoned topic but had nothing to back it up.

Narration Impressions

I actually quite liked Vanessa Johansson’s narration, she has a pleasant pace and created distinct voices for all the book’s characters. I wouldn’t mind listening to another book read by her which would be a better judge.