Wherever Nina Lies

Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

Point, 2009

311 pages

YA; Contemporary

Rating: 3.5/5

Source: Won from Book-Lover Carol

Summary: Nina and Ellie were sisters but one day Nina disappeared. Ellie, of course, misses her sister and while others have given up, she still believes her sister is alive, out there somewhere. Then she meets Sean who is uber-supportive and they set off to find where Nina might be.

Thoughts: I was interested in this book because of the sister relationship. I like to think that my sister and I have a pretty good relationship and that she would be devastated were I to disappear as Nina does in this book.

Now I'm not really sure how to write this review without spoilers so SPOILER WARNING ahead. Ellie has tried to move on with her life since Nina disappeared but she knows that her life is still empty. Then she finds a drawing done in Nina's distinctive style and decides to follow this clue to a party where she meets Sean. They hit it off and end up going off, following different clues on the path to Nina.

About three-quarters of the way through, there is a "twist." While Sean has seemed like a pretty nice guy up to that point, this is when it is revealed that he is actually crazy and is using Ellie in order to get to Nina. This happened really quickly although there were a few clues that something was wrong. And while I didn't figure out all of the details of the twist, once I read that there was one, I knew it would revolve around Sean.

I also was disappointed in the friendship that Ellie has with Amanda. I always want strong friendships in my books but Ellie and Amanda have a big falling-out over Sean and I'm not sure how they can move on from there although in the end, it seems like they have.

I did love the sisterly relationship. Ellie just knows that Nina is still alive and they manage to end up with an even stronger relationship at the end of the book despite their years of estrangement. I feel like it helped me understand my (younger) sister better as I'm sure I hurt her with my teenage callousness at times although I hope that we are building a stronger relationship now.

Note: There is quite a bit of language and sexual content in this book although I found it pretty easy to glide over.

Overall: I was enjoying it until the *twist* which seemed really sudden and the ending wrapped up too quickly, 3.5/5.

Cover: I like it-I like the cut-out letters and the pink that comes out. I'm not the biggest fan of covers with real people on them but since her face is mostly covered, I like it more.