Wherever Nina Lies by Lynn Weingarten

This novel starts off as a simple journey to find one's missing sister and turns into a something so mind-blowing, I couldn't put the book down. The twist is so profound I didn't see it coming, yet when you think about it, all of the signs or at least some pretty important ones, were there.

Even though Ellie's sister Nina disappeared two years ago, she never gave up hope that they'd be together again. When she discovers a drawing of Nina's in a box of junk, she knows she's found her first clue. That clue leads to a dead end, but when she meets an attractive boy at a party in her search for Nina and he understands the fact that she can't give up hope, she knows things will work out. Soon she and this boy, Sean, are driving across country following the clues and always getting one step closer, not only to finding Nina, but also to each other.

At first I wasn't too terribly impressed with the novel. It was a good read, don't get me wrong, but it didn't send me over the moon. The story was relatively formulaic with the ups and downs of finding clues, although it did bother me slightly that Sean and Ellie could up and leave so easily to go on this trip but the author does a pretty decent job of coming up with reasonable explanations. Some of the clues seemed too easy, but that's okay, it made for a good story. Then, though, comes the twist which I'm not going to expand on because oh my gosh, my jaw dropped when I read it and I don't think I'm exaggerating. I couldn't put the book down at that point. I didn't want it to be true but yet, there it was and the more I read, the truer it became. I think back and there were plenty of clues but yet, just like Ellie, I ignored the clues because I was too caught up in the other things happening. That twist sold me on the book and took it from "pretty good" to "awesome!"

Even before the giant twist comes around, this novel is an enjoyable read. Ellie and Sean are extremely good characters that you want to see succeed. They each have their problems and they compliment each other's recovery. You are on this journey with them, hoping for the positive result and when everything changes, you'll find you can't wait to find out what happens next. Definitely try this book.
MMK