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alanaleigh's review against another edition
2.0
With all the hype surrounding the US publication of The Vanishing of Katharina Linden, I was eagerly anticipating Helen Grant's debut. Sadly, the marketing copywriters are doing better work than the actual author and once halfway through the book, I found myself impatiently waiting for the completion of a book that was decently written but poorly conceived. The publisher would do well to stop likening it to other works because not a single comparison pans out... particularly the idea that the narrator here, Pia Kolvenbach, bears any resemblance whatsoever to the intelligent and delightful Flavia de Luce (the creation of Alan Bradley). If anything comes close, it's the reference to the book having the air of the Grimm Brothers' fairy tales -- but the real fairy tales that are frightening and twisted, not the Disney-fied versions, thank goodness -- and yet one wishes that the real plotline had enjoyed some of the imagination that the stories suggest rather than simply lacing Pia's perspective with the stories so that she might half-wonder if fantastic things really are coming to pass. In short, everything that I read about the novel beforehand led me to expect something quite different... and probably soured my reading experience as a result. I found myself a bit annoyed in the beginning because of all this, then was more pleasantly disposed as I focused on the story... but quickly grew annoyed again when the "mystery" worked itself out to be disappointingly predictable. Grant's writing style is acceptable if not particularly noteworthy, but had it not been for the author stumbling onto the legends of this particular German town and retelling them here, I would have found the whole thing very dull indeed.
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden is set in the late 1990s and I started the novel feeling surprised, as nothing I had read seemed to hint at the modern time period. Also surprising was the fact that since the author's European location is hyped, I expected a translated work and was a bit thrown by the ridiculous abundance of German words purposely inserted into the English text. I feared that this would be the only consistent way to tell that the story was set in Germany and not simply any old European town with a history rich in folklore but there are enough subtle differences of to make this somewhat unfounded... and of course, there's the occasional awkward reference to Nazis and the war. There's a glossary in the back of the book, but it's rather unnecessary once one accepts the presence of the liberal scattering of German words. Needless to say, the author is English and simply moved to the Continent with her family... and actually lived in the town where the book is set, as a matter of fact, but I can't see any townspeople thanking her for putting their location on the map if it's to do with the abduction of little girls.
Bad Münstereifel is a small German hamlet, filled with people who like to gossip and since everyone knows everyone (and often knows everything about them for several generations back), few things are ever forgotten. What our ten-year-old narrator, Pia Kolvenbach, would like everyone to forget is the unfortunate incident of her grandmother's demise, which involved an Advent wreath, a match, and an abundance of hairspray. As a result, Pia is the girl whose grandmother exploded and even if it isn't true (she technically died from a heart attack as a result of the surprise of going up in flames at the dining table), it's the thing Pia will be known as to the rest of the town's inhabitants... particularly the nasty school children. After this, Pia can only claim to have one friend, the class pariah known as StinkStefan, and even having this one friend is enough to make Pia depressed if she's sunk so low as to need Stefan's companionship. (Thankfully, Stefan's unfortunate moniker is a result of his tendency to linger like a bad smell rather than from any odor emanating from his personage.) Pia herself is the daughter of a German man and an English woman, a first of two progeny from very tense marriage that is clearly heading for divorce from the get-go. (Side note: they're also terrible parents. Pia's little brother is a baby and given little attention from the narrator. Neither parent seems to make any attempt to connect with their first born and the entirety of their parental concern is expressed in forbidding Pia to go places so she can be safe in the house.)
Well, if gossip is what the town wants, then that's certainly what it gets. Katharina Linden, a little girl nearly the same age as Pia, disappears in the middle of a town holiday celebration where children dressed in costume. The little girl dressed as Snow White simply vanished without a trace and the town can find no sign of her. Immediately, the other children in town feel the repercussions as parents go into overdrive to keep their children indoors and away from whoever or whatever snatched up Katharina Linden. Pia and Stefan are about as interested as anyone in the missing girl and mention as much to their elderly friend, Herr Schiller, a kindly grandfather figure who Pia used to visit with her grandmother and now continues to visit on her own and with Stefan. The allure of Herr Schiller rests in the fact that he treats children like intelligent beings... and has a never-ending supply of stories derived from the fantastic folklore of the area. Unfortunately, Herr Schiller only seems tired when they try to discuss Katharina's disappearance -- and then the children learn that this is due to the fact that Herr Schiller once had a daughter named Gertrud who disappeared years ago in another instance where young girls went missing. The town is inclined to point its finger towards local recluse Herr Düster, Herr Schiller's estranged brother. Frau Kessel, one of the old women in the town with a reputation for knowing everything tells Pia and Stefan that in their youth, both brothers fought over the same woman and Herr Schiller won -- only to have her die of illness during the war and then have his daughter stolen and murdered by a jealous brother. Of course, this is just her suspicion, but in a town where gossip is enough to condemn you, it was only the fact that Herr Schiller did not give credit to this theory that kept Herr Düster from real blame.
Three girls went missing then -- and more girls will go missing in the present time before Pia and Stefan ultimately play a role in solving the mystery. At least the author is not unaware of the danger facing young children as they attempt to solve a crime and adults aren't always as inept as they can sometimes be depicted. Herr Schiller continues to scare the daylights out of Pia and Stefan with his wonderful stories (which are, indeed, quite interesting) and the kids try to survive school and their home lives, turning to the mystery as a thing that they can work on together. At one point in the novel, Pia is sent off to spend part of the summer with her grandmother in England, enduring cruel cousins and intense boredom, before she starts realizing that perhaps this trip wasn't just to keep her safe from whatever is snatching children in her hometown, but perhaps the move might be more permanent as her parents continue to feud.
Ultimately, while I was disappointed with the novel as a whole, there were elements of Grant's writing that I enjoyed and I hope will serve as the cornerstones of her future work so she might improve... though if she continues to write books with this mystery edge to them, I'm not sure I'll bother much as the question of who (or what?) kidnapped the little girls was easy for the reader to decipher from the beginning. I also like the fact that the story is essentially told by Pia looking back on this time of her life with a few years' worth of distance so that occasionally she might note things she hadn't realized at the time, mostly dealing with the motivations of adults that don't make sense to children. Of course, what I particularly liked about this was the fact that adult Pia didn't feel the need to necessarily spell these things out. In all, I wasn't delighted with The Vanishing of Katharina Linden but I did see some promise in Helen Grant that I hope stretches beyond the creativity of the folklore that was the truly delightful part of this novel to carry her through the next few novels that "Delacorte eagerly snapped up" according to the ARC.
The Vanishing of Katharina Linden is set in the late 1990s and I started the novel feeling surprised, as nothing I had read seemed to hint at the modern time period. Also surprising was the fact that since the author's European location is hyped, I expected a translated work and was a bit thrown by the ridiculous abundance of German words purposely inserted into the English text. I feared that this would be the only consistent way to tell that the story was set in Germany and not simply any old European town with a history rich in folklore but there are enough subtle differences of to make this somewhat unfounded... and of course, there's the occasional awkward reference to Nazis and the war. There's a glossary in the back of the book, but it's rather unnecessary once one accepts the presence of the liberal scattering of German words. Needless to say, the author is English and simply moved to the Continent with her family... and actually lived in the town where the book is set, as a matter of fact, but I can't see any townspeople thanking her for putting their location on the map if it's to do with the abduction of little girls.
Bad Münstereifel is a small German hamlet, filled with people who like to gossip and since everyone knows everyone (and often knows everything about them for several generations back), few things are ever forgotten. What our ten-year-old narrator, Pia Kolvenbach, would like everyone to forget is the unfortunate incident of her grandmother's demise, which involved an Advent wreath, a match, and an abundance of hairspray. As a result, Pia is the girl whose grandmother exploded and even if it isn't true (she technically died from a heart attack as a result of the surprise of going up in flames at the dining table), it's the thing Pia will be known as to the rest of the town's inhabitants... particularly the nasty school children. After this, Pia can only claim to have one friend, the class pariah known as StinkStefan, and even having this one friend is enough to make Pia depressed if she's sunk so low as to need Stefan's companionship. (Thankfully, Stefan's unfortunate moniker is a result of his tendency to linger like a bad smell rather than from any odor emanating from his personage.) Pia herself is the daughter of a German man and an English woman, a first of two progeny from very tense marriage that is clearly heading for divorce from the get-go. (Side note: they're also terrible parents. Pia's little brother is a baby and given little attention from the narrator. Neither parent seems to make any attempt to connect with their first born and the entirety of their parental concern is expressed in forbidding Pia to go places so she can be safe in the house.)
Well, if gossip is what the town wants, then that's certainly what it gets. Katharina Linden, a little girl nearly the same age as Pia, disappears in the middle of a town holiday celebration where children dressed in costume. The little girl dressed as Snow White simply vanished without a trace and the town can find no sign of her. Immediately, the other children in town feel the repercussions as parents go into overdrive to keep their children indoors and away from whoever or whatever snatched up Katharina Linden. Pia and Stefan are about as interested as anyone in the missing girl and mention as much to their elderly friend, Herr Schiller, a kindly grandfather figure who Pia used to visit with her grandmother and now continues to visit on her own and with Stefan. The allure of Herr Schiller rests in the fact that he treats children like intelligent beings... and has a never-ending supply of stories derived from the fantastic folklore of the area. Unfortunately, Herr Schiller only seems tired when they try to discuss Katharina's disappearance -- and then the children learn that this is due to the fact that Herr Schiller once had a daughter named Gertrud who disappeared years ago in another instance where young girls went missing. The town is inclined to point its finger towards local recluse Herr Düster, Herr Schiller's estranged brother. Frau Kessel, one of the old women in the town with a reputation for knowing everything tells Pia and Stefan that in their youth, both brothers fought over the same woman and Herr Schiller won -- only to have her die of illness during the war and then have his daughter stolen and murdered by a jealous brother. Of course, this is just her suspicion, but in a town where gossip is enough to condemn you, it was only the fact that Herr Schiller did not give credit to this theory that kept Herr Düster from real blame.
Three girls went missing then -- and more girls will go missing in the present time before Pia and Stefan ultimately play a role in solving the mystery. At least the author is not unaware of the danger facing young children as they attempt to solve a crime and adults aren't always as inept as they can sometimes be depicted. Herr Schiller continues to scare the daylights out of Pia and Stefan with his wonderful stories (which are, indeed, quite interesting) and the kids try to survive school and their home lives, turning to the mystery as a thing that they can work on together. At one point in the novel, Pia is sent off to spend part of the summer with her grandmother in England, enduring cruel cousins and intense boredom, before she starts realizing that perhaps this trip wasn't just to keep her safe from whatever is snatching children in her hometown, but perhaps the move might be more permanent as her parents continue to feud.
Ultimately, while I was disappointed with the novel as a whole, there were elements of Grant's writing that I enjoyed and I hope will serve as the cornerstones of her future work so she might improve... though if she continues to write books with this mystery edge to them, I'm not sure I'll bother much as the question of who (or what?) kidnapped the little girls was easy for the reader to decipher from the beginning. I also like the fact that the story is essentially told by Pia looking back on this time of her life with a few years' worth of distance so that occasionally she might note things she hadn't realized at the time, mostly dealing with the motivations of adults that don't make sense to children. Of course, what I particularly liked about this was the fact that adult Pia didn't feel the need to necessarily spell these things out. In all, I wasn't delighted with The Vanishing of Katharina Linden but I did see some promise in Helen Grant that I hope stretches beyond the creativity of the folklore that was the truly delightful part of this novel to carry her through the next few novels that "Delacorte eagerly snapped up" according to the ARC.
darkcrystal1839's review against another edition
4.0
I picked up this book simply because of the cover design. Yes, yes, I know. Don't judge a book by its cover. But guess what. That's what I do 9 times out of 10. Sue me, I'm a designer. It's what I notice first, more often than not.
This is a great coming-of-age story about a young German girl (well, half-German, half-British) who lives in a town going through a bit of a crime spree. Which is to say, several missing children. Little girls, snatched up from underneath everybody's watchful eyes. This being a very small town, these kidnappings are most disturbing. Gossip and suspicion abound.
Anybody who's ever lived in a small town can certainly appreciate this book, as the reactions to the kidnappings occur in such a realistic way. You can easily imagine your neighbors acting in just the same way in your own small town, were something so awful to occur. But what was so particularly interesting about this book is not just that it shows a realistic portrayal of a town and family ripped apart by a series of terrible events, but that it's told from the perspective of a child.
Children have a special way of seeing things; it's what makes them great characters in books, in my opinion. And this is no exception. This child has grown up listening to stories told by a kindly neighbor, stories full of magic and lore. Therefore, when strange things begin to happen in her town - other little girls vanishing as if by magic - she naturally begins to suspect that something otherwordly is going on. Now, we as adult readers know this isn't the case ... or do you? There is a wonderful blend of childish whimsy and realistic portrayals. I wasn't entirely sure if the book was going to take the fantastical route until the very end when the clues started coming together. And when those clues do finally reveal what's behind the mystery ... well. I was shocked. I hope because it was cleverly done and not because I'm just that dense. I actually was sure the culprit was going to be another seemingly harmless character, which I thought was twist enough, but then it turned out to be someone completely different. They twisted my twist!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had a little of everything: childhood innocence, fantastical folklore, grisly kidnappings, a fascination mystery, and thoroughly interesting characters everywhere you turned. Not to mention that you're going through all this alongside the narrator, a little girl going through her own coming-of-age problems. I definitely recommend this book to any lovers of mystery. Great read!
* on a minor note: I did have one complaint, which had nothing to do with the story and everything to do with the physical construction of the book itself. The hardcover edition I read had a deckle edge on the pages. This doesn't bother me, in fact, I think it adds a lovely detail to a book. However, in this story, set in Germany as it is, there are often little words and phrases scattered here and there that are written in German, to add to the atmosphere of the story. There is a glossary in the back to define all these words and phrases, which I definitely recommend doing as they sometimes flesh out necessary dialogue. The problem I had was that with the deckle edge, it's very difficult to flip back and forth to the glossary. The way the deckle edge is constructed makes it hard to flip to a certain section as it wants to flip in sections, in the chunks that makes up the deckle edge. It was minor and yes, ridiculous to complain about, but extremely annoying nevertheless. And now I have ranted about it and I feel better. :)
This is a great coming-of-age story about a young German girl (well, half-German, half-British) who lives in a town going through a bit of a crime spree. Which is to say, several missing children. Little girls, snatched up from underneath everybody's watchful eyes. This being a very small town, these kidnappings are most disturbing. Gossip and suspicion abound.
Anybody who's ever lived in a small town can certainly appreciate this book, as the reactions to the kidnappings occur in such a realistic way. You can easily imagine your neighbors acting in just the same way in your own small town, were something so awful to occur. But what was so particularly interesting about this book is not just that it shows a realistic portrayal of a town and family ripped apart by a series of terrible events, but that it's told from the perspective of a child.
Children have a special way of seeing things; it's what makes them great characters in books, in my opinion. And this is no exception. This child has grown up listening to stories told by a kindly neighbor, stories full of magic and lore. Therefore, when strange things begin to happen in her town - other little girls vanishing as if by magic - she naturally begins to suspect that something otherwordly is going on. Now, we as adult readers know this isn't the case ... or do you? There is a wonderful blend of childish whimsy and realistic portrayals. I wasn't entirely sure if the book was going to take the fantastical route until the very end when the clues started coming together. And when those clues do finally reveal what's behind the mystery ... well. I was shocked. I hope because it was cleverly done and not because I'm just that dense. I actually was sure the culprit was going to be another seemingly harmless character, which I thought was twist enough, but then it turned out to be someone completely different. They twisted my twist!
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It had a little of everything: childhood innocence, fantastical folklore, grisly kidnappings, a fascination mystery, and thoroughly interesting characters everywhere you turned. Not to mention that you're going through all this alongside the narrator, a little girl going through her own coming-of-age problems. I definitely recommend this book to any lovers of mystery. Great read!
* on a minor note: I did have one complaint, which had nothing to do with the story and everything to do with the physical construction of the book itself. The hardcover edition I read had a deckle edge on the pages. This doesn't bother me, in fact, I think it adds a lovely detail to a book. However, in this story, set in Germany as it is, there are often little words and phrases scattered here and there that are written in German, to add to the atmosphere of the story. There is a glossary in the back to define all these words and phrases, which I definitely recommend doing as they sometimes flesh out necessary dialogue. The problem I had was that with the deckle edge, it's very difficult to flip back and forth to the glossary. The way the deckle edge is constructed makes it hard to flip to a certain section as it wants to flip in sections, in the chunks that makes up the deckle edge. It was minor and yes, ridiculous to complain about, but extremely annoying nevertheless. And now I have ranted about it and I feel better. :)
mdalton9805's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing read! I loved Pia and StinkStefan - truly wonderful characters. The suspense gradually built up throughout the story and by the end, I couldn't put the book down. For me, being cynical and suspicious, I had already guessed the true identity of the bad guy, but it didn't stop me from reading further.
cathyatratedreads's review against another edition
4.0
Strange to say a book about kidnapped children is delightful, but it really is.
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/vanishing-katharina-fiction-book-review/
Read my full review, including a rating for content, at RatedReads.com: https://ratedreads.com/vanishing-katharina-fiction-book-review/
meaganmart's review against another edition
4.0
Pia is a 10/11 year old girl growing up in a small German town. She is turned into a social pariah after her grandmother catches fire and dies at their Advent dinner. But soon, the town in overtaken by an even larger mystery, the disappearance of several young girls. Pia and the only friend she has left, Stefan, decide to take matters into their own hands and set out to solve the mystery of who has been snatching the girls.
This novel is completely engrossing. I was quickly sucked into the world Helen Grant creates, and couldn't put the book down. She writes with an intensity that is engulfing, and the narrative is fast paced. She sets just the right tone with the "scary" stories that she includes, and the finished product is unforgettable.
This novel is completely engrossing. I was quickly sucked into the world Helen Grant creates, and couldn't put the book down. She writes with an intensity that is engulfing, and the narrative is fast paced. She sets just the right tone with the "scary" stories that she includes, and the finished product is unforgettable.
affyfe's review against another edition
3.0
I liked that this book was a fun quick read. There were parts in the middle where it started really slowing down and at the end I feel like everything happened all at once. I wish there had been a little more action throughout the book and not just all at the end where everything and everyone seemed to go crazy. I really liked the feeling I got about the German town they lived in, the author really made that come alive for me. I was also hoping for a happier ending, but felt a little let down when finishing it. It seemed with lighter book like this the ending was very heavy and depressing. The good outweigh the bads for this one and I felt like I enjoyed the book the whole time I was reading it.
dozylocal's review against another edition
3.0
I enjoyed this book and in the end read it quite quickly. A murder-mystery told by a 10 year old German girl.
lizaroo71's review against another edition
3.0
this is a book that i won through a giveaway here on goodreads, so thank you to the publishers for the early release read.
the setting of the story is a small town in germany during the 1990's. as the town celebrates the beginning of the christmas season, katharina linden vanishes. never to be seen again. months go by before another girl vanishes, but once it happens, the town is turned upside down with suspicious glances and accusations.
pia is ten years old and a social outcast because her grandmother catches fire during one of the celebratory dinners for the holidays. as an outcast, pia befriends stinkstefan and the two often visit herr schiller. an older man that entertains them with stories of the town's history.
pia and stefan are determined to figure out where the girls have gone to and who took them there.
a slow read i felt. the momentum builds in the final chapters, but it takes a while to get there and build interest.
i like pia's character, but i felt the end was a bit predictable and perhaps not fully explained.
the setting of the story is a small town in germany during the 1990's. as the town celebrates the beginning of the christmas season, katharina linden vanishes. never to be seen again. months go by before another girl vanishes, but once it happens, the town is turned upside down with suspicious glances and accusations.
pia is ten years old and a social outcast because her grandmother catches fire during one of the celebratory dinners for the holidays. as an outcast, pia befriends stinkstefan and the two often visit herr schiller. an older man that entertains them with stories of the town's history.
pia and stefan are determined to figure out where the girls have gone to and who took them there.
a slow read i felt. the momentum builds in the final chapters, but it takes a while to get there and build interest.
i like pia's character, but i felt the end was a bit predictable and perhaps not fully explained.
stephaniells's review against another edition
5.0
I love Helen Grant's books because her portrayal of a childhood growing up in a German-English/American household is so accurate is almost hurts with nostalgia. From the German folklore promoted by my German mother and grandmother to confliction over identity, Grant's novels are rich with German culture and the perspective of an outsider-looking-in (or in some cases an insider-looking-out). While the villain of this book was more predictable than that of her other novel, The Glass Demon, the true star of this work is the detailed glimpse into the life of a German schoolgirl, complete with small town gossip and a supernatural huntsman.