Review – Vanished by Sheela Chari (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Middle Grade
Genre: Mystery
Length: 336 pages
Publisher: Hyperion Book CH
Release Date: July 26, 2011
ISBN-13: 978-1423131632
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Swapped through Paperbackswap.com
Rating: 3/5 stars

I have had this book to read for a couple years and was eager to finally sit down and read it. It ended up being an okay middle grade mystery.

Neela dreams of being a professional veena (traditional Indian stringed instrument) player. Her dreams are one step closer to reality when she receives a beautiful veena (a famous Gudo original) from her Aunt in India. When this famous veena goes missing it is up to Neela to unravel the strange past behind this veena, which may involve a curse.

I enjoyed some of the Indian culture in here, but thought the pacing of the story was pretty slow. This is a neat history and story behind the veena Neela receives, but to be honest I just didn’t find it all that interesting or engaging.

I honestly don’t have a ton to say about this book. It wasn’t a bad book, but it was also completely forgettable. It’s decently written and the subject matter is unique. However I never really engaged with the story or the characters all that much.

There are some good messages in here about not judging people by their appearance and about how playing music has to be for you before it can be for the audience.

Overall an okay middle grade mystery. The book is decently written, it was just kind of boring. While not a bad book I also found it to be a forgettable one.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– Mount TBR Reading Challenge