The Vanished by Melinda Metz
Series: Roswell High #7
Published by Pocket Pulse on May 1, 2000
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
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Gone for good? Max is on a mission to save Alex, who is stranded on the home planet. Alex may be lost or wounded -- or worse. To get Alex back, Max knows he'll need one of the Stones of Midnight. If only he knew where to find one...

Liz understands that Max can't rest until he finds Alex. And she's been busy herself -- spending time with Roswell newcomer Adam. She's been having so much fun with Adam that Max is in danger...of being forgotten.

*This review is a guest review I did for the blog Mel Erin & Regina Read-A-Lot. To read the original review, check it out here*

As a fan of the Roswell television series, I was a little reluctant to read the books, especially when I found out the books actually preceded the television show. I had fallen in love the with actors who played the characters, and so many things get changed in the process of creating a show or movie based on a book.

I was pleasantly surprised by Vanished. There are a lot of differences in the character descriptions, and several differences in the powers each character has. But the similarities were heart-warming. Isabel is just as snarky. Liz is just as logical. Michael seems a little nicer in the books, although I’ve only read the one, so who knows? I absolutely love that Maria is just as New Age-y and scatterbrained in the books. I don’t think I could have pictured her any other way. I’m still torn with Max. He doesn’t feel like he’s as strong a leader in the books as he is in the show, but maybe I just need to keep reading to see.

We learn a lot about the collective consciousness in this book. I loved this. In the television show, Max, Michael and Isabel have virtually no contact with their home planet, and I found this to be a really awesome thing that the books did, but that was not included in the show.

I adore Alex and Isabel. So much. I wish more could have come from their relationship in the show, and I was giddy when I read that they had a relationship in the book. But then I read what happened to Alex, and I was really upset. This was probably one of my least favorite parts of the book. Poor Alex just can’t catch a break!

One of the coolest powers mentioned is Michael’s ability to sense and smell auras. I was a little confused as to whether or not Max and Isabel could do this, as well. I understand why it wasn’t included in the television show – it would have been impossible to depict it visually. That, or really annoying. I also thought it was interesting that Liz and Maria could add their auras/energies to the aliens to strengthen them. That, if I remember correctly, wasn’t in the books and while I don’t understand how it works, it was very awesome to read and visualize.

Now for the bad… Well, not bad, really. These are just the things that I didn’t enjoy about this book. I didn’t like Adam. He felt like a useless character. Maybe there’s more to him Maybe I need to keep reading and I’ll end up liking him. I hated the differences between Sheriff Valenti and Kyle in the television show versus the books. It made me so sad! Also, this book in general just kind of felt like filler. I don’t feel like a lot was accomplished; mostly, it just moved the storyline forward.

The last chapter was… Whoa! While the book as a whole felt like filler, the last chapter had an epic cliffhanger. I have so many questions, and I’m so glad I can read book 8 (The Rebel) next to see what happens!