Review: Girl, Stolen by April Henry

Title: Girl, Stolen

Author: April Henry
Publisher: Henry Holt & Co.
Release date: September 28th 2010
Pages: 213
Genre: Contemporary YA; mystery
Source: Bought
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Sixteen year-old Cheyenne Wilder is sleeping in the back of a car while her mom fills her prescription at the pharmacy. Before Cheyenne realizes what's happening, their car is being stolen--with her inside! Griffin hadn’t meant to kidnap Cheyenne, all he needed to do was steal a car for the others. But once Griffin's dad finds out that Cheyenne’s father is the president of a powerful corporation, everything changes—now there’s a reason to keep her. What Griffin doesn’t know is that Cheyenne is not only sick with pneumonia, she is blind. How will Cheyenne survive this nightmare, and if she does, at what price?

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


Ever since hearing about the unique set-up of Girl, Stolen, I've been wanting to read this book. The whole idea of a guy stealing a car without knowing there was a girl in the back is genius, and I love where the author took it from there.


Then there's the fact that the main character is blind, which makes me so, so happy. I am so glad to finally be reading a book about someone with a disability, without that disability being the main subject of the book. I love how in Girl, Stolen, Cheyenne's disability is just a part of who she is, one aspect of the bigger plot. We need more books like that, in my opinion.


April Henry sure knows how to write a great mystery - the suspenseful atmosphere is so well-done. I wasn't expecting all of it to be so dangerous - Griffin's dad, Roy, sounded like a bad guy, yes, but I wasn't expecting him to be that evil! Girl, Stolen surprised me with its life-or-death danger, for both main characters. The fast-paced plot had me flipping the pages, and towards the end, I literally couldn't stop reading. I was terrified for both of our main characters ad that fear kept my heart pounding throughout the book.


But, even if the idea is what makes Girl, Stolen unique, the characters are what make it all come together. I really liked Cheyenne and her history was very interesting to read about. Resourceful is the word that comes to my mind when I think of her, though I have to admit that word wasn't my idea but stuck with me from Todd Strasser's blurb. Anyways, all the things Cheyenne comes up with in order to save herself are fascinating.


My love for Cheyenne, though, is nothing compared to my love for Griffin. Oh, Griffin... He's terribly misguided by his *insert expletive of choice* father, but he's strong and has a good heart. I felt bad about it, since he's sort of the bad guy in this story, but a happy ending for Griffin was even more important to me than a happy ending for Cheyenne. Therefore, I was a little disappointed by how much the ending focuses on on Cheyenne's story instead of Griffin's. Either way, I loved these characters.


I really enjoyed the relationship between Cheyenne and Griffin. I was dreading some kind of romance between the two, and I'm glad the story doesn't go there. The relationship between Cheyenne and Griffin develops naturally and in a very honest and real way. Their connection is subtle, and I very much appreciate that no unrealistic ideas of romance were forced on the story.


Girl, Stolen is the perfect balance between suspenseful mystery and solid character development. I loved it even more than The Night She Disappeared, probably because this plot is a lot more original. I can't wait for more mysteries from April Henry!

Review: The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

Title: The Night She Disappeared
Author: April Henry
Publisher: Henry Holt Books for Young Readers
Release date: April 10th 2012
Pages: 240
Genre: YA; mystery
Source: NetGalley

Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part time as a delivery girl at Pete’s Pizza. One night, Kayla—another delivery girl—goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working that night. Gabie can’t move beyond the fact that Kayla’s fate was really meant for her, and she becomes obsessed with finding Kayla. She teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete’s. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn’t dead—and to find her before she is.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars


I don't usually read a lot of mysteries, but for some reason, I've been really into them lately. So I was really excited when I saw that The Night She Disappeared was on NetGalley. It's the classic kidnapping-mystery with a twist - it's narrated by a girl who knows she was supposed to be kidnapped, but instead her coworker was taken. Such an intriguing idea!


I loved the mystery in The Night She Disappeared. There's nothing quite like the thrill you get from reading a good mystery. The suspense in this book is really well done - kept me on the edge of my seat. I loved trying to figure out who the kidnapper was, and it was nearly impossible to stop reading when I had other stuff to do.

I like how we got lots of different POVs - there's Gabie, but we also read from Drew's perspective, as well as from Kayla's and from the kidnapper's. I really like the idea of having chapters from the bad guy's POV - finding out little things about him without his identity being revealed made it that much more suspenseful. I also like that there are little parts of the investigation in between the chapters - newspaper articles about the kidnapping, descriptions of evidence, transcripts of police interrogations, etc. That made the whole story seem even more real - and even more frightening.


The characters are good. Often, in mysteries, I find that the novel focuses too much on the mystery but doesn't properly develop the characters, but that's not the case in The Night She Disappeared. Gabie and Drew have very different backgrounds, but both of them are interesting as characters. The romance between the two is predictable, but I didn't really mind, since it's just a small part of the novel. The only thing I found somewhat strange about the characters is Gabbie's insistance that Kayla is alive - I thought it was kind of weird how she's portrayed as almost psychic, and I don't think that aspect was necessary - her being the girl the kidnapper actually wanted and Drew being the one who took the kidnapper's order would have been enough motivation for the two of them to, as the description says, become obsessed with finding Kayla.

The only thing I didn't like is the ending. I can't say too much about it without spoiling anything, but I was pretty disappointed. I couldn't help myself thinking that, after all that suspense and trying to figure out who the kidnapper is, that was it? I found the revelation of the bad guy to be too boring, not the surprising, heart-stopping plot twist I had hoped for. I also would have liked to know some more about the kidnapper's motivations.


Other than the ending, I really liked The Night She Disappeared. It's great, suspense-filled mystery. If you're looking for a book that will keep you on the edge of your seat, check this one out!

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