Review: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die by April Henry

Title: The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

Author: April Henry

Publisher:  Henry Holt and Co.

Publishing Date: June 11th 2013

Pages: 213

Genre: Young Adult Mystery Thriller

Series: Standalone 

Source: Book

 

“Take her out back and finish her off.”
She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her.
And that she must run.
In her riveting style, April Henry crafts a nail-biting thriller involving murder, identity theft, and biological warfare. Follow Cady and Ty (her accidental savior turned companion), as they race against the clock to stay alive.

Imagine waking up, bound, bruised, and beaten, and having absolutely no idea who you are, or where you are. The Girl who was supposed to die is about a teenage girl trying to figure out who she is and why she couldn't remember, or why she was kidnapped.

What made me pick this book up: 

I saw it on audio and decided it looked creepy enough. Any thriller/mystery books are good by me and this one definitely looked.. thrilling.

What did I like about the cover: 

I think my favorite part is the ripped paper look over her eyes. It's actually a pretty simple cover, and I think it works perfectly for this book.

What made me read this book: 

After looking at the cover, and deciding it looks super creepy I decided to see what it was about. On goodreads the first line is "Take her out back and finish her off" Which is perfect, I'm pretty sure that would grab anyone's attention. After reading the synopsis I just had to read the book. I read it on audio and it was only 6 hours, so I plugged in, did laundry and just listened to it.

What did I like the most: 

Everything. April is an amazing author, this was the first book I read by her, and I have read one more since. But honestly, she writes so well. She gives depth to her characters and is great at building them. I love the main character. She was determined, and strong. And Ty is pretty great too. She builds the story up, leaves you wanting more. I could not stop listening. In fact when my husband called me on his lunch break I got so mad that he was interrupting my book. Anyway, unlike Jenn, I don't always like figuring out what happens early on in the book, I want it to be a mystery until they reveal it. So I can be shocked and surprised instead of just "Yeah.. I knew it", and with April she is really good at not dropping hints until way later in the book. Some of y'all might not like that, as if it just dragged the story on. But honestly it made it that much more interesting to me. 

What didn't I like: 

The one thing I didn't like much, which has nothing to do with the book per say, is that I listened to this book on audio, and the narrator read kind of slow and drawn out. But that's okay, I was able to speed up to 1.5x (!) Other than that, there really isn't anything about this book I didn't like. There was one part, that made me oh so mad, but I won't spoil that for y'all.

This book was amazing. It was interesting, never slow, and kept wanting me to listen to more more more. It kept me on my toes and I found myself holding my breath more than once. A lot of times with books like these, they can get a little.. unrealistic, or just like "Really? This is too much" But this book was just brilliant.

Quotes from The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

“It's like we stepped into some TV show about cops or spies. Only we're not cops or spies. We're teenagers.” 

"Don't act. Be."

I write mysteries and thrillers. I live in Portland, Oregon with my family.
If you've read one of my books, I would love to hear from you. Hearing from readers makes me eager to keep writing.
When I was 12, I sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to Roald Dahl, the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. He liked it so much he arranged to have it published in an international children's magazine.
My dream of writing went dormant until I was in my 30s, working at a corporate job, and started writing books on the side. Those first few years are now thankfully a blur. Now I'm very lucky to make a living doing what I love. I have written 20 novels for adults and teens, with more on the way. My books have gotten starred reviews, been picked for Booksense, translated into six languages, been named to state reading lists, and won the Oregon Book Award.