April Henry

Ever since I was in middle school, whenever April Henry published a new book, I'd pick it up right away. However, her books are very different nowdays, and this will probably be the last that I read.
This one seemed to be a And Then There Were None retelling so I was super eager for it. I ran into my first problem when the characters started using an Ouija board to communicate with spirits. I don't think I need to specify any more about that.
Secondly, this book is set in the Midwest with Midwestern characters. In a room full of Midwestern teens, it is extremely unlikely that none of them have handled a gun before/are afraid of guns/don't know gun safety. In all reality, most of them would have and also know safety since that is taught from a young age in the Midwest.

Tropes: retelling of And Then There Were None

Content: hanging, attacked by animal, characters nearly freeze to death, illigal immigration, human trafficking, murder (described in detail), stuck in burning building, messing with witchcraft

1 Star

*I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts are my own and a positive review was not required.… (mehr)

I was very excited when this book came in. Being new to Goodreads' giveaways, this was the first one I won and received. Opening the package, I pulled out a short, 224 page book with the cover art as seen above. The teaser for the book is that 16 year old Cheyenne Wilder, blind for three years, is kidnapped after begging her stepmother to leave the keys in the ignition of their high-end SUV while she goes into the pharmacy to pick up Cheyenne's prescription for pneumonia.

This is the epitome of a comedy of errors. Griffin, the kidnapper, doesn't realize that she's in the back until he's driving the SUV out of the parking lot. He also doesn't realize that she's blind until it is too late. His father, Roy, along with his two sidekicks Jimbo and TJ, want to keep her for ransom, while all Griffin wants to do is hit the delete button on the day.

Fortunately, there is no unrealistic friendship or romantic development between Cheyenne and Griffin; while predictable in some moments, this was not one of them. Both Cheyenne's and Griffin's point of views are told in such a way that is not distracting, and Henry's writing style is interesting and will keep you wanting more.

There were a few problems: One, there are some editing mistakes--the publisher needs to proof one more time, though I think this is normal as an advance copy. Second, you will find that you do not really care about the characters. It's a wonderful read, I found it immensely entertaining, but I do not want to necessarily read a sequel to it. I think that had there been a little more substance to the character development, this would have been a five-star book.

All in all, however, this was an excellent book and I recommend it to all lovers of Young Adult fiction.… (mehr)

This is a bit of a different one from April Henry in that it has ghosts in it rather than just your murder-mystery. Adele has always seen ghosts so when she is lead to the body of her ex best friend Tori buried in a park by her ghost she is surprised but not shocked. What happens next is shocking though, as through twists of circumstance, people begin to suspect HER of Tori's murder, as they were seen having a huge argument at the party before Tori was killed. Adele must fight against people thinking she is either crazy or a murderer to work out who committed the crime, all the while avoiding the aggro that the ghosts she can see throw at her.... Not bad for fans of supernatural and mysteries.… (mehr)