Title: The Night She Disappeared
Author: April Henry
Release Date: March 13th, 2012
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher (In exchange for an honest review)
Publisher: Henry Holt
Pages In This Edition: 240
Rating: 4/5 Stars

On the Cover:



Beyond the Cover:


Summary from Goodreads:

"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."

Review:

I would have posted this review on the release date, but I hadn't released it had been moved from its original April release. I got this ARC back in the beginning of February, and read it right away because I simply couldn't wait to pick it up. And that's because April Henry is the kind of author that writes books that scream to be read.

I feel like the mystery genre in YA is kind of lacking. In fact, I don't remember the last time that I read a true crime mystery in YA. I'm not saying that there isn't any around, but not many. And that's exactly what The Night She Disappeared is: a crime mystery. It unfolds like a poisonous flower, and little by little we get to know more about Kayla's kidnapper. Let's just say he isn't the nicest guy around.

The characters in this are amazing. Drew is probably my favorite; he has had really hard time and doesn't try to pretend it hasn't affected him, but he tries to be a good person in spite of what he's been through. He is so muti-layered. It's amazing. And he's gorgeous.

Gabie is going through so much through the course of this novel, I'm not surprised with the emotional conflicts that come up. It's all very believable. She isn't the heroine that shows no fear; she's the one who shows it but still manages to push through it. That makes her even more enviable in my eyes.

As for the plot of the mystery, not much is left to be desired. Henry weaves a great story that I know I will want to read again and again, even if I do now know who the criminal is.

My only complaint (the thing that caused this to be a four star review instead of a five star) is the length of the book. It's just little short for me. I feel like the story could have built up a little more tension before the resolution. Or maybe that's just me wanting more of these characters. Who knows.

--Alexis