Girl Forgotten by April Henry

Today we are taking a look at Girl Forgotten by April Henry. Girl Forgotten is a young adult thriller novel that I have to say, I loved. This was the first time I’ve read an April Henry novel and I must say, I am definitely interested in reading her backlist! Thank you so much to TBR & Beyond Tours for allowing me to be part of this blog tour!

I received this book for free from NetGalley to facilitate my review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Piper Gray starts a true-crime podcast investigating a seventeen-year-old cold case in this thrilling YA murder mystery by New York Times bestselling author April Henry.

Seventeen years ago, Layla Trello was murdered and her killer was never found. Enter true-crime fan Piper Gray, who is determined to reopen Layla’s case and get some answers. With the help of Jonas—who has a secret of his own—Piper starts a podcast investigating Layla’s murder. But as she digs deeper into the mysteries of the past, Piper begins receiving anonymous threats telling her to back off the investigation, or else. The killer is still out there, and Piper must uncover their identity before they silence her forever.

CW: Murder, Suicide, Overdose, Drug Use

Ok, so we all know this will be the usual CAWPILE/CAWPIRE review – so here we go!

Girl Forgotten – The Review

Characters

There are a LOT of characters in this book, so I’m just going to give a quick overview of how I felt about a couple of them.

I love Piper! She’s funky, she’s cool, and she loves true crime podcasts. I also love true crime podcasts, so I connected with her from that. She’s got a secret she’s keeping, but don’t we all?

Then we have Jonas. He’s an interesting character, also keeping a secret, but again, don’t we all keep some sort of secrets? I like him quite a bit. He seems like someone I’d be friends with.

I can’t really talk too much about other characters without giving away the story, so I’m going to stop there with the characters. All I’ll say is that one character I really liked, until I didn’t!

Atmosphere

Our setting is what I’d guess is a mid-sized city in Oregon. Not quite a metropolis but not a small town either. It’s a decent place to set the story and the atmosphere there is one that I’d say fits the plot well. After all, it’s not meant to be a dark and gloomy/spooky thriller – the crime happened 17 years ago after all!

Writing

I really love April Henry’s writing style. Girl Forgotten is my first book by her and I honestly wish I’d picked up one of her books sooner! She has a way of writing that makes the books easy to read, easy to follow, and memorable enough that if life gets in your way and you have to put it down for a few days¹Even though you didn’t want to… you’ll still know what’s happening when you pick it back up. Definitely an author I want to read more of!

Plot

Girl Forgotten has a very cool and rather unique plot. I’m sure there are other books based around true crime podcasts, but by a teenager? And detailing just one specific cold case? I’m pretty sure that’s a unique plot line and if it isn’t, well I haven’t seen a book like this before. I loved the plot for this book and found it to be very interesting and well written.

Intrigue

What’s a thriller without intrigue? Every time you think you know what’s going on in Girl Forgotten, you don’t. Trust me. If you think you know what’s going to happen next, you don’t. This book kept me wondering what was going to happen next and there are twists I would never have guessed would happen.

Romance

I know, you’re wondering why romance and not logic. Well, because I think there’s a bit of romance going on in this book, whether you want to believe it or not. It’s extremely subtle, but it is there. It’s a very sweet thing and I wish there was going to be a sequel if only to explore this romance more. But alas, from all indications, this is a standalone novel.

Ending

The ending to Girl Forgotten blew my mind. First the biggest plot twist of the entire book happens. Then in another twist, we find out exactly what happened. And when someone comes to the rescue, you’ll realize how big of a deal it is that the savior did so. This ending was perfect – I wouldn’t change a thing!

Conclusion

This book is an absolute must read. If you’re into YA thrillers, you have to check this book out. If you’re not into them but you’d like to get into YA thrillers, try this book. And if you love adult thrillers, check this out – you just might find you like it more than you think you will!

About April Henry

New York Times-bestselling author April Henry knows how to kill you in a two-dozen different ways. She makes up for a peaceful childhood in an intact home by killing off fictional characters. There was one detour on April’s path to destruction:  when she was 12 she sent a short story about a six-foot tall frog who loved peanut butter to noted children’s author Roald Dahl. He liked it so much he showed it to his editor, who asked if she could publish it in Puffin Post, an international children’s magazine. By the time April was in her 30s, she had started writing about hit men, kidnappers, and drug dealers. She has published 27 mysteries and thrillers for teens and adults, with more to come. She is known for meticulously researching her novels to get the details right. 

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