The Night She Disappeared by April Henry

On the night Kayla Cutler disappears while out on a pizza delivery, she wasn't supposed to be working.  Gabie and Kayla had switched shifts because Kayla wanted Friday off.  Someone else didn't know about this arrangement and he was expecting the girl in the Mini Cooper, aka Gabie.  When Kayla shows up he decides to stick to the plan and grab his opportunity.  Now Kayla is missing and Drew and Gabie feel horribly guilty.  Drew because he's the one who took the fake pizza order and sent Kayla to her kidnapper, and Gabie because she knows it was supposed to be her that was taken instead.
As the investigation moves forward, it becomes clear that people believe Kayla is dead.  Gabie seems to be the only one who can feel that she's not.  With Drew helping her, Gabie struggles with guilt, grief, fear, and anger... and she never gives up her belief that Kayla is still out there somewhere.



This book is 100% what it was supposed to be:  A thrilling, suspenseful, entertaining, mystery that kept me wanting to read and read and read.  I love a book that makes me want to stay up way later than I want to because I just HAVE to know what's going to happen.

The Night She Disappeared is told in multiple perspectives with other cool things thrown in like- 911 calls, newspaper articles, and police reports.  I felt like those extras gave the book something to make it stand out from the average mystery.  I liked the whole vibe of the book and how it really explored the emotions that people go through when something traumatic happens around them.  It can bring you closer to people, or push you apart.  I liked how Drew and Gabie didn't talk much before this whole thing happened, but were bonded together because they both felt survivors guilt.  Drew was the perfect person for Gabie to lean on.  He was definitely a favorite for me in this book.

I enjoyed that this was a true YA Contemporary Thriller.  There wasn't a supernatural twist, it was just a kidnapping and how the people around it dealt with a tragedy.  I wish there were more books like this in YA because they're easy to read, but also exciting.

Overall:  A super-fast paced, thrilling mystery that you can totally read in one sitting!!  Unputdownable, suspenseful, and nail-biting inducing at times.  Definitely recommended for anyone looking for a true YA Contemporary Mystery/Thriller.

This Book Contains:

• A Kidnapping
• A Pizza Shop
• Unconventional throw-ins like: newspaper articles, 911 call transcripts, etc.
• Suspense
• Some violence, but nothing too gory or disturbing
• A Mini Cooper!!
• Surgeon parents
• Drugs
• The inner thoughts of a serial killer

Add it to your To-Read List!

My Rating:

4/4

How I got this book: I own it
Date Published: 3/13/2013