The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die

I absolutely love April Henry's books. In this book the first chapter grabs you and reels you in. A young girl comes to unsure where she is, who she is or what has happened. The only thing she knows for sure is she just overheard two men talking about how she knows nothing and they need to kill her. From here on out the story unfolds in layers. From her escape at the beginning of the story to finally remembering who she is, what happened to her, and finally to its awesome ending, this book will keep you sitting on the edge of your seat. I read it in about three hours. I knew there was no way I could not finish the book. This has been on my shelves at school and many of my students have read it. The only reason I finally got my hands on show more it was it was turned back in and I immediately put it in my own bag to read. I highly recommend this book. The events are so realistic I found myself worried for the main character. The reader finds themselves identifying with the character and wondering what they would do in a situation like that. Go ahead start with this one and see if you don't have to read her other books. show less

Wanting something a bit different to dive into, I picked up this book knowing it get give me exactly what I’m looking for.
1. Plot. Dude. Seriously, this author really knows how to write a plot. It’s intense with so much fear and adrenaline going on, that you can’t help but be sucked into the book.
2. Characters. Did I mention that not only can this author write a plot but her characters rock as well. Well written and easy to step into, I fell into this book fast. Nothing can pull me out of it.
3. Mystery. This book made me feel like I was on a quest. A quest for answers. Who is she? Why can’t she remember what happen? Is she being setting up? So many questions, it kept me firmly in the book and very entertained.
4. Unexpected love. show more I really loved this part. Through out the story, Cady finds love in the most horrible time of her life. He is awesome and a great friend. And really their friendship turned into a unexpected love that I still can’t get over.
5. Too short. That was my only problem. I wanted more!!!!! WAH!!! Still, in this short book the author is able to pack in so much goodness that I can oversee it and still be happy.
In the end, I LOVED this book. Like, loved it so much I can read it over again. Admirably faithful to a great plot and world building, I have fallen into the story with much satisfaction. Showcasing a well paced story with such visuals it will shock you, The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die is magnetizing. show less

After reading April Henry's "The Night She Disappeared" I was looking forward to her newest release, especially since it had been described as a "Jason Bourne-like thriller for teens." Alas, no. While it was fast-paced and action oriented, the storyline was thin and suffered from too many contrivances and stock characterizations.
Unfortunately, the people in this story did not act in a plausible way. Katie's skillful fighting, for example, honed after a few months of self-defense instruction, felt unrealistic. Her instant bonding with a McDonald's employee who found her hiding in the bathroom was eye-rolling at the very least, and another instance of reader disbelief. Too much of this and the plot began to feel less compelling.

THE GIRL WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE was an engaging, heart-pounding thriller that was filled with mystery and danger.

A sixteen-year-old girl returns to consciousness to hear the two men who have tortured and beaten her decide to kill her. She manages to use skills she didn't know she had to get away from the man left of kill her but her troubles are just beginning.

She has no idea who she is or what it is she is supposed to know. She doesn't know who she can trust. She has quite a few close calls because the unknown villains are hot on her trail. She is befriended by Ty who is a formerly homeless young man finishing his senior year and working at McDonald's. He decides to help her because people had helped him when he needed it. Together show more the two of them manage to unravel the mystery.

I liked Cady and Ty and thought they were very realistic. I liked the writing style which relied and short sentences and first person narration. I think this title would be good for middle graders and reluctant older readers as well. show less

I thought it was ultimately pretty simplistic, even for a YA book. Probably the biggest flaw that I noticed is a tendency toward telling rather than showing. While it's good to close plot holes, it quickly becomes tedious to have it be done in such a fashion. For example, one character who cannot possibly know exact events will recount them to the character that does know purely for the sake of the reader. But, this of course becomes a plot issue all its own. Now outside of this, while I disliked the first-person narration, it did soon grow on me quite a bit, and the central plot at the start of the book is extremely intriguing. Events did seem to soon stretch well beyond the point of reasonable believability, but it was still an show more interesting ride. While I didn't really love it, the book was still a quick and worthwhile read. show less

The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die is a short, suspenseful thriller made for middle grade students. It's a story about a girl who wakes up post-torture not knowing who she is or why she's there and her neck-breaking escape. The book has a breathless and erratic pace, which combined with Cady's first person perspective makes the reader feel tense and on the edge of their seat during the entire ride. A cross content connection for this story would be Science, as a major plot point in this story is about biological warfare. This scholastic book would be a great read aloud or classroom library addition.

For being such a short book (it was only 213 pages), the author sure stuck in tons of action! Technically I would only give this book 4.5/5 stars because the book was a little too simplex for me. This would definitely not bother some though. From the first page, there was constant action and questions being asked in order to try and figure out what exactly is going on and why people are trying to kill Katie/Cady. I think this would be a great book for young adults to try out to see if they are a fan of the thriller category. I definitely am so this was a quick read for me - (I needed to know what I was putting on the shelves for my students to read).

The only reason I would knock off the half star (and it probably isn't a very good show more reason) is because the plot was a little simple and I'm not always a fan of endings being wrapped up nicely with a bow - this ending was a little too fairytale-esque for me. Lastly, none of the characters was very well developed because of the shortness of the book and the simplicity of the plot so it was difficult to feel much towards her. Obviously she was the "good guy" since we hear right away about her waking up in a cabin out in the middle of nowhere on the floor with her fingernails ripped out. But apart from that, it was difficult to feel empathy or sympathy towards her since we learn so little about her feelings and thoughts.

Great book overall though! If you like murder/mystery/thriller books and you want a quick read, this would be a good one to pick up! show less