The Girl In The White Van by April Henry | Book Review

May 28, 2021

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

The Girl In The White Van by April Henry | Book ReviewThe Girl in the White Van by April Henry
Published by Henry Holt and Company (BYR) on July 28, 2020
Genres: Young Adult Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Thrillers & Suspense, Action & Adventure
Pages: 240
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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Goodreads
two-half-stars

A teen is snatched outside her kung fu class and must figure out how to escape—and rescue another kidnapped victim—in The Girl in the White Van, a chilling YA mystery by New York Times bestselling author April Henry.
When Savannah disappears soon after arguing with her mom’s boyfriend, everyone assumes she's run away. The truth is much worse. She’s been kidnapped by a man in a white van who locks her in an old trailer home, far from prying eyes.
And worse yet, Savannah’s not alone: ten months earlier, Jenny met the same fate and nearly died trying to escape. Now as the two girls wonder if he will hold them captive forever or kill them, they must join forces to break out—even if it means they die trying.
Christy Ottaviano Books

From time to time, it feels like I just want a quick thriller to rip through. Of course, there’s certain things I cannot handle in a thriller (very young children in danger) but otherwise, am good to go with picking one up. The Girl In The White Van by April Henry is a young adult thriller about kidnapping. While it isn’t the best I’ve read, it certainly fit the bill for what I wanted. Plus it was a super fast read which made me glad to cycle it off my shelf kind of quickly.

The Girl In The White Van is about Savannah who is new in town. She doesn’t make friends very easily because she and her mom constantly move around as her mom meets new men and falls in love. This time, they are in Portland and staying with her mom’s boyfriend Tim. Savannah and Tim have a fight before Savannah’s kung fu class. Unfortunately, Savannah disappears after her class. It is assumed that she ran away because of her fight with Tim. The reality is that she was kidnapped. We then see Savannah try to survive and find a way free along with another girl who was kidnapped almost a year ago, Jenny. It’s going to take everything the two have to save themselves.

This book is told using a variety of viewpoints and very short chapters. I’ll admit, I liked the short chapters. It made progressing through this book really easy. I think too, that would make this book more appealing to emerging readers. The changing points of views kept The Girl In The White Van very fresh. I also liked how tough Savannah was and how she identified with Bruce Lee after reading through his biography. I found this to be an okay kind of read overall. Unfortunately, I did not really connect that much with any of the characters. I also just wanted more from this book. It seemed to resolve a little bit too quickly.


two-half-stars
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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.
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About April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.