The Girl Who was Supposed to Die by A. Henry

• Published in: The Deakin Review of Children's Literature
• Main Author: Abbott Penney, Samantha
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Alberta Libraries 2015
• Subjects: Abbott; Arctic; Nunavut; Iqaluit
• Online Access: http://ejournals.library.ualberta.ca/index.php/deakinreview/article/view/24579; https://doi.org/10.20361/G2R888

Henry, April. The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 2013. Print.Imagine waking up in an unfamiliar place, with no memory of who you are or how you got there. What you do know: you have been kidnapped, someone is trying to kill you and your fingernails have been torn off. That is exactly the predicament Cady Scott finds herself in at the start of this story. As readers we follow her through her struggle to stay alive, uncover her true identity and solve the mystery of who wants her dead and why.A YALSA Teens Top 10 Finalist choice as well as a 2014 International Reading Association’s Young Adult Choice book, The Girl Who was Supposed to Die, is a riveting thriller involving murder and identity theft, as well as a subplot about biological warfare. April Henry crafts a page turner that has a cinematic feel to it as the plot is full of twists and turns and there is non-stop action.Similar to Henry’s, Girl, Stolen and The Night She Disappeared, the writing of The Girl Who was Supposed to Die is short and fast-paced yet intense. Henry’s stylistic short chapters and short sentences help to create an edgy and tension filled atmosphere that increases the sense of urgency so that we are never given a moment to let our attention span waiver. The very linear plot also helps to quicken the pace and your heartbeat. We are not bogged down with frivolous details, love triangles or character subplots. The bewildered first-person narrative voice gives the reader a sense of being there right along with the protagonist. One stalling point could be with the antagonists as the ‘bad guys’ aren’t very layered characters and their ‘evil’ plot is revealed a little too quickly. However, it somehow fits the novel’s pace and is hardly a reason not to give this one a read. Despite its fast pace, Harvey does a good job slowly unravelling the clues to the story in order for the reader and Cady to properly flush out the mystery. The pieces of the puzzle don't start coming together until near the very end and after such an adrenaline-inducing read, the reader is ready for the puzzle to be completed.Readers who enjoy a fast paced, suspenseful story will definitely be drawn to this book and the combination of the writing, short chapters, and fast pace will likely make this an excellent choice for reluctant readers.Recommended: 3 out of 4 starsReviewer: Samantha PenneySamantha Penney (Abbott) is a secondary school teacher at Inuksuk High School in Iqaluit, Nunavut. She has worked in the Canadian Arctic for the past 7 years and loves the unique yet diverse culture of the North. She is currently in the final stages of her M.Ed degree in Teacher Librarianship and is most happy when sharing her love of reading with others.