The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die - April Henry

The Girl Who Was Supposed To Die by April Henry
Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. (BYR)
Publication Date: June 11, 2013
Source/Format: Publisher (Thanks Ksenia!) || ARC

[I received this book from the publisher. This in no way affects the thoughts expressed in my review.]

She doesn’t know who she is. She doesn’t know where she is, or why. All she knows when she comes to in a ransacked cabin is that there are two men arguing over whether or not to kill her. And that she must run. (from Goodreads)

The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die starts off with a bang, as the main character wakes up to discover that she’s being held captive by strangers and that they want to kill her. Readers are thrown into the fray right away as they follow this unnamed girl’s journey to escape her captors and figure out who she is and why they’re after her. The book is entertaining, fast-paced (as in everything occurs within a few days) and kept me pre-occupied for the better part of two hours. Though I felt like the resolution came a little too hard, too fast, I do think that Henry has managed to write a book that is going to delight readers in search of a quick, easy action story.

It’s difficult to really tell you anything about our main character, as she remains unnamed for a good portion of this novel. What I can tell you would mostly fall into the wayside because it’s very generic – she’s a teenager, she’s willful and stubborn and determined to live. She’s also apparently got quite a handle on her fighting skills, and is fairly intelligent in spite of her memory loss. I think it’s interesting that we don’t find out who she is (even her name) until later and that she remains very non-descript. This seems to provide an opportunity for the reader to imagine themselves in her situation, and to become completely involved in the story. For me, this actually worked, as I imagined myself in her shoes and debated what I would do in her situation.

I had no idea what to expect going into this novel, and I think that should be the case for anyone who reads it. The way that things play out definitely brought out a lot of emotional responses, particularly fear, nerves, anger and relief. It’s not something I would have expected from this book, but it does sort of make sense if you can suspend your belief a bit. I’m not exactly amazed at how Henry chose to wind things up in this novel, as it wasn’t entirely too believable. But I did have fun with it, so there’s that too.

 If you’re in search of a novel with some real depth and character growth, this might not be the right pick for you. But if you’re looking for sheer entertainment, with some exciting action movie style moments, and a fast read, The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die will be right up your alley. I did enjoy reading it, not because of the story or characters, but for the sheer fun of the reading experience.