When Olivia’s mother was killed, everyone suspected her father of murder. But his whereabouts remained a mystery. Fast forward fourteen years. New evidence now proves Olivia’s father was actually murdered on the same fateful day her mother died. That means there’s a killer still at large. It’s up to Olivia to uncover who that may be. But can she do that before the killer tracks her down first?
The Girl I Used to Be
By aprilhenry
April Henry is number one of my favorite authors
I don’t read a lot of YA at this point. Mostly because I read a lot of romance and that’s become a little odd when the protagonists are the same age as my kids. Sooooooo, when I won a little contest on Amy McFadden’s Facebook page and she offered me a YA Mystery/Suspense/Thriller – I was all in.
This is my first book by April Henry and I will be adding more of her work to my “to read” shelf. These are exactly the kinds of books I would have consumed in my tween/teen years and they’re enjoyable as an adult as well. The book immediately starts with the discovery of Olivia’s father’s remains and sucked me in. I listened in just a few days and enjoyed Olivia/Ariel’s journey in learning more about her parents, their disappearance & murder, their hometown, and trying to discern who may have been responsible for their deaths.
There is a tiny bit of romance, but it plays such a small part in the story that I wouldn’t consider shelving this under that category. I feel like I had to stretch believability a bit when it came to how few people recognized Olivia considering how much time she spent interacting with close friends of her parents. Overall, I enjoyed the story and liked that, while I had my suspicions, it wasn’t immediately clear who the murderer was. Henry also included a thrilling chase aspect when the murderer tries to thwart Olivia’s investigation. The ending was heartwarming.
Amy McFadden is one of my favorite narrators for a reason. She has an amazing range of voices – which was perfect for this book as characters ranged from teen to elderly and she gave them all unique sounds. McFadden also highlighted the wide range of emotions for Olivia adding depth to the story.
I won a free copy of this audiobook from a contest on Amy McFadden’s Facebook page and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.
im not much of a reader and i could never find a book that i enjoyed but after a few pages in this book i was hooked!!! i finished it in a week and im a very slow reader
Loved this book. Unfortunately I loaned my autographed copy to a teen and she hasn’t returned the book yet (still waiting after 2 years. Ever hopeful)
I think this book is amazing and it just gives you little bits and prices of its self until it just pulls you into it just as much if not more of all April Henry’s books.
It was one of the best books I have ever read! I loved it, and I hope you guys do, too!
This story starts off with so much suspense and thrill. You begin with a girl running through the woods from a killer. I mean C’MON if that doesn’t hold your interest what will? Soon you learn this girl is named Olivia but her real name is Ariel. Her mother was killed in the woods and supposedly her father is the one who killed her and brought 3-year-old Ariel to a Walmart and disappeared. You soon come to realize that is nt what happens due to years later they discover the jaw bone of her father in those same woods leaving Olivia and the families with so many questions: Did someone they know kill them both?, Was it a serial killer who did it?, or Did he really kill his girlfriend and someone else killed him?
WOW, I loved this book soo much. I’ve had my eye on this one for awhile and decided what the heck I’m going to buy it. Thankfully I did that because this was one of my favorite reads. The characters kept me entertained, the plot was intriguing, and the ending was what brought this whole story to be a captivating and thrilling read. This was my first read by this author and she didn’t not disappoint, I hope to read more from her.
This book was also listed on the reading challenge our 7th grade daughter is reading, so I read it too. She told me I would like it because there is a girl named Naomi in there. Well, actually, she’s a character, but she’s already dead when the book begins. Basically we read the book to solve the murder mystery of Naomi and her boyfriend Terry. And that job gets done in the book, so I’d say there’s a satisfying enough ending.