Reviews

The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry

abit3r's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

5.0

creepylilbookworm's review against another edition

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3.0

This was pretty good. Small chapters, fast pace, and small book(256 pages). It definitely reads like a YA thriller. I knew who did it towards the end. It was a tad anticlimactic the way it all went down. Overall a good book though.

72allshookup's review against another edition

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5.0

What an excellent book well worth the 5 stars and more. First book I've read by this author and now going to read other books by her.

morguebooks's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

raxorrr's review against another edition

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4.0

4.5* the book was great and it's perfect for a quick read.

rellimreads's review against another edition

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4.0

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.

braebraenicki's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

marieintheraw's review against another edition

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1.0

Honestly, this is all on me. One of my first 2 star reads, back when I rarely 2 starred, was an April Henry book. The premise had me interested, but unfortunately, this brings nothing new to the mystery/thriller table.

themainjane's review against another edition

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4.0

I'm on an April Henry book-a-thon and I'm loving it. These books are just so quick and easy to get through, but they still keep you on your toes. I'm looking foward to reading more of her work.

mreallyhatesyou's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5