Stay Dead

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  • About the book
  • Sometimes, the only way to live is to make sure the world thinks you’re dead . . 
  • In the aftermath of a car accident that claimed the life of her senator father, sixteen-year-old Milan finds herself adrift, expelled from her third boarding school. Milan’s mother, who has assumed the senate seat, diverts her private plane to pick up her daughter. But on their way home, a bomb rips off a wing and the plane crashes in the mountains. In her final moments, Milan’s mother entrusts her with a key. She reveals it will unlock the evidence that so many people have already died for—including Milan’s father. The only way Milan can survive, her mom tells her, is to let everyone believe she died with the other passengers.
  • ​Milan is forced to navigate a perilous descent in freezing conditions while outwitting everything from a drone to wild animals. With relentless assassins on her trail, she must untangle the web of deceit and save herself and countless others. Will she piece together the truth in time?














​Praise 
"When the senator’s plane goes down, Milan miraculously escapes, going on a multiday survival trek through snowy, dangerous woods…. Milan is in a race against time and terror to get to her parents’ one trusted friend before she ends up dead, too. Milan’s trek through the freezing woods shows she’s clever, and readers will be intrigued and thrilled to see how it all turns out."
​—Booklist

"A page-turning cat-and-mouse survival story. A teenager’s survival skills are put to the test—along with her relationships with the people she relies on the most. 

"First, Milan’s senator father died in a tragic car accident; Milan escaped with a broken leg. Later, the private plane Milan and her mother were in went down after a bomb exploded in the cargo hold, leaving the 16-year-old stranded in the Cascade Mountains in Oregon. While her mother lay dying in the snow following the crash, she told Milan that whoever killed her father and blew up the plane would now be hunting for her, and that the only person she should trust is Brent Kirkby, Milan’s godfather and the founder of the renewable power company where Milan’s dad was CEO. Milan ends up being thrown into a deadly plot she never could have imagined. Alongside Milan’s third-person perspective, Henry provides two additional views of the events: one from Lenny, the killer assigned to silence Milan’s parents and anyone in their vicinity, and Janie, a dairy farmer who’s allowed fracking on her land in exchange for the money she needs to support her family. The three plotlines blend seamlessly, with the dramatic initial setup drawing readers into this fast-paced thriller."
​—Kirkus

"Stay Dead does not disappoint. In fact, it included some additional touches that really up the storytelling. Told from different points of view, one of those POVs includes the very sociopathic killer and the glimpses into what they are thinking and why we're truly engaging. So you get all the edge of your seat thrills and chills you expect from an April Henry book with some new delicious insights from the killer’s point of view. I also love that our main character discusses what they are doing to survive in the wild and you get solid reasons for the character knowing the things that she does. Readers just might learn some wilderness survival tips. All in all, a solid new effort from the always entertaining April Henry. Will pair great with her previous works, Be Not Far From Me by Mindy McGinnis, and Whale Talk by Daniel Kraus.Very much recommended.
​—Teen Librarian Toolbox

"The cat-and-mouse between Milan and Lenny adds a thick layer of tension, especially as Lenny closes in on her target."
—School Library Journal 
 
April Henry is a reliable YA mystery writer and her most recent release is no exception as it pulls together a mystery with a thrilling adventure-survival narrative. Milan’s father, a senator, was killed in a car accident, and her mother has assumed his seat as a senator. Now Milan’s been expelled from her third boarding school and her mom takes their private plane to the school to pick her up. Then a bomb takes off one of the plane’s wings and those on board are stranded in the mountains. Before her mom dies, she hands Milan a key and tells her that it is essential people believe she (Milan) has died, too.
Milan is stranded and left with a box of mysterious papers and secrets that she needs to get to the bottom of in order to save herself and uncover what was really going on with her parents.
​—Book Riot 

"A taut, tense, spectacularly cinematic novel that will keep readers on the edge of their seat. Stay Dead is April Henry at the top of her game."
—Kathleen Glasgow, New York Times bestselling author of Girl in Pieces and The Agathas series
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"April Henry has done it again – with her gutsy heroine, Milan, and amazingly realistic plane crash detail, we’re dragged into a tension-filled story that refuses to let go. Pacy survival tale, and eco-thriller, and murder mystery all rolled into one, Stay Dead will knock your socks off!"
—Ellie Marney, New York Times bestselling author of None Shall Sleep and The Killing Code

"This brilliant survival thriller has twists and turns that kept me breathless, a heroine with true grit, and a ripped-from-the-headlines message that no one should ignore."
—Margot Harrison, author of Only She Came Back and We Made It All Up

"If ever a book should be called a page-turner, it is this one. Stay Dead is a wonderfully compulsive thriller with a strong heroine who has shades of a young Sydney Bristow. April Henry’s latest novel grabbed me from its explosive opening, and its short, sharp chapters, and layered mystery, meant I couldn’t put it down. I loved it!"
--Vincent Ralph, New York Times bestselling author of Secrets Never Die and Lock the Doors

Inspiration 
Years ago, a teenager's grandparents invited her to fly with them. They had no filed flight plan and were navigating by simply following the terrain. Unfortunately, the plane crashed and caught on fire. The girl was able to get out, but her grandparents were trapped and perished. She ended up walking down the mountain for nearly three days before she finally found civilization. She was so calm—perhaps in shock—that at at first people did not believe she was had survived a plane crash. I took that kernel of an idea and made it that both her parents had been senators, which meant I had to learn a lot about what it's like to be a senator and the rules for succeeding your spouse as a senator should they die (which is possible in other states, but not Oregon). A wilderness survival expert who is also a middle school teacher (Mike Pewtherer) was extremely helpful for writing the survival scenes.