APRIL HENRY, WRITER
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        • Witnessing Nat King Cole's Greatest Hit
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        • My Mom and the Round Rock
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  • Books
    • For Teens (and Adults) >
      • In the Blood
      • When We Go Missing (May 2025)
      • Stay Dead
      • Girl Forgotten
      • Two Truths and a Lie
      • Eyes of the Forest
      • Playing with Fire
      • The Girl in the White Van
      • Run, Hide, Fight Back
      • The Lonely Dead
      • Count All Her Bones
      • The Girl I Used to Be
      • Blood Will Tell (2nd in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Body in the Woods (1st in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
      • The Night She Disappeared
      • Girl, Stolen
      • Torched
      • Shock Point
    • For Adults (and Teens) >
      • Lethal Beauty (3rd in the Mia Quinn series)
      • A Deadly Business (2nd in the Mia Quinn mystery series)
      • Matter of Trust (1st in Mia Quinn series)
      • Face of Betrayal (1st in the Triple Threat series)
      • Hand of Fate (2nd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Heart of Ice (3rd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Eyes of Justice (4th in the Triple Threat series)
      • Learning to Fly
      • Circles of Confusion (1st in Claire Montrose series)
      • Square in the Face (2nd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Heart-Shaped Box (3rd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Buried Diamonds (4th in the Claire Montrose series)
    • Foreign Covers
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    • A Sneak Peek at a School Visit
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    • Blob on the Side of the Filing Cabinet
    • Books I Like
    • JB's Cinnamon Rolls
    • Vanity Plates
    • Diary of My First Book Tour (From 2000)
    • 1999 Interview with James Lee Burke
    • 1997 Interview with Carol Shields
    • Oregon, the Writer's Toronto
    • Stealing From Myself to Create A Character
    • Panties in a Twist
    • Heteronyms
  • Write
    • How to get an agent
    • Videos with writing tips
    • Writers writing during Covid-19
    • Tips for writers
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    • Write what you know?
    • What if you get stuck?
    • More tips about writing
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    • My daughter is 14 - how can she be published?
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    • Publications for teen writers
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    • How to get it right
    • Questions about writing from two teens
    • Should I pay to be published?
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Stay Dead

Picture
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?

​Awards and Honors
- Named to Texas Tayshas' list
​- Named to Maine's North Start list 
- Finalist for the Oregon Book Award

​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
​
"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.  




  • Home
  • Past News
  • Bio
    • In the name of research
    • Why I write scary things
    • Roald Dahl Made Me a Writer
    • Fun Facts about April
    • My Parents >
      • My Dad, Hank Henry >
        • Witnessing Nat King Cole's Greatest Hit
      • My Mom, Nora Henry >
        • My Mom and the Round Rock
    • My great-grandfather, the killer
    • I come from a long line of criminals
    • Questions teachers often assign
    • 10 Reasons I Love Martial Arts
    • Learning to Fight Back
    • Dear Teen Me
    • Goodbye, 2021
    • How my Apple watch saved my life
    • Masks for Covid-19
  • Books
    • For Teens (and Adults) >
      • In the Blood
      • When We Go Missing (May 2025)
      • Stay Dead
      • Girl Forgotten
      • Two Truths and a Lie
      • Eyes of the Forest
      • Playing with Fire
      • The Girl in the White Van
      • Run, Hide, Fight Back
      • The Lonely Dead
      • Count All Her Bones
      • The Girl I Used to Be
      • Blood Will Tell (2nd in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Body in the Woods (1st in the Point Last Seen series)
      • The Girl Who Was Supposed to Die
      • The Night She Disappeared
      • Girl, Stolen
      • Torched
      • Shock Point
    • For Adults (and Teens) >
      • Lethal Beauty (3rd in the Mia Quinn series)
      • A Deadly Business (2nd in the Mia Quinn mystery series)
      • Matter of Trust (1st in Mia Quinn series)
      • Face of Betrayal (1st in the Triple Threat series)
      • Hand of Fate (2nd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Heart of Ice (3rd in the Triple Threat series)
      • Eyes of Justice (4th in the Triple Threat series)
      • Learning to Fly
      • Circles of Confusion (1st in Claire Montrose series)
      • Square in the Face (2nd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Heart-Shaped Box (3rd in the Claire Montrose series)
      • Buried Diamonds (4th in the Claire Montrose series)
    • Foreign Covers
  • Events
    • Calendar
    • About My School Visits
    • A Sneak Peek at a School Visit
  • Fun
    • FAQ
    • Does Your Character Need a Job?
    • Girl, Stolen Alternative Covers
    • I Get Letters
    • Blob on the Side of the Filing Cabinet
    • Books I Like
    • JB's Cinnamon Rolls
    • Vanity Plates
    • Diary of My First Book Tour (From 2000)
    • 1999 Interview with James Lee Burke
    • 1997 Interview with Carol Shields
    • Oregon, the Writer's Toronto
    • Stealing From Myself to Create A Character
    • Panties in a Twist
    • Heteronyms
  • Write
    • How to get an agent
    • Videos with writing tips
    • Writers writing during Covid-19
    • Tips for writers
    • Story starters
    • Write what you know?
    • What if you get stuck?
    • More tips about writing
    • Need to create a fake social media profile?
    • How to start a new book
    • My daughter is 14 - how can she be published?
    • I'm a teen writer-can you give me feedback?
    • Publications for teen writers
    • Student Writing
    • How to get it right
    • Questions about writing from two teens
    • Should I pay to be published?
  • Blog
  • Contact