The Night She Disappeared
About the book
Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part time as a delivery girl at Pete's Pizza. One night, Kayla-another delivery girl-goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working that night.
Gabie can't move beyond the fact that Kayla's fate was really meant for her, and she becomes obsessed with finding Kayla. She teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete's. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn't dead-and to find her before she is.
Lexile: HL680L
Awards and honors
Reviews
"Henry's (Girl, Stolen) heart-pounding mystery alternates among the perspectives of numerous characters, including Kayla's co-workers Gabie, who is traumatized by Kayla's kidnapping (and believes that she was the intended target), and Drew, a "straight-C stoner" who is supporting his drug-addicted mother, as well as a diver searching the Willamette River, a psychic, Kayla herself - and the man who kidnapped her. As Kayla plots an escape from the room in which she's being held, Gabie and Drew try to investigate what happened to her, holding out hope that she's still alive. It's a riveting story that many readers will finish in one sitting, full of suspects and augmented by police reports, interviews, and newspaper articles that, along with the variety of voices, make the events feel all the more real. Each chapter is a surprise, and the tension builds steadily until the inevitable climactic face-off. "
- Publishers Weekly
"In this plot-driven, page-turning thriller, the narrative switches between characters in first person from various perspectives. ... The narrative reveals from the outset who has taken Kayla and how she is being treated. The reader must wait with baited breath to see when and if the characters will uncover the truth as the suspense builds to a fever pitch near the end of the book."
- VOYA, 4Q 4P
"This fast-paced, gripping thriller incorporates many different devices to keep the story moving along. ... Fans of intense page-turners and those who liked Michele Jaffe's Rosebush (Penguin, 2010) or Lucy Christopher's Stolen (Scholastic, 2010) will love this one."
- School Library Journal
"Using multiple narrators, phone transcripts, and lab reports, among other narrative elements, this quickly shifting novel generates nonstop tension."
—The Hornbook
"The thriller is narrated using a collage technique. Interspersed with the kids' and perpetrator's first-person accounts are police reports, 911 transcripts, webpages, interviews, etc., which add interest and texture....Gabie and Drew's budding relationship is believable, and it has a strong wingding climax followed by a feel-good ending."
- Kirkus
"As it races to its suspenseful ending,The Night overtakes the evil with good, the fear with strength, the helplessness with hope."
- Mystery Scene
"The Night She Disappeared is a genuine thriller that races along from first page to last. Tightly plotted and neatly told."
- Marcus Sedgwick, award-winning author ofRevolver
"For a pulse-pounding mystery, try The Night She Disappeared by April Henry. ... Told from alternating viewpoints, this is a page-turner from start to finish."
- Beaufort Gazette
Gabie drives a Mini Cooper. She also works part time as a delivery girl at Pete's Pizza. One night, Kayla-another delivery girl-goes missing. To her horror, Gabie learns that the supposed kidnapper had asked if the girl in the Mini Cooper was working that night.
Gabie can't move beyond the fact that Kayla's fate was really meant for her, and she becomes obsessed with finding Kayla. She teams up with Drew, who also works at Pete's. Together, they set out to prove that Kayla isn't dead-and to find her before she is.
Lexile: HL680L
Awards and honors
- YALSA Top 10 Quick Pick
- A Junior Library Guild Selection
- Named a 2012 Favorite by the International Reading Association
- Named to the Texas Taysha's list
- Named to the master list for Oklahoma's Sequoyah Award
- Short-listed for Missouri's Gateway award
- Named to YALSA's Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults list
- Oregon Spirt Honor Award
- OR Young Adult Network Book Rave Reading List 2013
- Rights sold in Germany
- Rights sold in England
- Rights sold in Turkey
- Audio rights sold to Brilliance
Reviews
"Henry's (Girl, Stolen) heart-pounding mystery alternates among the perspectives of numerous characters, including Kayla's co-workers Gabie, who is traumatized by Kayla's kidnapping (and believes that she was the intended target), and Drew, a "straight-C stoner" who is supporting his drug-addicted mother, as well as a diver searching the Willamette River, a psychic, Kayla herself - and the man who kidnapped her. As Kayla plots an escape from the room in which she's being held, Gabie and Drew try to investigate what happened to her, holding out hope that she's still alive. It's a riveting story that many readers will finish in one sitting, full of suspects and augmented by police reports, interviews, and newspaper articles that, along with the variety of voices, make the events feel all the more real. Each chapter is a surprise, and the tension builds steadily until the inevitable climactic face-off. "
- Publishers Weekly
"In this plot-driven, page-turning thriller, the narrative switches between characters in first person from various perspectives. ... The narrative reveals from the outset who has taken Kayla and how she is being treated. The reader must wait with baited breath to see when and if the characters will uncover the truth as the suspense builds to a fever pitch near the end of the book."
- VOYA, 4Q 4P
"This fast-paced, gripping thriller incorporates many different devices to keep the story moving along. ... Fans of intense page-turners and those who liked Michele Jaffe's Rosebush (Penguin, 2010) or Lucy Christopher's Stolen (Scholastic, 2010) will love this one."
- School Library Journal
"Using multiple narrators, phone transcripts, and lab reports, among other narrative elements, this quickly shifting novel generates nonstop tension."
—The Hornbook
"The thriller is narrated using a collage technique. Interspersed with the kids' and perpetrator's first-person accounts are police reports, 911 transcripts, webpages, interviews, etc., which add interest and texture....Gabie and Drew's budding relationship is believable, and it has a strong wingding climax followed by a feel-good ending."
- Kirkus
"As it races to its suspenseful ending,The Night overtakes the evil with good, the fear with strength, the helplessness with hope."
- Mystery Scene
"The Night She Disappeared is a genuine thriller that races along from first page to last. Tightly plotted and neatly told."
- Marcus Sedgwick, award-winning author ofRevolver
"For a pulse-pounding mystery, try The Night She Disappeared by April Henry. ... Told from alternating viewpoints, this is a page-turner from start to finish."
- Beaufort Gazette
Inspiration
The Night She Disappeared was inspired by a real-life case that happened nearly 30 years ago. A man ordered some pizzas to be delivered to what turned out to be a false address. He asked if "the girl in the orange Volkswagen" was working delivery that night and was told a different girl was. That girl's car was later found with the keys in the ignition and the pizzas and her hat on the ground. Her body was never found.
The parents hired a psychic, who zeroed in on a young man who owned a truck similar to one that had been seen in the vicinity. Right after that man talked to the psychic, he killed himself, never revealing where he had left the delivery girl's body. For years, the case was considered closed — until another man, already in prison, confessed to the murder. The man who committed suicide had nothing to do with it. I was always fascinated by this twist, and decided to write a book with a better outcome than the real story. I also wondered how it would feel to know that you were the girl the killer asked for first. In high school, I worked at Pietros Pizza, so I was able to draw on that experience for real-life details.
Read an interview about the book.
The Night She Disappeared was inspired by a real-life case that happened nearly 30 years ago. A man ordered some pizzas to be delivered to what turned out to be a false address. He asked if "the girl in the orange Volkswagen" was working delivery that night and was told a different girl was. That girl's car was later found with the keys in the ignition and the pizzas and her hat on the ground. Her body was never found.
The parents hired a psychic, who zeroed in on a young man who owned a truck similar to one that had been seen in the vicinity. Right after that man talked to the psychic, he killed himself, never revealing where he had left the delivery girl's body. For years, the case was considered closed — until another man, already in prison, confessed to the murder. The man who committed suicide had nothing to do with it. I was always fascinated by this twist, and decided to write a book with a better outcome than the real story. I also wondered how it would feel to know that you were the girl the killer asked for first. In high school, I worked at Pietros Pizza, so I was able to draw on that experience for real-life details.
Read an interview about the book.