Book Review of The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry 3.5/5

A readable (but unimpressive) young adult mystery

I’ll be blunt.
I originally chose this one because of the cover.

My reading’s gone more slowly lately than I care for and this looked like a great book to shake loose some motivation.. too bad it didn’t quite work out that way. You see.. I picked up ‘The Girl in Red’ last year, making this is the second novel I’ve read by April Henry and, honestly,
I’m not all that impressed.

Maybe you’ll have/or have had better luck with it than I did.

Trigger Warning: Death of a parent, Assault, Murder

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The Girl I Used to Be by April Henry

Publication date: May 3, 2016
Genre: Teen and Young adult, Mystery, Thriller
Standalone

First line: The only sound I can hear is my own panicked breathing.

Fourteen years ago, Olivia’s mother was murdered in the woods. Many believed it was her father that did the deed before abandoning her at a Walmart in Salem and disappearing. He became the prime suspect. Now, however, authorities have found new evidence and the DNA confirms he’s been dead for over a decade.

Olivia’s been told and has believed this entire time that her father was guilty.. but now? Who is she without that weight to bear? Who really killed them? Why was she allowed to live? She has no memories of what happened that night.. or any night before it.

Now she’s returned home for her father’s funeral in secret, hiding behind a new name, and looking for answers.

Three and a Half Stars

Storyline: Had Potential to be more.. but wasn’t
Pace: Not Bad
Writing: Likeable
Cover: 3.5/5 (I actually like the cover, although, it doesn’t suit the book much)

POV: One person. Olivia.

She’s collecting memories and looking for clues,
determined to find the reason for her parent’s deaths and who killed them..

About the book:

Now get this.. All of *waves hand at the post above* that.. happened in the span of 240 pages.
Just percolate on that for a moment.
Mysteries like this should not be done in less than at least 300-350 pages.. at minimum! And that may just be me, who knows, but I feel like it did this story a disservice by cutting it so short.

The potential for greatness here was wasted.

Almost all of April Henry’s books sound fantastic, they really do, and yet.. I’m left vaguely disappointed. I wanted more. More of everything. Intensity, suspense, depth, character development, a storyline that actually feels like it’s going somewhere..

Is it so bad that I want to be ‘wowed’.. just a little?
Okay.. A lot.

I didn’t care for any of the characters.. No. That’s not true. I liked Nora, the elderly neighbor, she was a good soul. I wanted to like Olivia more than I did but with how quickly the story is done and over with there really wasn’t enough of her to connect with. The love interest, her parents friends (and suspects in their murders) were all stale. Flat. Uninteresting.

April Henry’s writing is good. She’s perfectly capable of pulling you in and holding you hostage to the story.. but I’m starting to wonder if any of her stories have the depth I look for in mysteries. Hopefully any of her other books I get a chance to read won’t have that issue.

Until then.. Here are some quotes that caught my eye.

Quotes:

“Here, things feel like they fit into gaps I didn’t even know I had.”

“It’s like I’m in one of those snow globes. Somebody’s picked me up and shaken all my memories loose. Now they float around me, flickering in the corners of my eyes.”

“I thought I would be more freaked out being here, but I’m not. It’s just me and the peaceful woods. So far, no ghosts.
And even though it would be nice to just stay here admiring the beauty, I need to make the ghosts come out.”

“I’m not my grandmother; I’m not my mom; I’m not my dad. I’m me. Parts of them are in me, but I’m my own person.”

Altogether.. the book wasn’t bad.
A quick read with plenty of potential and, had it been longer (or the first in a series), it may have made it seem more complete.
I would recommend this book if you’re looking for a diet mystery that won’t demand you’re full attention.

Thank you for taking the time to read my review! I hope it was helpful!

Have you read anything by April Henry or have plans to in the future?