Skip to main content

GIRL, STOLEN by April Henry



copyright date: 2010
primarily marketed for: Grades 7 and up

The premise of this book promises a good story and April Henry delivers just that: a good story. 

Cheyenne Wilder’s stepmom has left her lying in the backseat of the car while she runs into the pharmacy to pick up medicine to help Cheyenne fight off pneumonia.  Cheyenne begged her to keep the car running so that the heat would stay on. 

When Griffin sees the Escalade running with the keys inside, he thinks he has scored big time.  He jumps in and takes off with a stolen car to impress his criminal-minded father. 

Griffin has no idea there is a girl in the back, which means he also doesn’t know she is the daughter of the owner of the Nike corporation. 

Cheyenne is in trouble.  She has pneumonia.  She has been kidnapped.  And she is blind.

This story is satisfying.  It has just the right amount of creepiness, the right amount of character development, the right amount of plot twists, and the right amount of resolution. 

I initially picked up this book because of the cover.  There was just something about the look of it that interested me.  In a blog comment, the author revealed the following about the cover:

“The cover designer added the nail polish and diamond earring in PhotoShop, and then scuffed up the nail polish, again in PhotoShop. The girl he used for the photograph is actually his neighbor.”

Those were elements I hadn’t even noticed.  How refreshing to have a book cover designed by someone who actually read the story! 

If you are interested, you can view a book trailer by clicking on the link: Girl Stolen.

Labels:

Comments

  1. Linda BJanuary 7, 2012 at 12:29 PM

    Taken from the headlines! We just had a baby taken here just the same way, but when the thief realized it, he abandoned the car & called in where it was-one good deed anyway. The book does sound interesting.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS by John Green

You knew it was coming.  How could I not share?  EVERYONE MUST READ JOHN GREEN’S LATEST WORK OF ART: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS .  Throughout my life (well, at least from 4 th grade, when I was introduced to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl until now, the 7 th month of my 34 th year of noticing the universe) the name ‘Augustus’ immediately evoked an image of a chubby, stubborn, chocolate-loving boy, doted upon by his mother, with the last name of Gloop.  The name ‘Augustus’ made me giggle about this character’s gluttonous follies inside the chocolate factory. Until reading John Green’s beloved new book The Fault in Our Stars . From now on, the name ‘Augustus’ will forever evoke an entirely different image and an entirely different set of emotions.  A casually hot, lean, limping ‘Augustus Waters’ has forever replaced the ‘Augustus’ of the book I treasured as a child—an unlit cigarette held loosely between his lips.  A longing sigh ...
9 comments
Read more

A MONSTER CALLS by Patrick Ness (inspired by an idea from Siobhan Dowd and illustrated by Jim Kay)

“Every time the monster moved, Conor could hear the creak of wood groaning and yawning in the monster’s huge body.” In her review for the New York Times , Jessica Bruder refers to A Monster Calls as, “A story that lodges in your bones and stays there.”  This, I believe, is an understatement.  I am afraid my words, mere pixels on the screen, cannot begin to honor how truly special this book is. From his words in the Author’s Note, Patrick Ness held me spellbound.  Siobhan Dowd had developed an idea for a book about a monster and a boy whose mom had cancer.  Breast cancer cut her life short and she was unable to finish her story.  Patrick Ness, when asked to craft something from the seed of a story Dowd left behind said, “…the thing about ideas is that they grow other ideas.”  And so, A Monster Calls was born out of Dowd’s seed and Ness’s nurturing. I suppose a book with that kind of conception was bound to be incredible, but I am sure not even ...
7 comments
Read more

THE MISFITS by James Howe

copyright date: 2001 primarily marketed for: grades 4-8 In honor of No Name-Calling Week, the idea for which originated with this book, I thought I would post a review of The Misfits by James Howe.    This book has one of my favorite leads: "So here I am, not a half-hour old as a tie salesman and trying to look like I know what I am doing, which have got to be two of the biggest jokes of all time, when who should walk into Awkworth & Ames Department Store but Skeezie Tookis. " I think I like it because it is such an inviting introduction to Bobby and Skeezie, two of the four friends referred to in the book’s title.   Bobby, Skeezie, Addie, and Joe are seventh graders who decide to create their own political party to run in the student council election.   Their goal is simple: to put an end to name-calling.   Who doesn’t think that is a good idea? The wonderful things about this book aren’t limited to the positive messages about acceptance and k...
5 comments
Read more