Henry, April. The Girl I Used To Be.

Henry, April.  The Girl I Used To Be.  Henry Holt/Macmillan   2016  229p  $16.99  ISBN 978-1-62779-332-2  ms/hs  Mystery/Detective  VG

Olivia Reinhardt was five years old when her mother was killed and her father disappeared. She went into foster care and was adopted, and her name was changed to Ariel Benson. After gaining her legal adult status she sets out to investigate  the murder in the town where her parents lived. An elderly woman who lived next door to her mother’s home befriends her. As she meets people and works in town she starts to unravel the details of her parents’ lives there.

The plot is straightforward, which allows the read to enjoy the characters. This is a fast-paced read with lots of twists and turns. Readers will root for Ariel, who is a stable and enterprising young woman who faces struggles with determination. This is a very well written novel that will appeal to many young readers.  It is recommended for any high-school library.

Summary: This is a murder mystery about a young girl who starts out to find her parents’ killer fourteen years after the murder.     
                       

Murder-Fiction                                                                                                           --Linda McNeil

The Body In The Woods. (A Point Last Seen Mystery)

Henry, April.  The Body In The Woods. (A Point Last Seen Mystery)  Macmillan/Henry Holt   2014  263p  $16.99  ISBN 978-0-050-9852-5  jr/sr  Realistic fiction  VG 

Alexis, Nick, and Ruby are an unlikely trio who become friends when they join the Portland County’s Search and Rescue team, each for very different reasons.  Their first assignment finds them grouped together in search of a missing autistic man in the woods.  As newcomers to the team who have been accidentally grouped together, they are sent to a clearly simple trail that is not the most likely path for the missing man to have taken.  However, they discover a dead body, which leads to a full-out homicide investigation.  Ruby, a huge fan of forensic television shows, convinces Alexis and Nick to help her solve the crime instead of allowing the appropriate authorities to conduct the investigation, putting the friends in danger in the process.

This well-written mystery engages readers and leads them on this crime-solving adventure as part of the team.  April Henry has written an exciting novel that brings many issues into the plot.  Although the crime is at the forefront of the plot, the threesome’s social and familial issues are woven throughout.

This exciting mystery adventure will resonate well with many young adult readers.  It will also connect well with science curricula and be helpful in infusing Common Core standards, particularly in forensics.

This is the first book in the new Point Last Seen series.

Summary: When Alexis, Nick, and Ruby join the Portland County’s Search and Rescue team, the team comes across a murder victim while they are searching for an autistic man who was lost in the woods.          
     

Forensics-Fiction                                     --Virginia McGarvey