Sophia was not a regular 16-year-old girl. She had lived all over the world with her diplomat parents, and knew more than 14 different languages. She had been trained in deadly combat, and knew how to accurately shoot a gun on the run. After having to live in so many different places and experiencing so many different things, Sophia was shocked when her parents arrived in the small town of Waterford, Montana and told her they were officially retired. Now that she was given permission to slow down her life and “act like a teenager”, Sophia had no idea what to do.

Her first day at school didn’t go over well, as teachers were less than impressed with her knowledge, but she made a few friends who kept her occupied with normal teenage things. Soon Sophia started to fall into the routine of hanging out and wondering why the very handsome Aksel left her tongue-tied. She and Aksel soon became a couple but, just as Sophia thought the doors of her past were forever closed, something happened that caused them to come blasting open. It will take everything she’s learned from her father and Askel’s love to keep Sophia’s former world from crashing down around her new one.

“Girl from nowhere” is filled with action, love, and adventure. The only thing I didn’t like about it was the cover. With a storyline of a type of female 007 mixed up with a very handsome James Bond type, having a book cover showing a girl with tape over her eyes DOESN’T CUT IT! Come on Bloomsbury! There’s still a month left before publication, so PLEASE come out with a more riveting cover to draw readers in – otherwise they’ll pass up a very good book!

Highly recommended for ages 14 and older.

I received a digital advance reading copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

A story offering the promise of espionage, intrigue and a touch of romance? What can go wrong?

While Girl from Nowhere does offer all of this and more, it lacks plausibility. The narrative implicitly relies on readers to forego asking questions in favor of simply enjoying the action. This might work for some readers, but for those who naturally tend to close read, there could be some disappointment by time they reach the novel’s close. The age of the characters could also arguably be considered detrimental. At times, it can be rather hard to envision the progression of the plot as centering on high schoolers aged 16 and 17, especially when the theme of recruitment is mentioned. Also, given everything that has happened to our protagonist prior to the “new start” she’s offered, as discussed in the story’s premise, a reader can easily question how parents could still be willing to let their underaged child have so much free range. Ultimately, some of the major action elements, decisions and revelations might work better if the main characters were potentially college-aged. 

The book does cover trauma and PTSD. I think the author’s subtle descriptions of sensory triggers and their physical and emotional manifestations are among the strongest parts of this story. I wish there was more time spent focusing on these elements as opposed to the narrative’s heavy reliance on action and predictable resolutions. 

Though the reader is provided with a definite ending, there are some action points that are left open ended, potentially providing room for a story continuation. Perhaps a sequel might offer more opportunities for character and story development.

Thank you so much to netgalley for sending me a copy of this book. I was so excited to read this book and I was not disappointed

Sophia Hepworth and her diplomat parents have settled down. After a life of hopscotching countries (94), changing schools (31), learning languages (14), and dodging bullets meant for her (2), she’s ready to live like a normal 16-year-old in a resort town in Montana. Just as she begins to fit in, her past is resurrected, and the combat survival training her parents drilled into her may be the only thing that will keep her alive. What should be a typical high-school romance with handsome, mysterious Aksel turns into a life-saving alliance when betrayal and secrets catapult the Hepworths back into an international game of cat and mouse with Sophia as the prize. Strong and capable, Sophia never backs down in the face of chases, kidnappings, gunplay, physical violence, and interrogation by colorful characters on a global scale. Heart-pounding international action fuels this novel at an un-relenting pace. Thoroughly different from most YA offerings, readers who are able to suspend disbelief completely will enjoy this twisting, turning thriller from beginning to end. — Jeanne Fredriksen

This review appeared in the June 1, 2020, issue of Booklist Magazine

5 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 7 July 2020.


Holy moly, this is an epic YA novel. 

Sophia and her parents have just settled in the mountain town of Waterford, Montana. After years of moving from one place to another across the world, her parents have decided it’s time for Sophia to be a normal teenager. Or as close to one as she can be with retired diplomats for parents.

Sophia speaks multiple languages and is a sharpshooter. She has been trained to survive whatever comes her way. Except for one thing - Aksel Fredricksen. He is the hot ski racer who has survived his own tragedies in life, and keeps most people at arm’s length. Even Sophia. But when circumstances throw them together, Aksel and Sophia find that maybe they have more in common than not.

When I said epic, I mean epic. This is a YA novel that should appeal to people of all ages. It blends intrigue, international spies, high school girls and romance. Maybe the story is a bit over the top, but it’s a riveting ride. Sophia is tough as nails and an inspiration to any teenage girl. Aksel is every teenage girl’s heart throb. Sophia’s parents are doting, a tad bit helicopterish. Rosenhan’s ability to keep the reader on her toes is exceptional. 

I did NOT want to put this one down or have it end. Best YA book I’ve read in ages.

"Bursting with action and intrigue. Girl From Nowhere is better suited for an adult audience."
Sheaf and Ink, Cecelia Beckman 

I liked the idea of Girl From Nowhere. A book about a young teenage girl running from her past seemed like a compelling read.  But the further along I got in the novel the more confused I became. The chapters unfolded like hastily cut kite strings flailing aimlessly in a torrent of wind. And there’s a lot going on in this book, but not everything makes complete sense.

With sections of lengthy dialogue, where the speaker never takes a break after paragraphs of unduly explanation, the writing fell short in creating a compelling and rich narrative.

Further, to believe high school teenagers can relate to this story is a far stretch.  The main character name drops high-end brands and international locations in ways more fit for a movie script than in a Young Adult novel.  The blatant type of advertisement peppered throughout Girl From Nowhere became a distraction being nothing more than white noise than actual meaningful substance.

Also, both Sophia and Askel read as much older.  Remember, Sophia is sixteen and Askel is eighteen. However, each of these characters are experts in handling weapons, survival methods, and combat. Sophia even more so, knowing fourteen different languages, living abroad her whole life, and having parents who are American "diplomats" who are constantly drilling her on survival tactics.

Let’s not forget about the romance. The synopsis described Girl From Nowhere as a “breathtaking romance.”  This is a genre a number of readers covet.  Craving that rush of attraction, the back and forth, and any steamy interludes in-between.  Tiffany Rosenhan had the opportunity to live up to her breathtaking romance synopsis, but instead, decided to dive into the shallow end of the romance pool. Writing more placid interactions while overtly describing Askels green eyes.

Girl From Nowhere falls short in a number of ways. It deviates from having a well thought out plot. Characters that readers will root for and care about from beginning to end.  But most importantly, it lacks cohesion where everything in the story makes sense and is concise, leaving no room for confusion.

This is a fun spy thriller about a super smart sixteen-year-old girl who can kick butt, speak every language, and holds her own with the bad guys, but all she wants is a normal life!  It is a fast paced, action packed adventure of a read. Some other reviews relay the fact that there are some minor inconsistencies of the finer details, but I don't think these details detract from the overall story at all. Thank you Netgalley for the chance to review.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

This could easily be a 4 or even 5 star book if not for many inconsistencies. Some of what I'm about to say may be spoiler-esque, but I'm not going to talk about the reasons why Sophia is in these situations, just about the situations or actions themselves in an attempt not to ruin anything.

Things start off really great in this book. Sophia moves to a "normal" town in the USA after a harrowing life on the run with her parents. I enjoyed learning about her life before and after she got to the town, as well as her building relationships with friends and her love interest Askel. Problems start to arise when Sophia ignores her instincts, instincts she has grown up trusting lest she die . She ignores some pretty telltale signs and it gets her into a world of trouble.

The second half of the book is what is lost on me. It is action packed, sure, but the many inconsistencies and lack of continuity of details, and really just plain mistakes that are attempted to be corrected after the fact really annoyed me. I had to continuously flip back to see, did I just miss where the author explained this? And no, I did not miss it, it just plain wasn't there. Here are some examples:

One time Sophia is pushed into a car while she is wearing a backpack, and she is shoved face down and her hands are tied - implying her hands are tied behind her back since, well, how do you tie up someone's hands in front of them when they are on their stomach? So her hands are tied behind her back - with a backpack on - seems pretty tricky. Then not long after that she kicks the driver in the head (she is in the back seat)....through a headrest? Every car has headrests so how on earth can she kick the driver in the head through the headrest? The author did not say there were no headrests so we have to assume they are in the car. A little later on we then find out she is in fact, NOT wearing her backpack... How the backpack removed itself with her hands tied who knows.

One time she checks her gun to find 1 bullet left, and her and her father "Simultaneously we lunge from our cover, firing" and then right after that she decides she needs to use her 1 bullet to shoot someone... But she has none left since she fired it leaving cover. She manages to kill someone anyway with her imaginary bullet.

See what I mean? Annoying. Going back and forth in the book to try to make sense of the inconsistencies really breaks up the flow of the book. Accepting the inconsistencies is even worse.

It continues when she has a blindfold on and a cloth in her mouth, but she doesn't take them off despite no mention of her hands being tied. We are told her hands are tied later as a way to fix the mistake of not saying it before.

The last example I will give is that it would have been impossible to open a jump shoot at the altitude we are told the plane is flying, the door wouldn't even be able to be opened, and if by some miracle it was opened it would have immediately sucked everyone and anything not tied down out of the plane.

It is disappointing to say the least, since I think this book had such great promise. That is why I'm giving it 3 stars. If things were cleaned up I would easily have rated it a 4 or even a 5. Honestly I'm sad since it was such a fun idea for a book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a DRC of this title for review. All opinions are my own.

OK-I'll admit it. I loved this book. For me, it was the perfect blend of a somewhat fluffy romance (of course she would be able to attract the attention of the boy who is mysterious and aloof with all of the local townies) with the adventure and drama of a good thriller. This is something that I think multiple types of readers will enjoy and I can't wait to hand it off to my students. While it is YA, I don't think there is anything in it that would deter me from ordering it for my middle school building. There is violence (they are undercover CIA-esque operatives who are running and hiding) but nothing in the way of sex or language (besides some cursing in German). Highly recommend.

Sophia's parents have always been somewhat cryptic about their jobs with as diplomats, but now they claim to be in retirement. 18 months after she was kidnapped by an obscure terrorist cell, the threats have been dealt with and the family heads to a small town in Montana to allow Sophia to have a typical American teenage experience. But she can't help but feel that something is still wrong. Even though her parents tell her to trust them, that she's safe, her instincts say she isn't. As she continues to fall for Aksel, the local mystery boy, she begins to wonder what he is hiding from her. And where their paths have crossed before. Because there is more to the story than meets the eye. And not knowing the truth is a dangerous game.

Girl from Nowhere is a novel about a reluctant teenage spy. She's spent her life with her 'diplomat' parents learning languages, martial art moves, piano, and to hold her breath for four minutes. 
Unlike most teenage spy novels I found Sophia a lot more relatable. She's never had a normal life. She doesn't understand cultural references, how to talk to people, or how to deal with the trauma of being kidnapped and chased by terrorists for 18 months. 

Sophia's parents, like all spy parents made me mad, but I loved loved loved her relationship with Aksel and the friends she makes in high school. 
Overall, I loved the plot and pacing of this book. As we discover more of what happened in Sophia's past her present struggles and dangers become a lot more clear to us, and made for a quick, exciting story.

Definitely a title I'll be adding to my classroom library! Spy stories are always in great demand, and this one is sure to be a hit with my students!

I feel like the title should be Girl from Everywhere since Sophia has literally lived everywhere from traveling the world. I found this book a disappointment. The first half was Sophia adjusting to life in Waterford and falling into instant love with Aksel. The second half consisted of her running around Europe being chased by the bad guys. 

Sophia was an unbelievable character. She spoke 14+ languages, remembered every detail of every city she has lived along with every conversation, knows everything about weapons, and supposedly knows how to fight. I find the last two embellishments since Aksel always saved her whenever she was in trouble, which was a lot. Sophia boasted how she was aware of her surroundings but that was never in the case since she always needed Aksel saving her and made stupid decisions that placed herself in danger. She spoke like a travel book at times with the overbearing descriptions of every place she has ever lived or visited.

Aksel was pretty boring. He was the typical stereotypical love interest who was the mysterious, handsome, and rich boy that never dated until a new girl arrives in town. The plot was ridiculous since the bad guys were after a bland and unintelligent sixteen-year-old girl for absolutely no reason. Sophia’s parents were awful parents since they effectively let the bad guys stalk Sophia for months, knew about it, and never did anything.

It took me forever to finish the book and I skimmed a lot towards the end since I just wanted to be done with it.

A fun thriller full of action and a young adult as the main character-- something I don't typically get drawn to! Lots of twists and turns.

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<p><em>Girl From Nowhere </em>is marketed as a story of a girl "running from her past." The initial pages of the novel take place in the Suburban United States, and much of the conflict in the first third comes from interpersonal drama - friendships, romances, Calculus class, and so on. I was settling in to read a quiet contemporary novel about trauma, when all of a sudden, roughly halfway through the book, things changed - and <strong>fast. </strong></p>
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<p>All of a sudden, what had been a middling read picked up in speed and became a thrilling adventure. The terrorist cell that Sophia and her family had nearly destroyed comes back with a vengeance - and a terrible secret. Suddenly, we're flying alongside our intrepid heroine as she crosses the globe in search of answers. Some of the reveals from this latter section of the book were genuinely shocking, but, in retrospect, had been well-established earlier in the book. As quickly as the plot wrapped up, it did so in a mostly satisfying way that felt truthful to the motivations and experiences of the characters.</p>
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<p>If I had one complaint, it's that the first third of the book feels woefully out of place with the latter thirds. Moreover, as much as this book is marketed in order to hide the reveals of the later chapters, I felt that what I expected was not the book I read. Some of the other reviews I've read voice similar concerns. Ultimately, however, poor marketing should not be the metric by which I judge the quality of a book; marketing aside, this was a thrilling and enjoyable read that kept my attention and engagement from the slow start to the exciting conclusion.</p>
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The novel centers around Sophia Hepworth, who has spent the last 18 months of her life traveling the world with her diplomat parents. While spending time abroad sounds luxurious, Sophia's life is far from it. Her parents have devoted their livelihoods to tracking down various terrorist groups, while on the run from one of the most powerful members. Sophia's parents declare that there are no more potential threats to the family and that they can settle down in the small American town of Waterbury, Montana. Although Sophia is skeptical of this sudden transition, she tries her best to conform to American standards. Only a few days into her move she crosses paths with the mysterious Aksel, a boy from her school that has withdrawn from his friends and keeps a low profile. However, it becomes apparent that their two lives intersect in more ways than one. 


I highly recommend Rosenhan's novel to fans of ONE OF US IS LYING by Karen McManus.  As the reader, you are constantly attempting to put the pieces to the puzzle together and understand the narrator's train of thought. This was such a page-turner; I could not put it down and loved every minute of it.

Very well written. This is a great story and hope that there may be more books coming because I see Sophie and Aksel becoming a super team.

I am totally enamored of Girl from Nowhere. I received a copy via the publisher, Bloomsbury YA and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I work a lot of hours each week. It used to take me a few hours or at most a day or two to read a book. Sometimes it takes me 2 weeks, if I am lucky and have not forgotten some of what I have read. Part of this occurred when I was working on my dissertation and I thought I will get to read more leisure reads now that this is done. But, no, work just replaced it. I have a pretty good reading month and I am happy to say that I honestly loved Girl from Nowhere. I am a big fan of YA Action books, especially those where the protagonist is someone the reader can like and admire.

Sophie and her family move to a new town in Montana which oddly enough is a place that my best friend has been harassing me to visit. I have no clue why and it is not really on my list but, it worked well in this book. Sophia has parents that have traveled the world as diplomats for the government since she was born and she is always with them. They have never really had a permanent homestead to stop at and take a break from. They move often. It turns out that something occurred during one of their trips which has traumatized Sophia. The author does a great job of having Sophia slowly tell her story as she meets new friends and makes a more permanent home for the first time. Her parents have gone out of their way to make a home for her by actually taking their things from storage and decorating their new house. Sophia is adjusting when what they appear to have been running from seems to have found them. Girl from Nowhere vividly introduces colorful characters, good and bad, and even makes the places Sophia and her parents travel into characters, i.e., Montana, Istanbul, etc. I do not know if there are any plans to continue Sophia’s story, but, I can see room for it and it also had a great ending if this is the last we see of Sophia. The review can also be seen at LadyTechie’s Book Musings https://ladytechiesbookmusings.blogspot.com

This was a great read that had me hooked from beginning to end. It was well written and well developed. The characters were enjoyable. Everything was well-paced. If you are a fan of one of us is lying and similar thriller novels, then you should pick this one up.

This book was fun to read. I enjoyed the "spy" storyline and the romance, while quick, added to the story for the most part. The plot was unique to this book and it had a few twists that were executed quite well. I did think that the romance moved along a bit too quickly for my liking and towards the middle of the book it was a bit slow. The beginning and end were very good though with the beginning being an intriguing set up and the end being really action-packed. Overall, a decent YA spy romance novel.

I received a temporary digital advanced copy of Girl from Nowhere by Tiffany Rosenhan from NetGalley, Bloomsbury YA, and the author in exchange for an honest review.

The Hepworth's are no normal family. While traveling the world with her parents--US diplomats--Sophia Hepworth learns fourteen languages, attends thirty-one schools, and visits ninety-four countries in her mere sixteen years. After a life-changing experience, the Hepworth's give up their uncommon whirlwind travels for retirement, or that is what they have told Sophia when they move her to Montana. Sophia has never had a "home" and begins to embrace her new home, friends, boyfriend and high school. However, the past catches up with the Hepworth's and they are thrust back into the life they swore they left behind. Sophia doesn't want to leave behind all she is come to love, but must in order to get answers to the questions she has desperately been needing. 

Girl from Nowhere is a thriller. It is almost impossible to put down. Please note that this story is extremely unrealistic, but once you can move on from that aspect, it is a great story. There are so many twists and turns to the story, what you think will happen, doesn't and what does is shocking. From the book's synopsis, and even from the one I wrote, the reader does not get a true understanding of the adventure and suspense; however, it is impossible to describe without fully giving away the plot. I highly recommend Girl from Nowhere to all readers.