Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Girl Who Wasn't There, by Penny Joelson.

Kasia has a chronic illness that has kept her home missing her prime teen years.  To pass the time she watches out the window, taking stock of the comings and goings of her neighbors.

But one day she notices a girl being forced into a car.  Shocked by what she saw, she looks across to the building next door to see another young girl witnessing what took place.  But when she goes over to question her, she is nowhere to be found.  Did Kasia make her up?  Did she even see what she saw?

This is weird commentary, but Joelson's book would be great for a conservative/Christian bookclub looking to discuss hard and modern issues.  The writing looks at these issues with a very protective and softened lens, with a good story told while doing it.  I would also recommend to the YA crowd as it advocates for, well, advocation.

Hot take: a premise full of potential but a story that reads more like the annotated outline for a book that was never finished. So many opportunities for fully fleshed out descriptions and chances to bring the reader into the action that ended up as single declarative “and then she/he/they...” style sentences. 

For me, it lacked the build up and in-the-character action that makes thrillers enjoyable.

This is my first Penny Joelson book and it will not be the last!  Originally, I was most intrigued by this book based on the cover... and while it definitely creeps me out and sparks my interest, the story itself holds up SO well!  I love when a cover and a book are both equally great in this way!  This mystery/thriller about a girl with a chronic illness was so well-thought out and executed, that I can't help but just want more!  I think this would make for a great limited series TV adaptation as well.  Definitely recommend this one!

3.5 stars

I feel like I chose this book under false pretenses. The cover looked spooky and the summary sounded like this was going to be a mystery/thriller. However, that is not the case. Yes there is a kidnapping that no one believes, but that is where the thrilling activity ends. I do have to say, I did enjoy this book even though it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. 

The writing style made me have serious empathy for Kasia's ME condition. I do not have ME, but I struggle to have energy. I completely understand where the character is coming from. 

This book is classified as a YA and that makes sense, but at the end, it takes a major left turn into a political piece. The transition made sense, but it was breezed through in a few pages. 

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for the digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

So, I picked this book up one because I really liked the cover and two because the synopsis really caught my attention. I mean really what would you do if you see something happening next door but don't really have the means to really help? That aspect really caught my attention. But I do kind of feel like this book is a bit misleading. 
This book follows Kasia who has a disability that leaves her in her room pretty much all day. It's not until she see's a kidnapping next door when she starts to motivate herself to gain some energy. She has to figure out what happened to that woman and why she never sees the other woman in the window come out of the house. So, I thought what happened was going to be the main focus of the book. But that's not the case. In fact the main focus is on Kasia's disability. That's fine but that wasn't really what I was expecting when going into this book. I kind of feel like her disability took over the whole plot rather than it being kind of a side story. Because her disability takes over the plot the story gets a little slow. And I mean pretty slow because something thrilling happens at the beginning of the book and something thrilling happens towards the ending of the book, but not a lot happens in the middle. Another thing that kind of bothered me with the book is that Kasia uses 911 when she lives over in the UK. I get making things understandable for USA readers but I kind of wish that the emergency contact for there stayed the same. I'm not sure if that was really an author thing or an editing thing. 
But there are somethings that I actually really enjoyed with this book! I honestly liked that Kasia has a disability. She has a disability that people often discredit and they think that person is just lazy and doesn't want to do anything. I also like that Kasia has a very supporting family that doesn't make her feel bad for what's going on with her. It's also really great that there are other characters who are very supportive of her and actually want to help her. You don't really see that a lot anymore. So, overall I am just happy that she has people surrounding her that actually want to see the best from her.

The premise was interesting but I just couldn't get into it cause the first two chapters were so repetitive and sounded like gossipy girls. Maybe it could better but I couldn't continue.

This was more for the YA crowd than adult fiction. That being said I still loved it. Intriguing premise, interesting characters and great writing. Some twists and turns I didn't see coming and a great ending! Can't wait to mention this in my FB group and can't wait to read more by this author! Thank you so much!

I really enjoyed reading this book! It's not the first that I've read that involves human trafficking, but it is the first that deals with Kasia's illness, which is pretty debilitating at times, and sounds so frustrating to have. But it was inspiring how much she could do from just her bed, her room, her house, her neighborhood block!

Kasia was on the younger side, and so it made sense that shew as a bit immature. But it just means that my reading tastes have moved on a little bit, at least from the younger protagonists of YA. But to be fair, she is in a really frustrating and difficult situation. She had so many ups and downs, and the downs after special moments or a bunch of hard work, yeah, it was hard!

I really enjoyed the little letters almost that were written by the "girl who wasn't there." Her story was more an undercurrent of what was going on in Kasia's life-at least until they meet, and it becomes more important.  It is from which that the title draws from, after all!

The way things ended was really great. It was realistic, I felt, that yeah, the girl they rescued can't stay with them, because of the possibility of the group finding her, and her going back because of the way they indoctrinate people like that. And the way that thing ended with the romance was really sweet! Overall a really enjoyable ending!

This was a really great book, and I can't wait to read more by Penny Joelson!

The Girl Who Wasn't There is the perfect introduction to thrillers. Has all the right elements and keeps you hooked and turning the pages. But if you are seasoned thriller aficionado you might find it a little predictable. But overall it's an enjoyable read.

Man do I love a good psychological thriller/mystery. Outside of my normal sci-fi/fantasy comfort-zone, but somehow still a part of it. I've never personally picked up a book like this one, but now I will be. The entire show is one big on-the-edge of a CLIFF (scratch "seat") adrenaline rush. I felt for the character, and the topics were tough,  but I connected the book so much, I will be buying copies for all of my friends for our latest book group meeting. Well done!

This was a quick read that took me 24 hours. I can’t really tell if it’s a YA novel or a thriller type novel. It’s fair to say that it’s probably a little bit of both. The chapters are short, and told from one perspective. It is a simple plot without too many twists and turns but still very enjoyable. 

Kasia has a medical condition that keeps her homebound. It appears that there is somebody in the window across the street, but it’s so fleeting she can’t tell if it really happened or not. Being homebound and not being able to attend school has Kasia frustrated and angry but determined to get better so she can attend the next year. She makes friends with the boy next door and tells him about the person in the window across the street. Together they find out what’s going on.

This is my first experience with this author - and considering the fact that I bought another one of her books before even finishing this one, I know it won't be my last! This YA thriller certainly hooks the reader in right away when he main character witnesses an abduction from her bedroom window. Kasia has become quite ill in the aftermath of tonsillitis - she hasn't been able to return to school and on many days, can't even leave her bed, let alone her bedroom.

Set in England, Kasia's family is from Poland - and I think that this diversity will resonate with readers. The storyline keeps the pages turning quickly and the added stress of Kasia's illness makes this fascinating for more than just the plot. The characters all seem very realistic. And though it is firmly in the YA genre, it deals with some adult (and dark!) topics while remaining appropriate for the genre. Some sections - like those about crushes and school - may not appeal as much to adult readers, but I think that this is a good crossover book. I certainly enjoyed it - and gifted it as well to a reluctant teen reader who is enjoying it so far! 

I also really appreciated the author's own note about her own experience with illness. This really adds to the book's realism. Plus the family dynamics all have an authentic flair to them. I really enjoyed this one and am definitely looking forward to reading more from Joelson in the future!

3 for neutral.  Unfortunately, this book was not for me.  I just couldn’t get into it, even though I tried many times.  I will update if able to finish at a later date, as I don’t think it was poorly written, just likely more for a much younger person.

I had guessed at the final resolution of this plot pretty early on, but I think this book is less about that reveal and more about the character development along the way. And that part is a bit lacking. It's very surface exploration.

Complete disclaimer here- I picked this book up because I thought it was an adult thriller (just with a young protagonist), but nothing about the actual book is an adult thriller. Keep in mind I read and adore YA so that is not a problem for me, this was just not what I was hyped for.

This story would be better classified as a YA coming of age/contemporary story than anything thrillery. The story predominantly focused on a teen girl and her battle with her chronic illness and her loneliness, her ups and downs within her own tiny bubble and how she developed a few good relationships and came to terms with her restrictions- she just so happens to see a girl get shoved in a car in the beginning of the book. BUT that was not the focus of the book at all, it was just a random tidbit in her life for the most part. The writing used was very simple and the voice of the book was also very young so this felt more like a middle grade- that just so happens to deal with human trafficking (but not in detail, just in theory/vaguely for the most part).

I was let down by the story, probably because it was not even a little like my expectations. The best part of the story was that it was very easy to read and I was able to read it in no time at all. If you are looking for a younger read with a very naïve and inexperienced teen battling a chronic illness and finding happiness anyway then this might be the book for you.

I received an advanced copy from the publisher via Netgalley for an honest review.

DID NOT FINISH, stopped at 55% and just could NOT.

This novel is advertised as an adult thriller and it is not adult at all and definitely not thriller, frankly this was slow and terribly boring. If we took all the parts that were 'thriller' up to the 55% into the novel we would have....like five pages. Rather, this novel seems to be about a teenage girl Kasia, who is supposed to be a junior in high school but talks/sounds/acts like she is in middle school. And she has chronic fatigue and that is the primary focus of the novel. Ironically, the novel even mentions that cognitive behavioral therapy helps when someone has chronic fatigue, because it's often caused by a mental health issue that needs to be worked out....so clearly the family just does a whole lot of nothing and let's Kasia sleep all day and not go to school.

This was utterly BORING and not at all what the synopsis read as. My bestie and I were doing a buddy read and I couldn't even keep going and threw in the towel. Spoiler alert! The ending wasn't that interesting, very predictable and of course...happily ever after (insert eye roll). Big FAIL in my book, this novel was just bad.

DNF at 50%

I'm giving my review here based on the first half of the book that led me to become disinterested in continuing it. Had I read less, I would have chosen not to give feedback for the book.

In the beginning, the book jumps straight into action. A girl witnesses an abduction from her bedroom window and thinks that someone else, across the road, might have witnessed the kidnapping. Fair enough. I know how editors in the thrillers genre insist on having the hook right at the first page-- the first line even, if the author can manage it. Well... mission accomplished. You got us hooked.

But you don't hook the reader on the first page only to stall them for almost half the book with nothing whatsoever remotely relevant to that abduction or the maybe-witness. I'd rather have a slow-burn thriller in which I become invested in the details rather than getting lost in the mundane that started with a great hook. And by the mundane I do not mean the protagonist's sickness (she suffered from chronic fatigue syndrome); I mean the small, insignificant details about suburban life. 

Another complaint was the characterization. Kasia was too immature for her age; she might be sheltered and protected because of her upbringing and sickness, but still, something about her made her seem a lot younger than fourteen. I have nothing to complain about from the writing in general, but I'm of the opinion that incorporating sickness in any plot requires a lot of finesse, not simply a repetition of the disease's symptoms.

Halfway through the book, I forgot what it was about in the first place. By the time the maybe-witness reappeared, I had become so confused that I did not know what I was reading anymore.

Thank you NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my eArc.

Let me start off by saying this book was not at all what I expected. Whether that’s good or bad, I really can’t say. Going into it I thought I was getting a thriller, but that’s not exactly what this book is. There is an element of mystery, but this is more about Kacia and her struggles with ME. It was definitely interesting to learn more about her illness, but I do wish there has been more mystery throughout the book.

Easily on of my favorite thrillers of 2020. The Girl Who Wasn't There left me on the edge of my seat from the very first page until the last. I can't wait to read more from Penny Joelson in the future

I love this book is very much part mystery part psychological thriller with great characters and a fast paced plot. I highly recommend this book to those who love the genre.