This book was such a great book. I book talk this title to all of my students. I love how April Henry takes her mysteries and thrillers from real life events and twists them into something that is really engaging and interesting to middle grade readers. This was a quick read which I really appreciated. It is a continuation of another one of her stories. I think this book should be added to everyone's list.

“Empty your mind, be formless. Shapeless, like water. If you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup. You put water into a bottle and it becomes the bottle.” -Bruce Lee
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After Savannah leaves her kung fu class, she is taken by a man in a white van. She’s had an argument with her mom’s boyfriend so people assume he had something to do with it. Her crush and fellow kung fu classmate believes something is definitely wrong and pushes others to look into her disappearance more closely. Meanwhile, Savannah is being held in an RV with another girl, Jenny, who had been taken ten months prior. Together they try to figure out the best way to escape.
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One of the things I like most about @aprilhenrybooks is her eye-catching book titles & covers, as well as how short her books are for my middle school students. I don’t know how many times this mystery novel has been checked out because of the title, cover and/or length. It’s right up reluctant readers’ alley and I thank her so much for writing novels like these!

CW: kidnapping, domestic violence, taser, dog attack, blood, disfigurement, violence, broken bones, threats of sexual violence, vomit

2.75 ⭐️ not much to it

Such a good teen thriller! This book was great to discuss with my students along the way. I would encourage any teen girl to read this, not only for entertainment, but also to learn some ways to protect themselves.

Great story and loved the slight romance. Really enjoyed the characters and how the plot moved and how the characters changed throughout the book. I would read this author again.

I enjoy reading YA fiction when it is well written. The beginning of this book had me a little worried I wasn’t going to enjoy it since it seemed juvenile. I continued reading and the book quickly picked up and I didn’t want to put it down, I’m glad I stuck with it! Savannah is kidnapped on her way home from Kung Fu and is introduced to another captive, Jenny, who has been locked in the RV for several months. They work together and using some wisdom of Bruce Lee they plan their escape. The POV shifts between several characters including: Savannah, Jenny, their mothers, the abductor, Savannah’s friend and his father who is a cop investigating the case. I did not want to put this book down. It was a super fast paced and quick read that doesn’t waste any time with fluff.

The Girl in the White Van is like an episode of Dateline crammed into a young adult novel. This thriller is a quick, but exciting read, which manages to showcase the terrifying events of a kidnapping without including glamourizing the gory details. This is a book that any true crime fan is going to want to read.

This was a great short and quick read. Lots of action that held your attention from the start.

Very well written book in enough detail to make you want to keep turning the pages. It was told from many points of view which helped with the storyline and bring it together.

Another great mystery by April Henry. Our kids have found this book and I can't keep it on the shelf.

Rating 3.5

"The Girl in the White Van" by April Henry is a young adult thriller that was similar to the author's other books. While I liked her other books this one just didn't do it for me. The main character Savannah was just an okay character nothing great to be said about her in my opinion. With the way she was written I didn't feel like she was as old as she was supposed to be due to the way she acted and thought. The character I did enjoy learning more about was Jenny. I love how vulnerable and strong she was no matter what she went through. Overall, this was an okay thriller due to it feeling too predictable at times.

Should you read "The Girl in the White Van"?
If you want a quick young adult thriller then yes. But be warned there will be slow moments and at times it will feel like the story follows the same formula as other ones.

**Received an advanced copy through NetGalley in return for my honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. **

Savannah lives with her mom in her boyfriend’s house. Savannah’s mom met Tim online and the two of them moved to Tim’s community and into his home less than a year ago. Savannah is tired of her mom meeting men online and uprooting their lives every time she thinks a guy will be great. Tim is physically rough with her mom but only verbally rude to Savannah. He makes fun of the fact that she attends Kung Fu classes and just wants Savannah and her mom to wait on him and do everything for him. Savannah is a loner at school and she’s decided that it’s not worth making friends if she’s going to be moving again anyway. She enjoys her Kung Fu classes and there’s a teenage boy that she gets along with really well, Daniel Diaz. After class one evening, the two stay after to mop the dojo floor and walk out together. Daniel offers to walk Savannah home but she tells him her mom is picking her up. This isn’t true because her mom works the swing shift and Savannah plans on walking home on her own. Before she knows what happened, she’s kidnapped and thrown into a van. No one realizes she’s missing for a day and then her mom talks to the Student Resource Officer, who happens to be Daniel’s father. Meanwhile, Savannah is put in an RV with Jenny, who was kidnapped by the same guy ten months earlier. Jenny tried to escape at the beginning but was mauled by the kidnapper’s guard dog. The two teens try to figure out a way to escape and do everything they can to help each other. Young adult horror full of Bruce Lee quotes and inspiration! 5 stars for a suspenseful thriller for young adults!

This is one of those books where reading before bed, then you struggle with sleep because you just keep wondering what is going to happen. Inevitably, you’re gonna get up at 2:00 a.m. and finish because you won't be able to stand waiting anymore.

This novel is told from several POV. It is disturbing, so disturbing. But it is just so good the reader is rewarded by the conclusion.

April Henry has done it again! This book pulls you in, raises your heart rate, finds you determined for Savannah and Jenny, and takes you into captivity but also sweet freedom. Together-Savannah and Jenny are kick butt strong young ladies. Defeat is not in their vocabulary! Highly recommend!!

This story of two girls escaping captivity in an RV is tense and scary without veering too far into mature content for a middle school audience.

<b>Recommended grade level:</b> 7 and up

<b>Genre(s) and keywords:</b> thriller, mystery

<b>Topics:</b> kidnapping, martial arts, escape

<b>Themes:</b> courage, determination, hope

<b>Who will like this book?:</b> Thrillers are an easy sell. Give this quick, exciting book to adrenaline-seekers. The girls are realistically frightened and overpowered at times, but also use cleverness, courage, and athleticism to take back agency.

<b>Who won’t like this book?:</b> It's straight-up adrenaline-fueled genre fiction, with a little character building thrown in. There isn't a ton of depth to the plot, and the writing is straightforward, all of which serves to keep the action moving.

<b>Other comments:</b> Kidnapping is an interesting subject to many middle schoolers, but you have to be careful because it often comes along with other abuses, some of them much more potentially disturbing to read about. In this case, the kidnapper's motive is to <spoiler>have a perfect woman to "own," intended to be docile and completely under his control. It's never mentioned that this would certainly include sexual abuse. </spoiler> I think a lot of middle schoolers' minds wouldn't even go there--and if they did, there are still no descriptions of it in this book. So you could probably get away with recommending this to most younger teens who aren't too sensitive.

<b>Readalikes:</b>

Any other April Henry books. Some are a little more mature than others, so check reviews if that's a concern. I've read <i>The Girl I Used to Be</i>, which I will recommend to most middle schoolers, and <i>Girl, Stolen </i>, which I tend to recommend to a little more mature middle schoolers because it has sexual violence.

<b><i>Stolen Children</i> by Peg Kehret</b>: A kidnapping story from a master of the youth thriller.

<b><i>Zero Day</i> by Jan Gangsei</b>: The president's daughter is returned home after being kidnapped and missing for years, but the thrills aren't over yet.

<b><i>Notes from my Captivity</i> by Kathy Parks</b>: Another kidnapping, more interpersonal drama, Recommended for grades 8 and up.

<b><i>The Face on the Milk Carton</i> by Caroline B. Cooney</b>: A classic. The kidnapping is subtler in this one.

I like recommending April Henry's books to reluctant readers, as they are not too long, plot-driven, and tackle high-interest topics that feel as if they were ripped from the headlines. Her latest, The Girl in the White Van, didn't disappoint. It's a fast-paced, nail-biting thriller with a strong, butt-kicking female character at the center. Once I started reading, I couldn’t put it down.

Loner Samantha keeps to herself--she knows better than to make friends and risk getting attached to them, since her mom’s always moving them to new places. Now in her sophomore year of high school, they’ve landed in Portland, OR, and Samantha’s focusing on learning kung fu and trying to avoid her mom’s latest loser boyfriend. Leaving kung fu class one evening, she’s attacked by an unknown man and thrown into the back of his van. Injured and terrified, Samantha doesn’t know where she’s being taken, only that she has to escape by any means necessary. Does she have the strength and determination to survive the harrowing series of events ahead? And can her hero Bruce Lee’s advice help save her?

April Henry is always good for a fast, relatable thriller.

Over the span of one year, two girls living in neighboring communities go missing. Police, family, and friends gather to put together the pieces that ultimately lead them to the kidnapper. What they don't know is that the two girls, kidnapped by the same man, are working together to hone their self-defense skills to try to escape their kidnapper and his vicious dog.

All ends are neatly wrapped up in a story that, while brief, will leave you satisfied and feeling closure.

Quick, easy to read story about a girl that is snatched after her Kung fu class. The man that took her had taken another girl. The 2 girls were held captive in an old RV that was in a junk yard. The 2 girls, despite being injured, refused to let Sir win. The fought back and was able to escape.

My students love April Henry and now I see why. This book was a perfect mix of suspense without the gore. A little romance nothing over the top! I like how the protagonist was strong! I am not a fan if this genre but I would read more books from her!

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC of The Girl in the White Van by April Henry.

Savannah is a high schooler that has been abducted by a man in town who has locked her and another girl in a travel trailer. He has given them a very strict set of rules that come with punishments if not followed. But Savannah has a trick up her sleeve. She has been studying Kung-Fu and all things Bruce Lee. Hopefully her skills, as well as her fellow victim can find a way out.

Ok, this was downright silly. It kind of reminded me of a seven year old saying "if the bad guys got me, I would just karate chop them!" I guess is was an abduction-lite? Like a mystery, but without quiiiite the real life horror that comes with those kinds of crimes. I guess for a YA book, I get it.

Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for an advanced reader copy of The Girl in the White Van in return for an honest review.

April Henry continues to lure in middle grade and young adult readers with her suspenseful stories. The Girl in the White Van did not disappoint!

The Girl in the White Van by April Henry is a young adult thriller! Once again April Henry’s book highlights a strong female protagonist. I love how April Henry’s characters are kick butts and take names. I think her books help other young females feel empowered.

Savannah is a young girl determined to be resilient, to find her way and to make a life for herself. The problems seem overwhelming as she has moved again, her mother’s newest boyfriend is a jerk and she is afraid to make friends again. Savannah loves her kung fu class and is kidnapped leaving class. Now she is trapped and doesn’t know where she is. Her mother is frantic and a boy in her class helps look for her, but she doesn’t know that. She only knows she has to leave and take Jenny with her!

The Girl in the White Van by April Henry is a good read!

Book Review: The Girl in the White Van by April Henry

This book had me on the edge of my seat! Teenager, Savannah Taylor is abducted from the parking lot of her Kung Fu school by a man in a white van. But she is not alone. She is placed with Jenny Dowd, another teen who was kidnapped months earlier. Together, and guided by the wisdom of Bruce Lee, the girls must overcome their fears and injuries to try to escape. Will their plans work? April Henry unfolded this story of suspense by alternating narratives among all the character involved but centering on Savannah’s perspective. On the surface, this was a terrific Teen/YA novel of mystery and suspense, but on a deeper level it provided an all important message, primarily for young girls and all women but also for the people trying to help them: fight, fight, fight and never give up. Such a great message delivered in a page-turning story. I found it especially refreshing that April Henry was able write such an intriguing story without the questionable detail and language that might preclude some audiences. I would recommend this book to anyone - middle school to adult.