I expected a story about a kidnap. A thriller/mystery, a countdown to finding a kidnapped girl.

The kidnapping of 16 year old Yin is the backdrop to this story, but it is not the story. Instead we read the alternating chapters of two girls, Chloe and Natalia in the days after Yin goes missing.

Chloe, scholarship student, with divorced parents, a Singaporean mother and an Anglo Australian Dad. Doesn’t fit in, not sure she wants to continue at the prestigious Balmoral School.

Natalia, well to-do family, she absolutely fits in, she is the centre of her friendship group.

I think we can all be guilty of making judgments on people based on superficial things, not actually knowing anything more than what we see on the outside, and that’s what this book is about more than anything.

Natalia used to be best friends with the Yin but they have drifted apart in high school., so although they are not close now, Natalie is deeply affected by Yin's disappearance.

At it's heart, this story is about identity, figuring out the person you are and want to be, and being ok with whatever/whoever that is.

The important thing about the setting of The Gaps by Leanne Hall is that it could be set in
almost any urban area in almost any predominantly English-speaking country. The main characters could be our neighbors or even our own daughters. Most of the book takes place in and around Balmoral Ladies College.

The story is told from the point of view of Natalia and Chloe. Natalia is the leader of the mean girls at the school. Chloe is a transfer student who is struggling to find friends.

Their classmate, Yin Mitchell, has disappeared. It is very possible that she has been abducted. Natalia and Yin used to be friends. They went their separate ways after beginning high school. Natalia wanted to be popular and Yin wanted to be in the orchestra.

Chloe and Natalia begin to form a friendship when Natalia offers to help Chloe with her art project. The project is loosely based on the disappearance. When the project is going to be censored, Natalia takes it upon herself to protest.

She’s going through a bit of an emotional upheaval. The disappearance of Yin has made her think about their friendship. The things that Natalia thought were important – popularity, image, etc. – don’t matter as much as she thought. So where is her place in the world now?

Chloe doesn’t fit in with most cliques. She’s Asian but not an international student. She was born and raised in the same country as the Caucasian students but doesn’t fit in with them either. One of the students tells her, “You’re not a real Asian, you know what I mean? You’re from here.” Where is Chloe’s place in the world?

If you like YA fiction that confidently tackles some pretty big social issues, then The Gaps could be next on your TBR list.

Unless they are ready to change their viewpoint, then racists won’t like this book. Sorry racists that you are missing out on a great book, but you cannot hold onto this book and your racism.

I received this ebook from NetGalley. All opinions are my own. Obviously.
Amazon Affiliate link included in this post.

The Gaps explores how the Year 10 class at Balmoral College reacts to the disappearance of one of their own, Yin. The Gaps has two narrators: Chloe a transfer and scholarship student at Balmoral, and Natalia who's known Yin for most of her life.

I read The Gaps as a story of friendship and community in a difficult time, and found the characters understandable and relatable.

The Gaps is not the mystery it may seem at first glance, but it was still one of my favorite reads of this year.

**Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review**
“The Gaps” by Leanne Hall gives us the story of two young Australian girls, Natalie and Chloe, and the effects on them and their year level after a classmate goes missing.
I was very excited to start this book, as I used to live in Australia, and it brought back many memories! I also love stories about the people around a crime, and I'm so happy I've gotten to read many of those lately.
The voices of the main characters are so distinct, even though they were written by the same author, and I appreciated the casual LGBTQ+ representation sprinkled through the story.
Chloe's chapters in particular have a focus on photography that I found quite interesting and led to many important conversations and reflections by the characters, one that really struck me was when she was looking through photography books in the library and came to these thoughts: “If women hold up half the sky, then why are we so disposable?”
My only criticism is that the characters felt a couple of years younger than they were, and despite that the story, which is very clearly YA, felt like it was written as an adult book.
My final rating is of 4/5 stars.

This #LoveOzYA novel focuses on the aftermath of a teen girl's abduction, especially the impact of this on her school community seen through the perspectives of Chloe, a transfer student, and Natalia, Yin's best friend from junior school. I really appreciated the discussion points brought up by the author regarding violence towards women and the extremely personal ways this can effect other teenage girls. Both narrators contemplate the possibility of being abducted themselves and have very different responses to their trauma which I feel lets young people know that there sometimes isn't a right way to process your feelings. I also appreciated how supportive Chloe and Natalia's parents were (which isn't common in YA) without being perfect in their own responses. Definitely a timely novel and one that would be a great recommendation for both teen and adult readers.

Thank you to the publiser and to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review! Overall, I did really enjoy this book. I thought it was incredibly well-written and that the plot was compelling.

Reading the blurb when requesting this book and reading the book are two entirely different experiences. There was so much more to this book than meets the eye. At its surface, it is definitely a bit of a who-dun-it, but that's not all there is to "The Gaps" - at its core, it's a story about resilience, fear (and facing it head-on), and friendship in the most unexpected of places and people.

I would highly recommend this book to anyone - but especially to young women - who are looking for stories that will stay with you even after you turn the last page.

An extremely interesting read, the book is about the disappearance of a young girl, Yin and how all the students at Balmoral Ladies College try to deal with it.

The story is told from a dual point of view, one being from Chloe, who's a scholarship student and the second being from Natalie, the resident popular girl. The book also talks about guilt and how it can truly affect someone. We also see how the whole school is impacted by the disappearance and that was unique and unlike any similar themed novel I've read before. It was an incredibly fascinating book with a lot of themes interwoven into it and as of now, it is definitely one of my top reads for this year and a definite recommend.

“I see every fallen body on the cover of a crime novel, and I can’t help thinking that everyone wants their teenage girls ruined.”

(First off, I totally didn’t just read this entire novel in a single night.)

I’ll be thinking about this book for a while. Honestly, its beauty kind of snuck up on me, but then it quietly gripped me and refused to let go. At first, I expected it to be like a regular YA murder mystery, but I was wrong—in the best way possible.

Although The Gaps begins with the abduction of sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell, her disappearance acts more as a frame for the other girls’ stories, namely that of Natalia and Chloe, her classmates at Balmoral Ladies College. Chloe and Natalia are very different—in terms of class, personality, personal style, and more—and these differences shine through in the narration styles of their chapters. Chloe provides a more measured, contemplative perspective while Natalia is bolder and more impulsive. At first, the two girls operate in different social circles, but through their emotional vulnerability, they become friends. I loved Natalia’s sense of humor, and she’s the sort of character who would intimidate but inspire me in real life.

The Gaps also discusses a lot of important social issues. For example, in one scene, Chloe reflects on the over-sexualization of victims and how the media often pays more attention to certain missing and not-missing women (usually those who are rich and white, both of which Chloe is not). Natalia also subverts standards; she’s not afraid to be herself at Balmoral, even if her loudness or her style of dressing makes some of her more religious classmates uncomfortable. Additionally, Chloe, Yin, and some of the other side characters deal with racism due to their Asian heritage, which forced me as the reader to think longer about how Yin’s disappearance would affect the characters differently due to their backgrounds and others’ perceptions of them.

Occasionally, I thought some sentences were a bit awkwardly worded, but there was also plenty of lyricism in the simple language to balance that out. I also think some of the side characters could’ve been fleshed out more since there were a lot of names thrown at the reader throughout the book, but in a way, it was also realistic because people do have many friends and acquaintances, especially in school settings, and it helped expand the impact of Yin’s disappearance.

I would definitely recommend this book to others, though maybe to readers looking more for an exploration of grief and friendship than a mystery.

The Gaps by Leanne Hall
I would like to thank Leanne Hall and NetGalley for providing an advanced reader copy in exchange of an honest review. The Gaps is a mystery, contemporary with a little bit of thriller. We follow Natalia and Chloe’s point of view of the tragic abduction of Yin, their classmate and Natalia’s ex best friend. However, Yins abduction isn’t the first abduction of a student that attends the prestigious Balmoral high school, earning the school the nickname kidnapping high school. Chloe, a scholarship student at Balmoral high school usually doesn’t get involved in Balmoral drama but when she forms a very unusual friendship with Natalia. Natalie and Chole fight to make art that shows the reality woman face every day. The Gaps was an interesting read, I enjoyed the mystery and the unusual ending that I have not see in mysteries before. The Gaps was also very realistic, the two different points of view were very crucial to the story but also fun at times and they really lightened up the story. With Natalia coming from a very wealthy family and Chole coming from a family that is struggling and only going to Balmoral on a scholarship, we see two opposite’s points of view on Balmoral and Yins abduction. The Gaps at some points was confusing, I found myself having to reread chapters and still then being deeply confused. The Gaps also felt like a very heavy read, as I found myself stopping at parts to just process everything which is very expected with books that handle such heavy and delicate topics. Even though the book was heavy, I found it enjoyable for most of the story, I think that with a little bit more character building this book would be better and the mystery ran stale at some parts while at others I couldn’t turn the pages fast enough. The book was otherwise interesting and good. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys true crime.

Yin Mitchell is abducted, the second girl that has been taken from Balmoral Ladies College. Each day that goes by, the girls know the chances of seeing Yin alive again are getting slimmer. The school turns upside down as all of the students try to cope with Yin’s disappearance and possible death.

We follow Chloe, a scholarship student, and Natalia, the resident popular girl as they navigate through this difficult time. We see and understand how Yin’s disappearance affects them and the people around them. Overall, this is an extremely powerful novel about guilt and regret and how it affects people. I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected to. It took a while for me to get into, but once I did, it was well written and interesting. We focused a lot on Yin’s disappearance and how it affected the girls and the school setting as a whole, which I wasn’t expecting but really enjoyed. Also, this cover is beautiful!

Warnings: Sex references, men being perverts, kidnappings

‘Where do they go, those girls that accidentally fall through a gap in the universe? What’s on the other side?

When news breaks of sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell’s abduction, several of the Year 10 girls at Balmoral Ladies College have their own theories about who and why. Meet Chloe and Natalia, two quite different girls reflecting different aspects of the school community. Chloe is new to the school, a scholarship student, torn between the opportunities Balmoral offers and her friends at her previous school, Morrison High. Natalia belongs in the private school community: she is wealthy and seemingly self-assured.

Previously a girl from the school community had been abducted, but she had been returned within twenty-four hours. As time passes, everyone fears that Yin will not be seen alive. And the theories about who has taken Yin and why become more prevalent. Conspiracy theories develop, and various males are suspected.
In the meantime, and amid the tension, Year 10 life continues. School work needs to be done; Chloe works hard but needs inspiration for her art project. Chloe’s art project, and Natalia’s involvement, is a story of its own.

Ms Hall takes the reader into a world of emotion and uncertainty, where alliances and friendships can be brittle. Her main characters are well developed, their concerns understandable, their fears palpable. And while Yin’s abduction is at the heart of the story, it is the impact of the abduction on the others that carries the story forward. There are plenty of issues to consider: how would a school community handle such an event; what precautions should parents and students realistically take and how can any pretence of normality be maintained?

Ms Hall has written a thought-provoking novel which, I think, will appeal to more than its intended YA audience.
Highly recommended.

Note: My thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing for providing me with a free electronic copy of this book for review purposes.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

*Note*: This review will appear on The Nerd Daily!

Want a raw and gripping, yet thought provoking contemporary read? Look no further, The Gaps by Leanne Hall is here for you! A new young adult, #LoveOzYA title, and still leaving me with the chills - this is not one to forget anytime soon.

Starting with the abduction of Yin Mitchell, a girl who studied at a ritzy private school, we see multiple points of views from girls who also studied at the same school. Once the news breaks of the abduction, conspiracy theories and suspicion of several males connected with the school arise.

Chloe and Natalia’s voices were distinct, but both were raw with emotions. Fear and worry were both a common theme when reading both perspectives. Not only were the two voices different, there were differences in personalities and social status - one meaning to be rich and somewhat well known in the school, and the other less well-off and new to the school. I loved this contrast, as it reflects real life, where there are different ‘classes’ of people in schools. It was also refreshing to read that one of the two had to catch multiple modes of transport to get to and from school, instead of being so close like many books depict!

The gritty nature of the story was confronting, but also an important one to touch on, given that this could happen to anyone. The advice given by the school in the book sounds like the standard response derived from tabloids and magazines, which was alarming, but also highlights the need for real life schools to be able to provide helpful and less suggestive information to deal with situations like this.

The wary nature of the characters showed that the girls from the school were tense and on high alert, showing that they cared about Yin, and I believe they were equal parts wishing she was still there and being relieved that it wasn’t them. I loved how Leanne combined this worry with the conspiracies and old news reports within the book, as it really got me hooked. The other emotions were written masterfully, especially sadness and caution - and I really found it thought-provoking and really made this book stand out for me.

Whilst this book had a beautifully simple plot, it was written so well. I was absorbed from page 1, and I don’t regret a single page of this read. I found that the book was medium paced, which honestly really suited the flow of the book. Whilst the plot surrounds Yin and her abduction, I felt that this book was more about what it means to live on the sidelines of such an event, and ultimately what being a girl meant in the situation. I also found it heartbreaking that some of the investigating came from side characters and not the police, which shows that sometimes young minds show more hope than those who are older and more experienced. The general atmosphere was excellently drawn to be dark and stormy (in my mind anyways), and really complemented the tale that was going to be told.

Overall, if you’re looking for a hauntingly tense mystery with cross-references into real life, this is the book for you! It’s a gritty, chilling, and utterly devastating read, that shall now always live on in my head - because the abduction could happen to anyone. The psychological and emotional undertones in this book were masterfully woven into the story, and I look forward to more Leanne Hall books in the future!

Thanks to the publisher for an e-copy of this book!

Rating: 4.5/5

This story is about the way people react when they are not directly linked with a missing girl. It was a fast read and sad about how girls can get together and overcome their differences while facing trauma and how to support each other meanwhile. Overall fast read and emotional

Everyone is affected by Yin’s disappearance—even scholarship student Chloe, who usually stays out of Balmoral dramas, is drawn into the maelstrom. And when she begins to form an uneasy alliance with Natalia, the queen of Year Ten, things get even more complicated.

Told from two sides this was a very good read. Two young ladies come together to try and find out what happened to Yin.
I was hooked to finished this book. I had to find out what happened. So that made me invested. I liked the characters and their story. This was surprisingly a quick read. And one I enjoyed.

Leanne Hall is an award winning young adult and children’s writer. Thanks to NetGalley and her publisher for allowing me to read an ARC of The Gaps, her latest offering to be published this March.

The community of an elite school is shocked by the abduction of a Year 10 student. In the days that follow, we see the story from two perspectives. Chloe is the scholarship student from a different area of town who is just trying to fit in. Natalia is the Queen Bee. They seem like polar opposites, but through this traumatic experience they come to have more in common than expected.

I really struggled to get into this novel with the first couple of weeks post abduction really dragged for me. I got to a point where I had to put the book down and read something else. When I returned, however, the plot picked up significantly and I finally found myself emotionally invested in the outcome.

This book is not your standard mystery. To be frank, it’s not really about what did or didn’t happen to Yin, the abducted girl, or who did it. It’s about the girls left behind. It’s about adolescence which is a tricky enough transition as it is, suddenly further disrupted by trauma. It’s a story about finding your cause and finding your voice.

Actual rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars


The Gaps starts with the abduction of Yin, a student from Balmoral Ladies College. At first, I thought the book is going to be all about Yin’s abduction and how the case will be solved or IF the case will be solved. I’m telling you now that this mystery-ish book is not the kind that totally solves the mystery. I thought I’ll be left disappointed because I was really interested with the case and I was looking forward to be focusing on that. I didn’t get disappointed though! I LOVED the topic of the book and how it was told all throughout the book.

“If women hold up half the sky, then why are we so disposable?”

A lot of the reviews I read mentioned this line and I now know why they used this specific line to discuss the whole book. The book didn’t focus on solving Yin’s abduction but rather focused on the effects of it to the people around her. It showed how messed up the world is in the way it treated issues involving women and just how it treats women in all situation. Books that involve these kinds of issues in their plot can sometimes end up showing a different thing from what they intended to, but The Gaps did it so well.

I also liked how the book introduced us to teenage women with different personalities and how their differences connected and united to form unexpected friendships. The arts aspect really caught my interests as well! I couldn’t put the book down at all, I read it within a day.

This is a contemporary YA novel with psychological thriller elements, set in Melbourne, and reminded me how wonderful it was to read something that directly reminded me of my teen years and the world I’ve grown up and live in. The writing was so immersive and compelling in evoking the realism of a tense and frightening situation for the young women involved.

My thoughts:

The psychological thriller elements

The action kicks off right away in The Gaps — we learn on the first page that a high school student has been abducted, and the narrative follows the investigation and the impact this has on her classmates and the wider community.

What’s fascinating is how, as the story progresses, the question becomes less about who did it and what’s going to happen to Yin and more about how the girls and their wider networks respond to it — will they find Yin alive? Can any of them feel safe? How can they keep going with this hanging over their heads, not knowing? How can it be acceptable that this happens to people? These progressive shifts over the book were done so well — I really found myself in the same place as the characters in each step of their thinking. This premise was also a sobering reminder of how women, and especially women of colour, are treated by society.

If women hold up half the sky, then why are we so disposable?

Female friendships: changes and unexpected connections

The book is narrated from two points of view. Chloe is an observant outsider, who’s aware that the impact of Yin’s abduction on her classmates extends beyond how she personally feels, yet is nevertheless shaken by the events. Natalia is revealed to have been best friends with Yin when they were younger, and there are explorations of the regrets and longings which come up in the circumstances, and how she feels she should have acted differently.

I appreciated the depth and realism of how the book portrayed the ways people change over time, and how we all have regrets about the way certain friendships play out, as well as showing how people can form unexpected connections and learn from each other. The other classmates were also unique in their personality and responses, and I really admired the strength of the book’s characterisations.

Privilege: class, race and intersections

Chloe is biracial (Chinese-Singaporean and Anglo), describes herself as taking after her Asian mother in appearance, and is on a scholarship at a new private school, Balmoral. There are sharp observations on racism, and class privilege and inequality, woven throughout. In an early scene, Chloe hears certain white classmates comment on how there are “too many Asians”:

“We don’t mean you, Chloe,” says Ally in her baby-soft voice. […] “You’re not a real Asian, you know what I mean? You’re from here.”
Her eyes shoot over to the international students, as if I won’t get it. In her eyes I’m slightly more acceptable because I was born here and I don’t have an accent.

This kind of scenario was achingly familiar to me, from the way my classmates would talk about academically-focused selective school Asians (which was the kind of school community I went to primary school in) and international students (with whom I made closer friendships with than most domestic students, because of speaking Mandarin proficiently and not having been born in Australia myself). I really appreciated this portrayal of the specific kind of oblivious xenophobia that reinforces white supremacy in deeming who is ‘acceptable’ and isn’t (I mean, we all know from COVID how conditional this kind of ‘acceptance’ by white people is, isn’t it? *Weak laughter*). Although Chloe otherwise keeps under the radar, the fact she sees past this and calls this out very early on in the book was refreshing and really made me cheer for her.

Chloe maintains contact with her friends from her old school, yet is uneasy around them and hides aspects of her new, completely different world. She reflects on how her new environment has given her opportunities she doesn’t feel she can step back from, and also notes the sense of entitlement in those around her. All of this commentary on class, and inequality in education, was so thoughtful and necessary, and woven into the plot.
Visual art, photography, and its social implications

One storyline that took me a little by surprise was how the book explored the social implications of photography and art. Chloe’s visual art project is what pulls her and Natalia together, but this takes a deeper turn as she becomes invested in it and in expressing her views and feelings in light of Yin’s abduction.

Chloe has a sinking moment of noticing how people of colour are erased in the work of a photographer she admires, then meets another artist who inspires her. When she pours everything into her own project, she has to deal with others challenging and wanting to silence her, and debating how she will respond to it. I really appreciated the nuance in the resolution of this storyline.

“I remind myself that being a young woman who wants to take pictures of other young women and queer folk and people of colour is enough. Putting my own representation, my own images forward, that’s powerful in itself.”
— an artist, speaking to Chloe

Overall: I finished this book in one day, and would highly recommend it if you’re in the mood for something tense and in a realistic setting, with thoughtful commentary and observations about relationships between young women

-`ˏ 4 Stars ˎ´˗

Storyline : -`ˏ 8/10 ˎ´˗
When 16-year-old Yin Mitchell is abducted, it doesn’t just affect family members and close friends. It affects the mindset of everyone in the community. Fear is at an ultimate high, fingers are being pointed, everyone has questions but no one knows the answers. The Gaps is very insightful in showing you how people react differently when faced with a traumatic event.
Characters : -`ˏ 8/10 ˎ´˗
We follow the perspectives of Chloe and Natalia, classmates of the missing girl. Two completely different voices. Listing their differences would take a while. For everyone to get a better understanding of the characters I googled “ How each zodiac sign deals with sadness?”. I came up with the conclusion that Chloe is a Pisces while Natalia is a Leo. Remember that when you think of friendship compatibility.
Atmosphere : -`ˏ 9/10 ˎ´˗
The mystery in the story is a subplot. We’re more focused on the process of handling emotional vulnerability. Finding different outlets whether it be a hobby or a newfound friendship to help deal with sorrow. We’re also dealing with social issues involving the victim’s ethnicity, sexism, and class.
Language : -`ˏ 7/10 ˎ´˗
The plot is simple with that being said because it is told from the point of view of people who aren't directly connected to the victim is refreshing. The reactions, emotions, and the characters feel real. It's written in a way that makes you wonder would you react the same way if you were in their shoes.
Enjoyment : -`ˏ 8/10 ˎ´˗
This is a very thought-provoking read. Recommend taking the time to sit down and fully merge yourself in the emotional aspect of the story.

e-Arc provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

“If women hold up half the sky, then why are we so disposable?”
‘The Gaps’ by Leanne Hall is one of those stories that stays with you because it begins with a tragedy- an abduction of a sixteen year old girl from her home but follows the stories of the girls left behind.
Yin is a popular, talented student at Balmoral ladies college and once news and conspiracy theories spread about her disappearance the girls in her class all process their fears individually. Some take up the investigation themselves, some make lists of what to do if attacked, but Natalia and Chloe form a strange alliance to face their fears head on. Where Natalia is bold and brash, Chloe is shy and introverted but when Chloe begins an art project which places a young girl at its centre it allows them both to externalise and focus their emotions.
Hall creates a haunting narrative that questions the vulnerabilities and value placed upon young women. This brilliant story is chilling at times but also poignant and thought-provoking in so many ways; an amazing read.

"The Gaps" by Leanne Hall was moving and real in some of the worst--but really, best--ways. It forced the reader to think about what we so often try to ignore in the world, and then confronted us about why we felt like that. The characters all had their own depth, and it made a world in which I could imagine myself living in, and being heartbroken in as well.