Charlie is a high school girl, working hard at a sandwich shop to pay for college. One night her boss is murdered and she hides under a table while it’s going down but she doesn’t see the killer’s face. As the police try to solve the case, secrets are uncovered about her boss and the shady businesses he ran. ⭐️⭐️⭐️

American Girl is a murder mystery centered around seventeen-year-old Charlie.. a sweet, smart and inquisitive young woman whom also happens to be autistic! The storyline is intriguing with a lot to unpack with secrets, blackmail, lies, red herrings and Charlie’s friends all being suspects (whom she’s very protective of) in the murder of her boss. I never fully knew which way the story was headed, who to trust or who had bad intentions, with one twist in particular being quite a shocker! I really enjoyed the suspense and loved Charlie’s character. That even though some were trying to take advantage/mislead Charlie, she uses her inner voice.. lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions.. for encouragement to stay on track. She is very perceptive in using tools in order to process life with a “see saw brain (as she calls it).” Another winner from Wendy Walker! 4 stars — Pub. 10/17/23

I received a NetGalley digital copy for review from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

I've recently discovered Wendy Walker and was delighted to see her new one show up in Netgalley. This one told from the perspective of a young autistic child

I have loved every Walker book. This one ventures off her regular course for me. I could never really stay the course for this one. I did not find the characters engaging and found the pace lagging.

American Girl is a whodunnit where every character has a motive. (Love this type of story!) The story is set in a small town sandwich shop and told by Charlie, an autistic teenager with loyalty to spare. We know from the beginning that she’s a witness to something involving her boss, and that she’s protecting the people she loves, we just don’t know who/why.
•
I thought the first half was a little slow, but at the halfway mark things picked up and I flew through the rest! There was one twist that surprised me and one that didn’t. I thought some of the ending was a stretch, but I did like the who/why once it was revealed!
•
A solid thriller by an author I really enjoy! Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the e-copy!

Wendy Walker is a literary genius as far as I am concerned. I feel as though I connected more with this book due to the fact that I have a 19 year old autistic son, but regardless this book was fantastic. I have read several books by Wendy and I feel like this is right up there with Emma In The Night. Everything about this book was amazing and I look forward to reading more of Wendy Walker in the future.

A page-turning novel about a small town business owner found dead and the teenage girl caught in the crosshairs.
Autistic 17 yr old Charlie Hudson is determined to leave Sawyer, PA as soon as she graduates from high school. Working as many hours as possible at the Triple S sandwich shop each member of the staff becomes a suspect when the owner is found dead. Charlie must protect herself and her friends by attempting to uncover the danger lurking in their small community.
Charlie is the perfect teenage heroine. She's smart, brave and quirky. I loved being in the mind of an autistic teen. She's fascinating!

Thank you to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishing house, and the author, for the complimentary copy of this book in return for a review, based upon my honest opinion.

This book was a pretty good one. I liked the main character, Charlie and premise of the book was interesting and had lots of twists and turns.

Charlie is 17, has autism and dreams of leaving her small town and getting to MIT. Charlie has a job at a sandwich shop, which allows her to save money ad the routine work comforts her. Charlie’s boss at the sandwich shop is found dead. She is seen on the the security cameras at the scene. Charlie is a good and loyal friend and she refuses to say anything about what she may or may not have seen or heard. Who was the killer and is Charlie at risk, or is she the suspect?

Very enjoyable read. I like the way this author writes and cannot wait for her next book.

I did not enjoy it as much as I thought i would! It was enjoyable but nothing really surrprised me! I wish it was a little shorter

I'm so glad I finally read this book. My heart went out to Charlie who was dealing with so much in her life and the lengths she went to, to protect those she loved. This was an easy read and one that kept me entertained throughout. Highly recommended for fellow thriller lovers!

I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the twists and turns and I really loved Charlie Hudson. I didn't want my time with her to end. I really couldn't put the book down I was captivated by the plot and wanting to know how it would all end.

American Girl is the eighth novel by American author, Wendy Walker. Not until she was eleven did Charlie Hudson find out she was autistic. Six years on, she’s in her final year of high school, has a place at MIT studying data analytics, is aiming to win the town scholarship, and working at Sawyer’s Triple S sandwich bar to save up her college fees.

She employs a number of strategies to cope with the aspects of her autism that unnerve those around her, including her extensive list of life rules that help her understand human behaviour. And she’s going to need them all: her boss, Clay Cooper, the town’s wealthiest, most influential and also nastiest businessman, has been murdered, and the police believe that Charlie knows who did it.

But Charlie’s not talking. The people she considers her real family, much moreso than her step-father, step-brothers, and often her mother, are those whom she works with at the Triple S: her manager Nora, her best friend, Keller, and hard-working Janice. And it turns out each of them, as well as Keller’s older boyfriend, Levi, has a motive for killing Coop so, no, she has no intention of betraying her friends: Charlie’s not saying a word.

But then an FBI agent turns up, telling Charlie that there might be a dangerous thug on her trail, believing she knows the whereabouts of some laundered cash and a certain cell phone. Much as she’d rather not expose herself to the stirring feelings that his proximity raises, she has to ask her ex-boyfriend, Ian Maguire, now a rookie cop, for help.

Walker gives the reader a cleverly plotted tale, with several excellent twists and turns that keep the reader guessing right up to the final reveals. Charlie is a gutsy, resourceful protagonist in whom the reader will easily invest and enthusiastically cheer on. She is observant of details and her rules for life show insight beyond her years. Utterly gripping crime fiction.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Blackstone

All her life, Charlie has been told that she is different. Her autism makes her stand out from others, but helps her focus on facts, details, and pieces of information that most people would miss. Charlie's life is pretty normal, working at the Triple S sandwich shop in her small town, saving up money to go to MIT. But when Charlie witnesses a murder one late night after work, her life is thrown into chaos. Charlie's uncanny ability to recall details makes her an excellent witness, but her love for her circle of friends and family keep her from wanting to know, or admit, the full truth. I enjoyed this book, but there was possibly a little too much going on. The pieces did come together at the end, but not necessarily as neatly or logically as I would have liked.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Blackstone Publishing for an ARC of this title in exchange for my honest feedback.

American girl was more than just a murder mystery, it was a coming of age story told in the voice of an autistic teenaged girl. When Clay Cooper is found dead there are many in town with reasons to kill him, but who was it? Working late at the sandwich shop, Charlie hears a fight break out between Clay and someone else, but she didn’t see who it was. Now she’s the only witness to murder, but she wants to protect all of her friends so us hesitant to say anything the police. Charlie has a plan, she’s been accepted into MIT and she’s just working to save money and bide her time until she can leave Sawyer, PA behind. She’s so close, but will Clay’s murder ruin everything? Charlie is not about to let that happen, so with friends in tow she is taking the reins into her own hands to figure out what happened that night, but will it put her own life and those she loves in danger? Charlie is an unforgettable character and one you can’t help rooting for!! Thank you to Blackstone Publishing and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

If you are a fan of stories about small towns with big secrets, Wendy Walker’s American Girl is must-add to your to-be-read list!

This book felt different from the other books I’ve read by Wendy Walker. Her books often involve past and present timelines, alternating narrators, and more of a domestic suspense edge with psychological thriller flair. American Girl is no-less compelling than her other books, but the story felt grander somehow.

It’s the story of one of a million girls living in a one of thousands of small towns in America. She’s a girl who has big dreams but everyone underestimates because she is different. However, this is a book about how her differences make her exceptional. That people underestimate her may be the key to doing something truly exceptional.

The titular American Girl is Charlie Hudson. Charlie is 17 years-old and she’s autistic. She lives in a small, rundown town called Sawyer that is in rural Pennsylvania. When she was young, her grandparents threw her mother and her out on the street. For many years they lived in a downtrodden apartment, scraping by but largely Charlie was content. Eventually, Charlie’s mother marries an attorney and has children with him. He tolerates Charlie but never really takes to her. Still, he treats her better than the other men her mother dated over the years.

Charlie works at a sandwich shop called The Triple S. She likes this type of work. It soothes her when her mind feels frazzled. Charlie is working hard to save money towards college (she has been admitted to M.I.T.) and to help her friend Keller save enough to get her grandmother a spot in a care facility.

On the day the book opens, Charlie has bigger problems. Clay “Coop” Cooper—the owner of many businesses in Sawyer including The Triple S—has been murdered. Charlie is seemingly the only witness. The reader knows that Charlie is keeping something a secret, but we don’t know exactly what it is or why. Charlie is the type of girl who is smart but literal. She’s fiercely protective of those she loves, such as her best friend Keller and her ex-boyfriend but forever love Eann.

Charlie is eventually approached by a federal agent who is assisting with the investigation. It’s unclear to the reader if Charlie is afraid to say what happened, having anxiety over something that occurred the night of the murder, or if she is protecting someone. The relationships in the book are complicated, and soon it becomes clear that Charlie is at the center of a complicated mystery that may be the key to a much bigger problem in Sawyer.

I loved that Charlie was such a unique character. Her story is somehow ordinary and exceptional at the same time, and that’s because in a town like Sawyer, many girls share parts of the same story. Girls need to be pretty enough to land a man. They have no hope of going anywhere on their own. The town will shun them if they get pregnant out of wedlock. The men can do what they want to women and no one will listen to them because they probably deserved it.

If a girl isn’t pretty, she better get a job or be smart. But if she’s smart and accomplished and finds a path out of the town, the town won’t help her. The town will do everything it can to hold her back. The town doesn’t want her, but the town doesn’t want to let her go. The town needs these girls—the pretty ones, the used ones, the ones who get beaten up, the ones who have an opportunity that gets snatched at the last moment.

I don’t want to spoil too much of the story, but this book delivers on so many levels. The mystery is compelling. Charlie is a standout one-in-a-million character. The people in the town are well-crafted as are their stories. The way the clues and puzzle pieces come together at the end delivers that punch that a good psychological thriller has. The reader cares about the characters and what happens to them, and we learn. Their stories aren’t all happy ones. Even the ones who got what they thought they wanted are still bittersweet at times.

I loved this book and the way it was written. I loved Charlie—I didn’t want to leave her behind! I loved the way the mystery came together, the twists, and I loved how the stories were concluded. Brilliant!

American Girl gives off a locked room mystery style vibe as the story quickly unfolds as Charlie tries to figure out who killed her boss. Her boss isn’t well liked by many so there are a number of suspects but the only thing Charlie knows for sure is that she didn’t kill him but she’s covering for someone she cares about. I liked Charlie’s character; she’s autistic and has a very logical outlook on life and has certain goals to achieve to get out of her hometown.

There wasn’t a shocking twist or aha moment because as the story unfolds you can see where it’s heading and the revelation makes sense. The ending wraps up rather quick and it’s how you predict it would be.


Thank you publishers and netgalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest feedback.

Wendy Walker is a go-to author for me. I have enjoyed all of her books that I have read so far, including this one. "American Girl" by Wendy Walker was originally only available as an Audible Original. I received an ARC of the text version that recently became available. I wonder how my experience with the book would have been different had I listened to the audiobook version. Walker writes the story from the first person perspective of a teenage girl with autism. I read that the narrator for the Audiobook version is a woman with Autism- which I think is so great. Too often portrayal of Autistic individuals is done by neurotypical actors.
Once I got used to how the writing was- as basically an inner dialogue of the protagonist- it made it easier to follow along. I think I would have preferred to listen to this story, but love it as a regular book nonetheless.
I recommend this book! All opinions are my own

𝐓𝐈𝐓𝐋𝐄: 𝐀𝐌𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐆𝐈𝐑𝐋⁣
𝐀𝐔𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐑: 𝗪𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐘 𝗪𝐀𝐋𝐊𝐄𝐑 ⁣
𝐏𝐔𝐁 𝐃𝐀𝐓𝐄: 𝟏𝟎.𝟏𝟕.𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟑 𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐯𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞⁣
⁣
Charlie Hudson, an autistic seventeen-year-old, is determined to leave Sawyer, PA, as soon as she graduates high school. In the meantime, she works as many hours as she can at a sandwich shop called The Triple S to save money for college. But when shop owner, Clay Cooper--a man both respected and feared in their small economically depressed town--is found dead, each member of his staff becomes a suspect in the perplexing case. Before she can go anywhere, Charlie must protect herself and her friends by uncovering the danger that is still lurking in their tightknit community.⁣
⁣
Based on the #1 bestselling audio, American Girl is a riveting thriller told through the eyes of an unforgettable protagonist.⁣
⁣
𝐓𝐇𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇𝐓𝐒:⁣
⁣
I enjoyed reading this Murder mystery through the eyes of Charlie, a brilliant seventeen year old autistic teen headed for MIT. I thought it was such a unique perspective getting into Charlie’s head and how her relationships and daily interactions are translated in her head. I thought this was a good character study and my heart really went out to her as she tries so hard to calculate her way out of small town Sawyer from her toxic mother and family life. I enjoyed the short chapters which moved the story forward making this a fast paced read. Though the twists in the story was predictable, I really still enjoyed the story as the story was more focused on Charlie - which I enjoyed the most.

American Girl was an entertaining read, but overall not a favorite pick for me. The story felt a little drawn out, though there were some really good twists. I loved earlier books by this author, but have not enjoyed her latest two as much. I think many readers will enjoy this one!

American Girl by Wendy Walker was only out on audio at the time of this review, but it looks like it is coming out in book form this year as well! I kinda love that it was made an Audible Original to start, and I'm wondering if it will be exactly the same when it comes out physically. As an audiobook, it truly is an experience and I loved that it had a full cast of narrators as well as plenty of sound effects. Due to the nature of the storyline and the sound effects used in the audio, there is a disclaimer and a warning to use discretion. The weirdest part for me was the one kissing scene since it was like listening to the audio of a movie without actually seeing anything.

It was wonderful having an MC with autism, and I'm glad that a sensitivity reader was used. I really don't know as much about autism as I should, and I loved Charlie so much. The audio is basically the length of a normal book at over 8.5 hours, but it felt a lot shorter to me. It was a quick, mostly easy listen that deals with some pretty serious subjects, but in a way that is very interesting and suspenseful. The plot was fairly complex which I loved, but it is also easy to get confused so I'm glad they are releasing a book now as well to reference. The main narrator is Paige Layle and WOW, I didn't even know going into it that they are autistic, and to have a performer in this role who is actually on the spectrum just makes me love it even more. Thanks to Wendy Walker, one of my favorite authors, for another twisty and surprising read!