Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown for the eARC!

This was a great mystery/thriller! Willow and Dare are interesting characters - Henry does a good job of unraveling their back stories/ letting us get to know them.
It was also really interesting being in Ryan's head for portions of the book.
I have to admit, when I got to the 91% mark, I didn't think there was any way the mystery could be resolved, but Henry did it! And it didn't feel rushed (or at least not unbelievable).
I've added Henry's backlist to my TBR because I enjoyed this book so much.

*Thanks to NetGalley for an eARC of this book.

This was my first book by April Henry and I have a feeling it will not be the last... Henry does a great job of drawing the readers in with her characters, especially given that this is not a long book. The creepiness that is Ryan had me hooked from the first chapter. Then we meet Willow and Dare, two teens who are hiding secrets while trying to navigate family issues, court-mandated community service, teen homelessness, animal shelter issues, and more. Both Willow and Dare are lovable and well-developed characters (as are the animals they work with at the shelter). The alternating perspectives helped provide enough information throughout this fast-paced story, which I found very impressive.

Overall, this book was a quick, but compelling read with characters (and furry friends) you can’t help but root for. This would be perfect for anyone in a reading slump or someone interested in starting to read YA murder mysteries (it has a creepy vibe, but not the sleep-with-lights-on level of creepiness that some of the others have).

*3.5 rounded up to 4 stars

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for access to this title. All opinions expressed are my own.

2.5 stars

Great premise, but the execution of the central plot takes way too long to get started. It is one of the stories where there are multiple points of view, including the perpetrator. I had enough confidence in April Henry that I would soon understand how exactly all these characters would intersect. The premise was terrifying, but I believe it got overshadowed by Willow and Dare's budding relationship. I hate when that occurs.

I do think April Henry is a great author. I have loved her titles in the past and would still read her books in the future. Unfortunately, this one didn't wow me.





#WhenWeGoMissing #NetGalley.
Expected Publication 13/05/25
Goodreads Review 18/04/25

When We Go Missing by April Henry is a fast-paced and suspenseful read that I truly enjoyed from beginning to end. This is my first read by this author and won't be my last.

I found this book amazing. There is a bit of a trigger if you are sensitive to assault or animal harm (not intentional, and no spoiling of course). Overall, I found this book to be fantastic. It had two different time frames but it all fit towards the end and not a bit of time to jump either which was nice. This was a quick enjoyable read. April Henry did an amazing job on this book!

When We Go Missing is a compelling read with engaging characters and plenty of secrets and mysteries to keep it interesting. I loved the setting of the pet rescue center, and it was one of the reasons I was excited to pick this up. Although it is a YA read, it will appeal to adults who enjoy YA well-written YA mysteries. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

#WhenWeGoMissing

I don't know how I feel about this book. This is about Willow. She volunteers at an animal shelter. While out with a dog she finds a camera card with hundreds of photos of unsuspecting teen girls on it. We also get chapters from the photographer. This book was more about the 2 teens volunteering at an animal shelter and what they were going through in there lives than the thriller aspect. It was a quick read and I didn't hate it but the thrill was not there.

This book feels not completely cooked. The pieces are there but the execution is lacking in a real umph. It felt very unnecessary to have the villain’s POV, especially throughout the entire book. Ending felt rushed and too wrapped with a nice bow given the endless messes in this one.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

his is the first April Henry book I have read, but Girl Stolen is one that I notice is borrowed from my library quite often. The story is told in alternating perspectives between Willow, Dare and Ryan. In the first chapter we are introduced to Ryan a real estate agent who lets himself into a newly sold home to watch the new owner sleep. This creepy vibe is one that I can see YA readers drawn into. Willow, is an animal lover who works at animal shelter using her fathers camera to take pictures of animals for adoption advertisements. She has new step-dad (that she tries to avoid) and a mom who is recovering from a terrible accident that took her fathers life. Dare, also has his share of trouble, and he finds himself volunteering at the shelter in order to work off some community service hours.

When Willow finds a camera card that has hundreds of images of young girls, she shares her worries with Dare and when they take the card to the police they are brushed off. But Willow can't let go of the feeling that something is off, so she continues to dig and ask questions. But life is busy, both she and Dare have their own family problems to deal with and the shelter is having its own issues, which makes it all very overwhelming. The pace is fast, there is lots of drama and relatable content and the darker elements are not too descriptive, but yet true to real life, which keeps the content YA appropriate.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I love YA books with nuanced plot and characters, and the blurb of When We Go Missing immediately grabbed my attention. However, the writing style wasn't a fit for me.

This was not my favorite book and I considered not finishing it. It was very slow and while the book it titled "When We Go Missing", it is more than halfway through the book before anyone goes missing. You also spend the majority of the book confused about how characters relate until the last few chapters. This book could be shortened to just the last three or four chapters and save everyone a lot of time while giving essentially the same story.

I did not read the blurb carefully requesting the book and unfortunately this was a young adult story and I am not interested in these types of storylines

This is the second novel I have read by April Henry and this one did not disappoint. This was an absolute page turner, I read this in a single day and that rarely happens, I just could not put it down! It helped that When We Go Missing had likeable characters that you couldn't help but want to root for. Well, I wasn't rooting for the bad guy, but even then, I was intrigued by his perspective and I think it added an extra layer of creepiness to the story.

I will definitely be checking out more of April Henry's work!

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this eARC.

April Henry's When We Go Missing is a compelling read with mysteries and secrets uncovered throughout the story.

Regardless of the reader's age, this is a hopeful and compelling mystery, set largely at a pet rescue around which this story revolves. This book an excellent storyline with an intriguing multi-layered mystery with compelling relatable characters.

If you love mysteries, but you are wearing of purely evil characters you cannot relate to, pick up a copy of this nuanced psychological thriller / mystery, and enjoy. This is a book that stays with you, with characters (2 and 4 legged) which you come to love.

A wonderful mystery, I will be watching for more from this refreshingly talented writer.

I am the first one to grab a thriller off the shelf and devour it, but I do have to say this book was not my cup of tea. Honestly, if I had taken the time to realize this was centered around an animal shelter, I would have passed on it. That being said, it is a well written thriller about a young teenager named Willow who volunteers at her local animal shelter. She has a very rough home life but thankfully has a little ray of sunshine enter her life through a volunteer at the shelter, named Dare. This book does touch on physical and mental abuse, as well as being centered around the animal shelter. It was a very fast read, but I advise you if you have a tender heart, you might want to leave this one.

This one had me hooked from the start! The fast pace and multiple perspectives kept me turning the pages. Some twists were predictable, but it was still a solid, suspenseful read.

I’ve read all of April Henry’s books and really love that they are all quick and fast paced. When We Go Missing was another fun YA mystery/thriller. Told in multiple POVs with short chapters this book was hard to put down.

We follow Willow who volunteers at an animal shelter. She meets Dare, a mysterious new volunteer, and it’s clear he has secrets. While volunteering, Willow finds a camera card with hundreds of photos of girls on it. She starts to investigate who the girls are and who took these creepy photos.

I really liked Willow as a character, and it was nice seeing her get close to Dare and take care of the animal shelter. I feel like the POV from the predator was really creepy and made this book seem a little more mature than some of April Henry’s other books. I loved that this book also touched on social issues such as homelessness, domestic abuse, medical issues, etc while still making the content suitable for a YA audience.

If you’re looking for a creepy, fast paced mystery/thriller with a tiny bit of romance and a ton of adorable animals, this is a must read!

I love April Henry’s books! They are fast paced and so easy to read. The characters were well developed and likable. I highly recommend this book for young adult and adults, alike!

I received this book from NetGalley for my honest opinion.

Thank you, Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | Christy Ottaviano Books for providing the copy of When We Go Missing by April Henry. It’s rare to find a book with such wonderfully written characters, and this is one of them. Willow and Dare were so compelling I almost felt like they were real people, and I cared about them. I loved how I also got to read about dogs, an extra bonus! This would be a great book for a school library or a classroom because it deals with teens with imperfect lives and parents, forgiveness, and kindness. 5 stars

A well-thought-out book that interrogates right and wrong on both major and minor levels. I enjoyed this one, although I felt the pacing was a bit off.