THE GIRL WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE PUBLISHES 6/11/2013
I kill people, but only on paper
Welcome to my little corner of the Internet. I'm a New York Times bestselling author who loves kung fu, running, and all things salty.
The Latest News
Scholastic has picked up The Girl Who was Supposed to Die
Yay! I hear from so many readers who have bought Girl, Stolen at a Scholastic Book Fair or through the Club.
FIRST REVIEW FOR THE GIRL WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO DIE:
"If you liked Girl, Stolen (2010), you’ll love Henry’s latest tale of abduction, escape, and paranoia. Cady, 16, wakes up on the floor of a cabin. Two of her fingernails have been yanked out. A man says, “Take her out back and finish her off.” Worst of all, she has total amnesia. To her shock, she discovers that she knows how to fight—she beats up her captor and flees, and what follows is 28 hours of outfoxing an unknown enemy who wants her, and apparently her family, dead. Cady’s accomplice is Ty, a McDonald’s cashier who risks his own skin to help her to safety. If it sounds convenient, don’t worry—Henry gives Ty a backstory that makes his behavior believable, and there isn’t an out-of-place romance to gum up the breakneck pace. Cady’s bewildered first-person voice gives the book a tumbling, breathless feel as we scrape for clues right along with our protagonist. For most of the book, readers won’t know if Cady’s sane or not, which gives this hurtling thriller a welcome, darker edge.
"HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Henry is a dependable best-selling force in both adult and YA worlds, and this book is tailor-made to please her fan base."
— Daniel Kraus, Booklist
"HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Henry is a dependable best-selling force in both adult and YA worlds, and this book is tailor-made to please her fan base."
— Daniel Kraus, Booklist
Girl, Stolen chosen for South Dakota's YALP award
Over the last five months, 2,078 South Dakota teens voted for their favorite book. And the winner for 6th to 8th graders was Girl, Stolen. This is the third state award the book has won. And I have never even been to South Dakota!
International Reading Association fun
Literacy Coach Joy Olenick brought this poster her kids made about Girl, Stolen all the way from Council Bluffs, Iowa to San Antonio, Texas to give it to me at the International Reading Association conference. Earlier she told me, "This book has ignited a love for literacy in several students and teachers in my building. I have witnessed students hanging in the classroom after the bell to read just a few more sentences before having to move on to the next class. This week I have overheard students excitedly sharing which page number they were on and searching for others as far as they were in the text so that they could talk about what had just happened! One student, knowing that I had read the novel this summer, mouthed to me "Mrs Olenick page 183 O-M-G!!" To which I whispered back "Keep reading! It gets even better!" We now have a waiting list of students who want to read Girl, Stolen next in their literature discussion group. A teacher who is retiring this year thanked me for sharing the book with her and endorses it to her students as the best book she has read in her career as a Language Arts teacher."
Girl, Stolen given Missouri's Truman award
Girl, Stolen has been selected by students in Missouri for the Truman Readers Award. I've been asked to come to the state conference in 2014 where I will accept the award on my birthday! It doesn't get much better than that.
The Night She DisapPeared named IRA Young Adults Choice
The Night She Disappeared has been named to the 2013 IRA Young Adult's Choices Master List. Pretty cool to be on the same list of books chosen by teens across the nation that includes authors like John Green, David Levithan, and Rick Riordan!
Black-Eyed Susan Award
Just got my Black-Eyed Susan award from the State of Maryland for Girl, Stolen. I think it's supposed to be a serving tray, since there's no hanger on the back. Maybe next time we have people over I'll put crackers on it and act surprised when they notice what it is. "Oh, was that for an award?"
How to Make my Day
I've been getting the best notes from teens lately:
"I just wanted to thank you for changing my life! I actually enjoy reading now and I'm sure anybody would be surprised to hear that from me!"
"I just wanted to thank you for changing my life! I actually enjoy reading now and I'm sure anybody would be surprised to hear that from me!"
