Girl on the Run

This was an excellent thriller that I just had to read in one sitting. It was too exciting to put down! Katelyn is almost used to the idea that her mom is paranoid and absolutely convinced that something bad will happen to her daughter. She is also very strict about knowing where Katelyn is all the time and also keeping her off social media. Her mom has moved her frequently throughout her life. Anytime something particularly worries her, they pack up and move. Katelyn is hoping that this time they\’ll be able to stay in one place long enough for her to graduate from high school. But, when Katelyn sets up an online dating profile for her mother, her mother panics and forces them to leave in a hurry. Good thing they do because someone is after them. They steal cars and wind up in an isolated motel. Her mom tells Katelyn to stay there while she goes on some mysterious errand but, while she\’s gone, someone breaks into the motel room and Katelyn barely escapes through the bathroom window. Circling back around, she discovers a young man in the trunk of the car the room invader arrived in and the two of them go on the run together. Malcolm Pike is a college junior and computer hacker who was hired to find Katelyn\’s mother which he did almost as soon as the picture with the online profile was posted. Katelyn is surprised to learn that her mother has been on the run after being accused of killing a rich young man. The man\’s mother has hired detectives and bounty hunters to track her down. Katelyn can\’t believe that her mother would ever do something like that and convinces Malcolm that they need to investigate more. The investigation leads to all sorts of secrets about her life and all sorts of danger as the bounty hunter gets close to catching them many times. This is action-packed and would be sure to grab the attention of any YA reader.

This novel had me hooked from beginning to end! From chapter one, we are on the run and we don’t stop until the end. Everything is fast-paced and you can feel the adrenaline dripping from the page. This novel is filled with suspense, mystery, heartache, and you can’t put it down! The pacing was perfect and information was given to the character and reader in a believable amount and at a believable time frame. Johnson does a great job of showing us the emotions and action instead of telling. No wording felt awkward and the series of events flowed naturally together. The characters were very believable as well. You get the right info about them at the right times to make you wonder what is really going on. I loved the mystery behind it and how our main character had to figure out what really happened. Katelyn was a believable teen going through this madness and her actions never felt contradictory. While reading, I could tell Johnson did a lot of research to make this story unique and believable, which is something I really like in a book. I highly recommend this book for anyone who loves YA or thrillers. You won’t be disappointed!

I love Abigail\’s contemporary romances. They have everything I love about the young adult coming-of-age years and first love. I was surprised to hear about this one, actually, since it seemed like the complete opposite of Abigail\’s other books. But it isn\’t the opposite at all. Instead, she\’s masterfully combined themes of family and romance with a fast-paced plot packed full of questions. I\’m embarrassed at how irresponsible I was while reading this book. I just couldn\’t put it down until I had answers–which meant I was glued until the very last page. If you want to get lost in a thrilling adventure that has you jumping at every sound, you\’ve found the right book. Note: I received an advanced copy and chose to voluntarily review it.

When Katelyn surprises her mom with a profile on a dating site, she’s bewildered by her mother’s reaction. In minutes, they’ve packed two bags, stolen a car, and nearly been run off the road by someone who rammed their vehicle. Evasive driving helps them lose their attackers; then her mother steals another car and they drive for hours before checking into a motel. Her mother warns her to stay in the room, don’t answer the door, don’t peek out the window, don’t use the phone—and leaves, promising to call soon and be back in a few days. . . But Mom doesn’t call, doesn’t come back. When Katelyn hears a car pull up to the room, she disobeys what she’s been told and peeks out the window. It’s not her mom. She squeezes out the bathroom window as someone breaks down the door of the room. A bounty hunter. . . a hostage in a car trunk. . . a mother called by a different name. . . a grandfather she thought was dead. . . a brutal strike on the head. . . an escape from a pitch dark room. . . Johnson’s vivid writing had me in heart-pounding panic. This is one of those books you stay up waaay too late reading because you can’t wait ‘til morning.

Girl on the Run by Abigail Johnson Pub Date: 06 Oct 2020 Read courtesy of netgalley.com LOVED IT! Is there such a thing as a 6 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐review? Fast paced and tight, I read this book in an afternoon. I was engaged by the characters and the plot. I enjoyed being able to anticipate where things were going or where they had come from. I sometimes get frustrated trying to follow a thriller\’s flow of information, and I sometimes think the authors do it on purpose for some kind of gotcha. Abigail Johnson didn\’t confuse me, purposefully or not. She allowed the readers to explore both with the characters and to make suppositions on their own without making the readers feel duped or slow-witted. As an aside, it did help that I grew up and worked near the story\’s setting; although, the geography itself could have been anywhere with regards to the story. It was just fun for me to read of places I know: Bridgeton, Cheltenham, Perkasie, Elkins Park, etc. I can\’t wait to put this in to my high school readers\’ hands.

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