The Girl Who Wasn’t There by Nick Clausen is an amazing paranormal thriller that will suck you right in!

Full disclosure: I was given a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. This did not affect my rating in any way. I also pre-ordered myself a copy of the eBook.

This story was about two siblings who we on their way home one day after school. The brother, Andy, wants to stop by the library really quickly but his sister, Rebecca, is low on patience. When Andy goes into the library, Rebecca decides to play a prank on Andy to make him worry about her. Andy is indeed worried, but believes that it’s a prank for a short time. When it gets later and later and Rebecca still hasn’t shown up, it’s clear something more serious happened to his sister.

Soon, Andy is in a situation where his parents have shut down, the cops don’t believe part of his story, and his older sister spends less and less time at the house. But Andy won’t give up. He know’s Rebecca is out there. He just has to find the yellow van.

The story is told in three main parts. First we focused on Andy and saw what happened from his perspective as well as the fallout from his sister going missing within the family. Then we jumped back to see things from Rebecca’s point of view. In the third chapter, it begins to alternate between different characters until the perspectives merge in an explosive ending.

I felt so protective of the characters, which I’m now seeing as a theme with Mr Clausen’s work for me! Throughout the story, there were so many instances where I wanted to jump up and down and cheer for the main characters after they did something awesome, like standing up to a bully for example. I would also cringe when something bad happened, and I felt horrible for all of the bad things each of them had to go through.

And speaking of the bad things, this is another tale that didn’t shy away from violence and body horror! Of course, there was a kidnapping, but there was also elements like broken bones, skin being burnt with a cigar, murder, and other such things. And heads up to my dog-loving pals, there was a dog death, but that wasn’t violent.

However, the character’s determination was something that really drove the story. I was so proud of how strong they all were!

The last chunk of the book… Oh my gosh, I couldn’t stop reading. I wanted to shout at the kids to keep going, to hurry up! And I was SO nervous for Doris! What a trooper that puppy was with all that she went through! And her one major moment of protection… It was wonderful!

My Favorite Passages
Andy unwraps his scarf and inhales the scent of the books. Ever since he learned to read, Andy has loved books more than anything, and he feels the old excitement bubble up now at the mere thought of the countless universes lurking between the pages. In those universes he can get lost for hours on end.

Andy has already read quite a few horror stories in his life. He has even taken on some of the heavier monsters, like Dracula, of Cthulhu, or Pennywise the Clown. But the wendigo scares him in a way none of the others ever managed to do. There is something absolutely terrifying about that invisible thing lurking in the woods, just waiting patiently for someone to come close enough…

What happens next is the most curious and inexplicable thing Andy has ever experienced.
The line is changed.

In books, nothing ever happens by accident – there is always a deeper meaning – and Andy is getting a growing sense that the real world has somehow been mixed up with the world of books.

My Final Thoughts
This story was so wonderfully organized and written in a way that made it very difficult to pause reading for any reason. I just couldn’t wait to see how things were going to turn out.

I cannot wait to see more from this series!