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American Girl cover art

American Girl

By: Wendy Walker
Narrated by: Paige Layle, Carson Beck, Josh Hurley, Alexander Cendese, Carly Robins, Hillary Huber, Molly Secours
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Summary

A pulse-pounding novel about a small-town business owner found dead and the teenage girl caught in the crosshairs, American Girl is the latest thriller from international best-selling author Wendy Walker. 

Charlie Hudson, an autistic 17-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 who is both respected and feared by many in this economically depressed community - is found dead, each member of his staff becomes a suspect in the perplexing case. Charlie must work to protect herself and her friends and uncover the danger that may still be at large in their tightknit community.

Best-selling author Wendy Walker returns with another riveting thriller, told through the eyes of an unforgettable protagonist. 

Please note: This audio contains strong language, distressing situations, and descriptions of violence that some listeners may find upsetting. Discretion is advised.

Wendy Walker recently curated a “Chapter and Verse” playlist for Pandora. Visit it here.

©2021 Wendy Walker (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.

What listeners say about American Girl

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  • Overall
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Held my attention.looked forwardto listening toit

Very well written.A,good story .I shall look out for this author, quite original.Enough suspense to keep you hooked

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6 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Superb

Oh I so liked her. I loved her confusing mind. Really enjoyed the narration. I will definitely look out for others by this author and narrator.

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5 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

truly delightful story, with a good twist!

I was genuinely surprised by this book. It's nostalgia in the present, a clever mystery, and truly believable characters. Will be.looking for other stories by this author.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Beautiful, heartbreaking and hopeful

Normally I wonder about the trustworthiness of a gushing review. I try not to write them for that reason. However this story, told so beautifully by Paige Layle, deserves nothing less.

The author writes with insight and compassion, whilst at the same time creating a complicated thriller and social commentary.

The main character Charlie is someone I would be honoured to know and I even feel a sense of loss that I won't get to hear from her again. So powerful is the writing and the narration that I forgot this is fiction. I lived every moment with Charlie and fell in love with her as a person.

The stunningly insightful writing about the nature of "humanity", of people and the way we behave was both intellectually and emotionally stimulating. This is a story and narration I will never forget, and will never discard from my bookshelf.

Thank you Wendy Walker and Paige Layle.

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4 people found this helpful

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5 1/2*

This was so entertaining, a new author to me. I only had one problem with it which almost made me give up early on, I’m glad I didn’t. It has sections where it’s like a play rather than a book. So you hear car doors open and closing as an example.

I love reading but sadly am no longer able to do that and it took a long time for me to adapt to audiobooks which I now love but will always be inferior to me than the joy of reading and holding an actual book.

Anyway, audiobooks already alter the reading experience as the narrator may use inflections on words to change the way you would have read it yourself, changing your impression of a character for example. I’m very grateful for audiobooks though but if I wanted sound affects I’d listen to a play, I just want someone to read a book for me, a book is not suddenly going to sniff or slam a car door! Fortunately, it didn’t occur too often.

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3 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

American girl

Really struggled to complete this book. In fact I skipped the last two chapters.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great book, gripping all the way through

Really enjoyed this book, really good story and performance. Would recommend to any one

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful storytelling

Outstanding and original story, with a brilliant performance.
Teenager growing up in a sh***y American town, solving a murder case

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Ridiculous storyline; good narration

The storyline is full of plot holes and improbabilities. To mention a few without spoilers, apart from the so-called twist which it is really obvious (i) no criminal would not have a password on a mobile phone he is using for criminal activity and (ii) no person would keep serious incriminating evidence against them for crimes committed for years and year.
Also, the character is supposed to be autistic though this whole aspect is completely unrealistic and underresearched like the writer read an article online about autism.
The only positive was the main character's performance, though I was not sure about the "dramatised" parts which felt at odds with the rest of the book.
The above explain why this book is available for "free". I cannot recommend it.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Thoroughly Enjoyable

That was the first proper Mystery, Thriller, & Suspense audiobook that I’ve listened to and I was very engaged in the story. I kept wondering who did it and the primary suspects I wanted to be innocent.

It was greatly written and I like that it changed from just a reading to a full-on performance. One thing I would say is that I kept forgetting that the main character was meant to be autistic until she kept talking about her seesaw. Other than that I was hooked; though I would’ve liked if she got the boy, yet I think that it was better that way.

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1 person found this helpful