Thank you to Netgalley for providing me an ARC!

I’m not sure why I got this as an ARC about seven months after its release but who’s complaining?

This book was intense. I was into it from pretty much the first few chapters, and I got so into it later on.

The plot follows the students of Balmoral Ladies College after a Year Ten, Yin Mitchell, is kidnapped. Specifically, it follows Chloe and Natalia - two girls who couldn’t be more different, yet find common ground through the abduction.

Where do they go, those girls that accidentally fall through a gap in the universe? What's on the other side?

I love thriller and mystery types of books. Most of them are murders, so I was kind of thrown off by this one being a disappearance - the tension was written so well and so eloquently that it drew me in pretty much immediately.

The writing was really well-done. The atmosphere and tone of this book were so perfectly tense and eerie, but fittingly powerful. I loved how eloquent it was and how well all the themes came across. Most contemporaries, especially mysteries, don’t really have that quality to the writing, but Leanne Hall pulled it off.

I think the best strength about this book was the characters. Their perspectives were so powerful and I felt like I could feel everything that happened in the book.

Chloe was someone I could relate to. She was half-Singaporean, quiet and did her best to avoid drama at school. As the scholarship student, she couldn’t afford to be mixed up with the more snobby crowd of Balmoral. Her narration style and personality just resonated with me somehow. I loved her perspective, her quiet ambition and the way her emotions came through the writing.

Natalia was very complex, and while I didn’t like her as much as Chloe, I still loved how her personality came across. She was very flawed but acted perfect, powerful yet vulnerable. I loved her development and the way she did her best to do what she thought was right.

I thought it was kind of stereotypical that Natalia was the blonde, pretty popular girl, since for some reason that’s actually pretty overused in a lot of mystery/thriller books. But it didn’t detract from her character.

I loved how they were both such contrasting characters with such different opinions, but their narratives combined in an amazingly clever way. Chloe’s quiet tension and artistic personality was a really good complement to Natalia’s loud and aggressive approach.

“You don't know what it's like to be an outsider or a target, you don't know how easy it is to bring someone like me down. I tried, and I failed, and I just want to go away and be quiet now.”

I loved how between their perspectives, this book brought in a whole aspect of what it feels like not to be seen.

There was Chloe, the scholarship student, half-Singaporean and naturally introverted, who tried to keep any attention away from her. She didn’t know how to express herself and didn’t want to for fear of it coming back to hurt her.

Then there was Natalia, who kept everything under a loud, popular-queen mask, making everyone see what they expected to see in order to hide that she was really falling apart inside. She exaggerated the parts that felt the most expressive to cover up her real emotions.

And then between them, there was this aspect of privilege. Natalia was rich and white. Chloe was poor and mixed. There was a between-the-words narrative about how privilege affects safety.

Honestly, that was what I loved about this book. The narrative on racism and misogyny was so relevant and cleverly done. It started out at the beginning of the book as this atmosphere of paranoia between the girls of Balmoral, the terror concerning Lin’s kidnapping. It was subtle. Then, as the days went on, it increased into more and more fear about crime rates, what might have happened, who else this could happen to, who else it had happened to.

This book was feminist in a very understated yet powerful way, and I was really invested in that.

Why is it so easy to override what girls and women want, what they might decide if they were given any control?

I also loved Chloe’s involvement concerning diversity. I loved how her artistic perspective took on such strength concerning subjects of photography and expression and how she grew over the plot. I loved Natalia’s slow awakening to her own privilege and vulnerability, and how she had to confront the issues she’d been convincing herself were just normal.

Overall, this book was really powerful and very engaging. It carried so many strong messages but it didn’t take away from the plot. The plot itself was intense and carried itself so well, and the characters just added another level of complexity.

I didn’t know how strong this book would be when I picked it up, but I am so glad I read it. I enjoyed it so much, and I was so into the atmosphere of it. It was the kind of book I didn’t know I needed to read. This was so much more than just an elite-school thriller.

If women hold up half the sky, then why are we so disposable?”

In my mind I was picking up a mystery thriller about girls who are kidnapped and some schoolmates who try to discover what really happened. What I got was a suspenseful contemporary book about girls, who try to cope with grieve, fear, and still try to manage their daily life as best as they can.

Chloe, a scholar student, tries to keep her distance from most of her classmates. I found her very condescending to some and actually, I still don’t understand why she would act how she did at some points.

Natalia is one of the popular girls at the school, I don’t know why she is, because she seems to not like anyone and no one seems to really like her. She is speaking her mind but her approach at things feels more like she’s trying to run headfirst through a wall. She says she’s always telling the truth, but she is mean in doing so. Some things don’t need to be said, even though they are true.

The mystery didn’t take much place in the whole story and instead it was more focused on the girls and their life. That, and me disliking both MCs, made me not enjoy this book. I think there’ll be reader who’ll have more fun reading this.

this was a beautifully done story, I enjoyed the plot and getting to know the characters. The writing style was great and it left me wanting more from the author.

A harrowing story. The disappearance resonates throughout thecommunity. Without a doubt, friends Natalia and Chloe, embellished by their perspective on history, need to seek their fears and perceptions of the world around them, as well as friendship and sadness.
3.5 stars

A haunting, layered exploration of how people change when faced by a traumatic event. When teenager Yin goes missing, her loss reverberates around her community. Unlikely friends Natalia and Chloe, from whose perspectives the story is woven, must explore their fears and understanding of the world around them, and of friendship and grief.

Honestly I wasn’t sure what to expect when I picked this one up, but I’m glad I gave The Gaps a chance. Hall does a great job with the premise, which is tricky since it centers on a girl’s abduction but is not about her: it’s about other girls, left behind and not sure whether they are — or will ever again feel — safe.

In a nutshell, Hall really does seem to understand (and fairly accurately depict) what it’s like to be a 21st century teenage girl, unfiltered and honest and unashamed. The two protagonists, Natalia and Chloe, have really distinct narrative voices and ways of thinking about the world and other people; I liked the structure of giving them each long sections before trading off (rather than strictly alternating chapters), helping the reader get to know them both. Though Natalia’s binary righteous attitude can admittedly be a bit much, you have to admire her wholeheartedness — and I was relieved that she didn’t turn out to be the archetypical Mean Girl But Not Really. On the other hand, Chloe is more traditionally likable, with her love of her little brother and her dog, just doing her best to figure out when to speak out and when to let things go.

Just as Chloe is a girl-next-door type of protagonist, there’s a bit of a story-next-door feel. Family and friendship are major themes, portrayed with wonderful nuance and complexity, and without annoying moralizing or implied take-home messages. The narrative grapples with social issues like classism, racism, sexism, and rape culture, and it clearly condemns bigotry without crossing the line into being preachy; similarly, the Asian (Australian) rep is more incidental than central, though it comes up in both big and little details, and there’s lots of casual/ background diversity as well.

The art aspect particularly impressed me, since it could so easily become a vehicle for cheesy figurative language and symbolism, moments written to be quoted, lengthy and tedious descriptions. Instead we get a much more pragmatic and relatable depiction of expectations vs. reality, the difficulty of translating abstract ideas into concrete depictions open to others’ interpretation and judgment.

Although there is an element of suspense underpinning the narrative, the focus is mostly introspective and interpersonal (far more character- than plot-driven). It can be as thought-provoking as you want it to be, or appreciated at face value. Overall this was a super engaging and evocative novel — one that I hope more people will pick up, because I think it will appeal to a broad audience.

(*This book is based on the true story of a young girl from Melbourne, Australia)

3.5 stars

I enjoyed the emotional response this book led me to feel and the many different social issues it touched on. I think the concept of survivor's guilt is really fascinating and I liked watching the impact Yin's disappearance had on each girl individually & as a whole.

This book also challenged my perspective as Natalia didn't fit the typical 'it girl', nor did the wealthier characters fit the typical 'rich kids'.

The unlikely friendship didn't really hit for me unfortunately, and I do wish Chloe would have come to the comprehension as to why her art was incredibly inappropriate..

Overall this story was well written and I'd recommend it.

first, I want to thank Netgalley for giving me this book in exchange of my honest review.

this book was not bad, I did liked it, but at the same time I would say it's not the worst, for me, this book it's in the middle, it' was like a roller coaster, some parts where good on high levels then something happened to make me hate it, and the end was not really good in my perspective

I really enjoyed this book. The author does a great job of grabbing your attention from the very beginning. I really loved the different point of views that were given. I became quite attached to the main characters and loved viewing the story from their individual view points. This was a great read.

This is the story of the fallout after a teenage girl goes missing. The fear, suspicion, gossip, accusations and rumours. It's also about grief, friendship, art, censorship, racism and the treatment of girls and women in our society.
I found the writing style easy to read but also full of powerful and emotive language. The differing POVs between loner Chloe and mean girl Natalia also provided an engaging reading experience.

When is something going to happen?

TW: SA, CSA, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, Gore

THE GAPS is Hall’s most recent novel and something about it…just falls a little short. For one, while the novel is written in dual point of views, Hall seems to have a much better grasp on one character’s, Natalia’s, voice than the other protagonist’s. Admittedly, the emotion of the book is strong, but that is not enough to save it due to one crucial issue: nothing happens.

Marketed as a thrilling whodunnit, THE GAPS neither thrills nor do the characters seem particularly interesting in finding out who hurt their classmate. Likewise, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say that the kidnapper (killer?) is never officially revealed, though it pretty obvious only a third of a way through the book.

Still, if you’re looking for a book that explains the protagonists’ grief in thirty different ways with little to no plot in sight, THE GAPS might just be for you.

Anyone who is a fan of the current wave of crime hitting the YA shelves will love this book. It was a slow read for me at the beginning, but once I was in I couldn't put it down. This is an abduction story, told from two perspectives, you'd be forgiven for not totally getting that you were getting two points of view - at least I didn't realise for quite some time. So, a little bit of confusion at the start. But I've still given it 5 stars so you already know I thought it was good despite the confusion.

It is a missing person story. Yin Mitchell, best friend, great student, well known to all at school, has gone missing. One minute here in school, doing the everyday stuff, next minute gone. Is she murdered? Has she run away? Both of these seem very unlikely, but the fact is, she isn't around anymore and her family are desperate and her friends are scared and upset. We hear Chloe's point of view first, she is a scholarship student, she is new to the school. The others have come through from primary, but she is new. Talented and hard working but with different a different life to the other girls at this private school. And then we meet Natalia, someone who has a posse of acolytes, girls who hang on her every word, she and Chloe are not made for each other they clash and Natalia makes Chloe pay. But tying these girls together is the mystery of Yin. They are both affected, both so needing to know where she is.

There is tension, school politics, mean girls, music, art and conflict. I thought it was wonderful, loved the scenes where the art is described. It is a cleverly constructed, interesting novel.

The Gaps is a beautiful study of grief, loss, fitting in, exploring yourself, and people growing apart. A dark academia with a twist, the back and forth perspectives allowed insight into the characters that would have been lacking with a singular perspective, and rounded both stories out extremely well.

“They make secret agents out of us with their nonsense rules and they make liars out of us with their lies.”

The Gaps follows two characters who attend an elite boarding school, though neither are boarders. Chloe is a new student who doesn’t have a community and Natalia is beautiful and popular but often finds herself kind of on the outside, too. When their classmate goes missing, the second student over the school’s history, Chloe wants to make a statement with her art. The two team up to shake things up and express all of the feelings of being teenagers and the outrage of being women that people can so easily discard.

This was a heavy read but one that I enjoyed a lot. It alternates POVs between Chloe and Natalia, giving the plot movement as well as the perspectives of girls on the opposite ends of the school’s popularity spectrum. It shows how each girl related to Yin, and both aren’t close to her for different reasons, yet the disappearance affects them deeply in so many ways.

The mystery at the heart of the story gives the girls hope that Yin will return. That the world really isn’t like this. That people don’t care about girls, just use them up and discard them as if they are meaningless. I really loved how Chloe’s art explored these themes but that she couldn’t really verbalize a lot of what she was trying to say. That’s what art does, after all, it speaks for you. Overall, this one is an exploration of grief, anger, rage, and activism, and I definitely recommend it.

The Gaps gave me serious Amelia Westlake vibes but with a crime and mystery touch. It was a deeply interesting concept and I'm so impressed with how it was written and the narrative was linked together. It so honestly portrayed the anxieties and fears women and girls feel every single day and didn't shy away from that reality. I also love how those fears were handled by individuals and the society as a whole. A very thought-provoking read that encourages real consideration of our current culture and the way we handle behaviour towards women. I think it would be a really interesting book to be discussed in a teen bookclub or in an older English class. I would definitely have loved to have explored and examined this type of book when I was in high school.

This book was sent to me as an ARC on NetGalley. However, all opinions are of my own.
Yin, was abducted and everyone believes she is coming back. The police are investigating the school parents teachers and anyone that could give them an indication as to where Yin has gone. The story follows a group of girls at school who have lost their best friend she has been abducted, but nobody knows where she has gone. This book does not follow the murder this book follows the girls journey as it gets day by day further away from the day that Yin was taken. The girls believe she is coming back home until they get the dreaded news that a body has been found. Unfortunately that body was the body of Yin and she wasn’t coming back.

While I would not necessarily teach this book, the premise is gripping and students will flock to it. Especially given the current rise in YA mysteries and crime dramas, this will be a solid add to any high school teacheRs bookshelf. The characters were well,written, and there is more to this book than meets the eye. It is unsettling, but important for students to have exposure to different types of trauma and grieving.

This one is quite promising, realistic, heart wrenching, thought provoking, dark YA thriller which can be easily differentiated from the other books sharing the same genre with its striking approach to the micro aggression, racism, gender classification and unique look to the grief and loss!

The box is more complex, having a slow burn start to give us more layered depictions of characters!

Biracial scholarship student Chloe is having hard time to fit in her ladies college, surrounded around white privileged girls who have known each other since their childhood times, living in the same social circles. As a colored, half- Asian person, coming from middle class family, she tries to lay low not to distract anyone’s attention but young Yin’s kidnapping changes her entire perspective in her new school life.

Especially her mother’s comment about colored people’s getting less attention from media which will probably affect the possibility of the girl’s finding out are eyes opening facts to a new reality. She channels her inner anger, resentment, regrets and fears with her and one day at the art class she stands up for herself after hearing a racist comment which attracts Natalia who is notorious queen bee of the school.

Later Chloe finds out Natalia was the best friend of Yin at their junior years till they got drifted apart. From their perspectives we see their reactions: fear, grief, sadness help her understand each other. Two girls may be polar opposites but the fact never stops them to form a tight bond and genuine friendship because the things their suffer and their common feelings help them complete with each other.

I liked the detailed character portraits and stunning approach to the grief, loss, racial issues, poverty, class inequalities with great LGBTQ representation.

It’s heartfelt, impressive, intense story shaking you to the core that truly enjoy and highly recommend!

Special thanks to NetGalley and Text Publishing Company for sharing this digital reviewer copy with me in exchange my honest opinions.

I loved this book. A beautifully written and resonant story about the classmates of an Australian high schooler who is kidnapped, The Gaps is not a teen-sleuth murder mystery, but a poignant examination of the fear and courage involved in being a young woman coming of age in a world where women are so often subject to violence.

The narrative starts from Chloe’s perspective. She’s a half-Singaporean scholarship student who’s partway through her first year at Balmoral Ladies College, where she’s an outsider in a sea of wealthy and privileged girls who have known each other for years. As sixteen-year-old Yin Mitchell’s abduction permeates the school with terror and uncertainty, Chloe has to deal with the added stress of this toxic miasma on top of her already-heavy workload. When she breaks her usual policy of keeping to herself to tell off a classmate for a racist comment in art class, she catches the attention of Natalia, the ruthless queen bee of the Year Tens.

At this point, I was ready for The Gaps to be a typical high school drama, stereotypes and all, probably with some of the students solving the case at the end. But Leanne Hall thwarts all expectations of the genre, and delivers something entirely different and refreshing. It turns out that Natalia was best friends with Yin in Junior School, and though their friendship has since drifted apart, she’s filled with inner turmoil about Yin’s kidnapping and the end of their friendship. By turns guilty, scared, furious, and vicious, Natalia feels alienated from her high school friend group. When she gets involved helping with Chloe’s term art project, she finds an outlet for some of her overwhelming feelings about Yin and the hole that she left behind.

The alternating chapters from Chloe’s and Natalia’s perspectives are finely-balanced and distinct in voice. Hall’s prose is vivid, at times visceral, and does an incredible job of capturing the intensity of feelings involved in being a teenager. As an adult reader, I felt so much resonance with my own teenage feelings, particularly Natalia’s confusion, guilt, and grief at the loss of a onetime-best-friend. The story doesn’t shy away from the facts of crimes against women and minorities and the horrifying realization (and morbid fascination) that comes with growing up and becoming more aware of gender-based violence. Through Chloe’s perspective, Hall also examines the experience of being a person of color in a white space, be it a private school or the art world, and its intersections with gender and class.

The Gaps has so many real-feeling moments; awkward conversations with parents, the precarious feeling of revealing your work for public scrutiny, the thrill of an artistic concept working in practice, the discomfort of calling people out for things they’ve done wrong, as well as forgiving them. On top of all that, the pacing was excellent and I couldn’t put it down. It’s a wonderful book and has a lot to offer for both teen and adult readers.

Thank you to Text Publishing for the NetGalley ARC.

I walked into this book assuming it would be a young-adult contemporary with a thriller subgenre tagged on to appeal to the masses. What I didn’t expect was to fall absolutely in love with these characters. I didn’t expect to feel their grief with them, to root for them, to encourage their empowerment. There’s something truly magical in Hall’s writing that showcases the struggles and grief that the girls in this story are up against while still being forced to maintain some level of normalcy.

Race is such an important element of this story. Chloe is a biracial scholarship student at a ladies college who has never quite fit in but always managed to stay under the radar. When a fellow classmate, Yin, goes missing, Chloe channels her confusion, hurt, and fear into her art, which causes controversy with the other girls at her school. Chloe is clearly an outsider here, not only because of her race, but also because she never found a group of friends to settle in with. Hall tackles these elements effortlessly and realistically. Chloe’s white classmates make comments that there are too many Asian girls in their school, and while Chloe is half-Asian, she struggles to fit in with either part of her race. When discussing Yin’s disappearance, Chloe’s mother tells her that people of color are generally given less (media) attention over their disappearances, but that it’s especially true for those of Asian descent.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is Natalia, a wealthy white girl who rules the school with her “posse.” She’s blunt and often mean-spirited, but quickly forms a relationship with Chloe amidst her grief of the disappearance of a childhood friend. Despite, and truthfully because of, the confusion and anger both girls feel, they become a unanimous force. Chloe and Natalia are polar opposites, but grief is funny in that it can tie two people together. Watching their relationship blossom was as interesting as it was heartbreaking, as both girls contrasted and complemented each other well but knowingly would not have befriended each other under any other circumstances.

There’s also an impressive amount of inclusivity here, even in the slightest of nods. There are biracial characters, bisexual girls, gay girls, and even a miniscule background character with a gender-neutral name and they/them pronouns. The character only exists for maybe two paragraphs, but it’s enough to be appreciative of a writer who isn’t afraid to be inclusive with their writing.

This is a heart-wrenching story of girls who are forced to deal with loss, who are expected to maintain a level of normalcy with their friends and school, who are terrified that they could be taken next. Both girls are incredibly powerful in their actions and choices, and despite this being such a heavy topic, it was refreshing to be able to root for both of them.