Annnnnnnnd we’re back with our next joint review! 🥳 Another Noelle W. Ihli book because we’ve finally jumped on the bandwagon and have started devouring all of her books.
This story follows the kidnapping of a bus full of students. We switch between 4 different POVs – Jessa, the bus driver; Sage, a 12-year-old student on the bus; Sheena, mother to Sage and her sister, Bonnie, both of whom were on the bus; and Ted, one of the kidnappers.
Throughout this story, we see the terrifying situation Jessa, Sage, and the other kids are trapped in, as well as their fight to survive. We also get to see the grief and struggles of a mother whose kids are missing and who feels every decision she makes to try and get them back might be the wrong one.
And much like our previous Joint Review book, Gray After Dark, this book is also based on true events – the Chowchilla bus kidnapping that occurred in 1976. Noelle W. Ihli included the information in her Author’s Note at the end of the book, so don’t forget to read that!
Book Stats
- Kindle Unlimited book🖤
- Publication Date: 04/29/25
- Format: ebook
- Chapters: 60
- Pages: 354
- Narrator POV: Told in 1st person, switching between 4 main characters – Jessa, Sage, Sheena, and Ted
Shayna’s Review
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
As with all of her books, Ihli jumps right into the story. She doesn’t waste any time getting to the thrilling plot and throwing her characters into tense situations. As a reader, I love and appreciate this because it immediately pulls me into the story.
I really enjoyed the various viewpoints, as it allowed us to get a more complete picture of what was happening, not only to the students, but also with the kidnappers and the mother who’s trying to meet their demands. The way the plot comes together and how things click into place was a really fun and well-rounded experience.
I will say that after all the phenomenally written build up with the plot and characters, the ending felt extremely rushed and anticlimactic. I also didn’t like how there were so many situations that we didn’t get closure for. I can’t explain this further without spoiling a bit and I don’t want to do that, but this ending was the main reason I dropped my review to 4 stars. I still really enjoyed the story overall, though, and would definitely recommend it to any fans of thrillers and/or suspense. 🖤
Ronni’s Review
Book Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
One of my favorite aspects of Ihli’s books (at least the ones I’ve read so far) is that they are based on or inspired by true events. The Chowchilla bus kidnapping in 1976 was an amazing story of survival in face of likely the most tragic thing to ever happen to these children and bus driver. It’s a scary thought to know that all three who were convicted of this crime have been paroled.
In the story, Ihli presents us with the emotional roller coaster that comes with a subject such as this. The way she wrote the children broke my heart because it was so well done. I feel as though she truly captured the resilience that children possess, even in the face of a scary situation.
The outcome with the kidnappers was satisfying enough, without spoiling anything. I agree with Shayna in that the ending felt rushed and I came away with questions. I could use a bonus chapter or something to wrap it all up!
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