If You're Out There by Katy Loutzenhiser Book Review

        If You're Out There by Katy Loutzenhiser is a YA mystery novel. It was published in 2019 by Balzer + Bray. It has 3.71 out of 5 stars on Goodreads. Here are my thoughts.

        If You're Out There is about a teenage girl named Zan. She's hurt when her best friend, Priya, stops replying to Zan's emails when she moves to California. Sadness becomes suspicion when Priya starts making oddly peppy - and possibly coded? -  posts on Instagram. Zan and her new friend, Logan investigate and eventually realize that Priya and her step-dad, Ben, might be in danger. The truth comes out when Zan and Logan find Priya locked in the basement of her grandmother's house in Indiana by her own step-dad. After a scuffle, Ben is locked up and Priya and Zan are reunited.

        The plot of If You're Out There was unique for sure. I never saw the twists and turns coming, especially when Ben turned out to be Priya's captor. While I enjoyed it, I can't say this book was easily believable. Ben trapped Priya because he was hiding from his business partner, Karim, who said he would send someone after Ben due to financial troubles in their business. This should've been planted as a possibility earlier in the book, and some more background information wouldn't hurt either. It felt as if it was all thrown on me at the end.

        The main characters in If You're Out There are Zan, Logan, and Priya. The character development in this book is great. I loved seeing Zan become more confident and independent. Logan was an interesting character to me; I thought his backstory added emotional depth of the book. Priya manages to be both comic relief and a strong role model for young women. All of these characters seem real because they are both gifted and flawed. Zan's struggle with letting go, Logan's traumatic past, and Priya's difficulty staying positive are all trials that I think readers will relate too - I certainly did.

        The writing of If You're Out There is engaging. Serious topics are introduced, but this book is kept light-hearted with quippy dialogue and Zan's candid narration.

        In conclusion, I would give If You're Out There 4 out of 5 stars. It was a funny, sincere, and generally enjoyable read. I would have liked there to be more backstory on Ben and Karim's feud to add to the mystery's believability. I recommend this story to people looking to read about mystery, friendship, and love.