Review: Cryer's Cross

Author: Lisa McMann
Pages: 240
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Synopsis (from Amazon):
Kendall loves her life in small town Cryer¹s Cross, Montana, but she also longs for something more. She knows the chances of going to school in New York are small, but she's not the type to give up easily. Even though it will mean leaving Nico, the world's sweetest boyfriend, behind.
But when Cryer's Cross is rocked by unspeakable tragedy, Kendall shoves her dreams aside and focuses on just one goal: help find her missing friends. Even if it means spending time with the one boy she shouldn't get close to... the one boy who makes her question everything she feels for Nico.
Determined to help and to stay true to the boy she's always loved, Kendall keeps up the search--and stumbles upon some frightening local history. She knows she can't stop digging, but Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried....

Cryer's Cross is a new book by Lisa McMann, the author of the Wake trilogy. To be honest, I didn't like Wake at all but I was pleasantly surprised with Cryer's Cross.

The main character, Kendall has OCD. She always needs to put things in the perfect position and always needs to check things to make sure they're okay. She often overanalyzes and she doesn't like living with her condition. OCD is a part of Kendall's life, and she's learned to at least tolerate it. This condition makes Kendall the perfect person to notice the connection between the two disappearances of kids in her school: Tiffany, and Kendall's best friend Nico.

Reading about Kendall's OCD was very interesting. It doesn't sound fun, but it made me realize that I probably had many misconceptions about OCD. Kendall herself was someone I liked. She cried when she was upset, but she really tried not to. She could be irrational, and she accepted that. She was an overall nice girl and I had lots of fun reading from her perspective.

The other major factor in Cryer's Cross was the "We" perspective, which was terrifyingly eerie. I guessed early on what "We" was, but I still get shivers just imagining everything they did. It was a great addition to the story and raised it one star level.

The plot itself was a bit predictable, but it was still interesting to read. There were some really scary bits, and if I didn't watch Supernatural every Friday, I'd have been terrified. (For all of y'all who don't watch Supernatural, it's very frightening and has lots of stories like the one in Cryer's Cross.) The end was satisfying. Everything was wrapped up neatly, except some very small bits that could make a new story. I'm not sure if there's a sequel, but if there is, I'd definitely read it.

All in all, Cryer's Cross is a haunting and chilling story told with likable characters. It's a fun spooky read, but beware: you won't want to read this one alone at your house in the middle of the night! 4 stars,

****









View all my reviews