Released: 1st March 2011
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
Rating: 2/5
Goodreads description;
Kendall loves her life in small town Cryer's 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...
My thoughts:
The writing style of this book instantly got my back up, which was a bad start. I just really didn't like it. It's told in 3rd person present tense but it felt really detached and strange. It just jarred me in a really unusual way, I can't really explain what it was that I didn't like, I just really didn't like it. I really think present tense books should be told in first person, or atleast a more personal third person than this one was.
I didn't much like Kendall either. She has OCD and a 'sort of' boyfriend in Nico and I couldn't help but feel she was stringing him along a bit. In my opinion, she had no redeeming features at all. I think the part her OCD plays in the story was a bad idea, I really didn't agree with it at all but I can't really say any more without spoiling the story. It sorta made OCD into this positive thing and I think that was wrong.
The secondary characters of Nico, Jacian and Marlena were alright and made the book slightly more readable. Jacian was your typical surly teen, dragged away from a life he loved to live in farm country, and Marlena his sister was pretty much his opposite. I understood the need for the contrast between Nico and Jacian but I found the whole affair surrounding them slightly distasteful.
The actual mystery was less crime thriller more paranormal which I did find disappointing. It annoys me because I always start these books and I HAVE to finish them because I HAVE to know the end and yet they pretty much always disappoint me. The storyline of this dragged on and yet the end was sorta confusing and happened really quickly. I found the whole 'we' aspect really creepy and not in a good way either.
Overall I was really not impressed with this. I continued to read to find out what happened because it wasn't a long book, otherwise it would've been a DNF for me. I was disappointed as I've heard great things and was hoping for a fantastic YA crime thriller.
This one does sound disappointing. I hate characters with NO redeeming qualities. It makes you feel like, "why should I give a damn?!" I also HAVE to finish most of the books I start and I sometimes wish I'd just give up!
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame about this one! The main character definitely doesn't sound for me and I really don't like stories that drag on. The only book with third person present tense I've read is TSPoLaFS - it's unusual, and I don't know if I'd like it for this kind of book. Thanks for the review - will probably give this book a miss.
ReplyDeleteLove the cover it really sucks when it doesn't live up to the book itself. ;)
ReplyDeleteI've heard a lot of hype about this book, but never picked it up off my shelf. Looks like it will stay there collecting dust a little longer. I like this version of the cover though. It's more appealing than the empty desk version.
ReplyDeleteDude, ME. TOO. I hate third person present tense, which I found out very quickly while reading Cryer's Cross. And Kendall annoyed me so much. I just... couldn't deal with her anymore. and I HATED the OCD part. It was like she added it in just because. Your review = the best. I was so glad when I saw your rating, because I was like "YES! I AM NOT THE ONLY ONE!" ;)
ReplyDeleteAshelynn @ Gypsy Book Reviews.
Oh dear. I will avoid this one then.
ReplyDeleteOh noes! I have this but never got round to it. I'm probably in less of a rush to now!
ReplyDeleteEven though I did enjoy this, I can actually TOTALLY understand your every issue with it. Which confuses me and makes me want to reread to make sure I still feel the same about it haha. I think Lisa's writing style is definitely very different to what we usually see, it took me a little while to get used to it. Sorry to hear you didn't like this more, especially when you were expecting something better! Great review, nonetheless!
ReplyDeleteHave read the Dream Catcher series (not too sure if that is actually what it's called...) by Lisa McMann? It's also written in third person and the book's plot and characters were good but the way it was written just made me think "eh.." like it was so-so. I was hoping this series to be better but now....
ReplyDeleteoh no! I really actually liked this one but different people have different taste, I thought the plot line was a brilliant idea and I was captivated by the book!
ReplyDeleteI liked CRYER'S CROSS okay, mostly because I thought the idea of a haunted desk was original and interesting. But I understand your complaints about it. The book definitely doesn't live up to the hype. It's still a pretty creepy little story, though ...
ReplyDelete