Review: Cryer's Cross

Title: Cryer's Cross

Author: Lisa McMann

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 8, 2011

The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on... until Kendall's boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it's crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear...and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating...and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico's mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

I tend to go for books with one of two things; a topic or subject I love or am obsessed with. Or, something I can relate to.
I saw Cryer's Cross on WORD for Teens' website, and Nicki was kind enough to send it to me to read. The first thing that caught me was the line on the cover, "The smaller the town, the bigger the secrets."
See, I live in a small town, and I know this to be SO incredibly true. And I own a desk just like the one on the cover, so I had to read it.

Then, there's the fact that the description sounded delicious. Oh boy, did the book live up to that. The plot was so incredibly wonderful, if at times a little predictable, and I couldn't put the book down. I read this book for an hour straight.

The story was so creepy! I do think areas of the story, as well as characters, should have been fluffed out more. However, McMann writes shorter than norm. stories, and I think it was left out for the sake of simplicity. I would have liked to know more about Jacian, more background about Cryer's Reform School for Delinquent Boys.

I loved Kendall; she's OCD to the extreme. It was interesting to see the story through her eyes. She couldn't stop obsessing over the kidnappings, or trying to find blame in Jacian. And who wouldn't? He was such a jerk at the beginning!

The relationship between her and Jacian developed slowly and ended up realistic and I loved that! (I dislike mushy, fast relationships.) Nico was cute, but he was overboard. And Kendall didn't lower her standards for him, which made her rock even more.

The creeptastic factor of the book was super high, and I think that's what kept me reading. Cryer's Cross is definitely full of a nasty evil.

The only thing I didn't care for, was the way the story was written. I'm not a huge fan of McMann's writing style. It feels....awkward. That's why I gave it four stars, instead of five. In the end, I was able to look past that and find the wonderful story that is Cryer's Cross. I'd definitely recommend it!

I gave it four sporks!