Cryer's Cross

3.0

3.5 (8)

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2 reviews with 4 stars

8 reviews

5 stars

25%

4 stars

25%

3 stars

38%

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1 star

13%

Overall rating

3.5

Plot

3.3(8)

Characters

3.7(6)

Writing Style

3.5(6)

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Cryer's Cross (A Room with Books review)

August 16, 2012

Overall rating

4.0

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Sadly, this book was pretty boring for most of it. I didn't have incredibly high expectations or anything, but I was at least expecting a little something as suggested in the synopsis. The story didn't even reach the most intriguing part of the synopsis until halfway through. I was really losing hope at that point too. And though it was a bit slow-moving when it comes to catching my interest, the actual story seemed to move much too quickly. Things went from nothing to sinister in about two sentences.

The story ended up being rather original and quite creepy. That's about as good as it gets though. I was incredibly unimpressed by the writing. "But" seemed to be nonexistent and was instead replaced by disjointed sentences that made me want to cringe. The language didn't really seem to suit the characters. It was much too "stereotypical farmer" while the characters didn't seem to fit that sentiment at all.

The characters themselves were hard to get into and relate with. I found myself not caring about trying to put details with the character and instead just imagining them as generic images to help move the story along without any effort.

Final thoughts: The story was pretty good though it took quite a bit to get into. Nothing is spectacularly great about this book but because of its size it's a pretty quick read.

Jasmine Top 50 Reviewer 326 reviews

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A suspenseful read with some bumps in the road

February 20, 2011

Overall rating

4.0

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Reader reviewed by Meghan

Having just finished the book, its story fresh in my mind so I could review it, I find myself staring at the blank canvas of the text field. What to say about this novel?

Kendall Fletcher is a teenager growing up in the small town of Cryer's Cross. She has a best friend named Nico. Boyfriend, he'd say. She can't bring herself to call him her boyfriend, she doesn't like the commitment of the word. The reason is because Kendall has OCD. Counting her steps, racing thoughts, checking and rechecking locks, rearranging desk, making sure the markers in the one room high school are arranged the Roy G Biv way. This year would be a different one for Kendall, as a fellow student had disappeared May of that year. Tiffany Quinn. The town Sheriff lead a search party to no avail. Tiffany wasn't found.

Enter stage left as two transfer students move to the small town just before Tiffany disappeared. Jacian (Hah-see-AHN, not JAY-se-un!) and Marlena. Rumors start spreading that Jacian might have had something to do with her disappearance. He is afterall, not friendly to anyone. Marlena passes that off as teenage angst in responce to moving. So which is it?

Now, when suddenly Nico disappears after acting really strange, people start wondering if it was Nico that had to do with Tiffany's disappearance. But when Kendall starts getting messages on Nico's desk - which was coincidentally Tiffany's desk the previous year - she realizes something much more sinister might be going on.

I want to start off saying that this was overall a very good book. Most of the characters had personalities - even some of the smaller ones - which usually doesn't happen in a book. Lisa McMann does well in making her characters have voices. And when she writes romance, boy does she write it. Seriously, Jacian was hot!

However, the reason this book doesn't merit a 5 out of 5 are some small nitpicky things that add up for me. First, some of the dialog was just kind of awkward, almost rushed. It felt like filler conversations to push the page count of the book, not to further the story. Second, although Kendall's OCD was apparent sometimes, I wish it would have been made more apparent. There were times I'd get done reading a chapter and then Kendall would go back to school and do her "school routine" involving rearranging the desk, turning the waste basket just so, and arranging the markers, and I'd remember that she had OCD. There'd be a lot of Kendall thinking about how much her OCD consumes her, yet that wasn't made as apparent as I would have liked.

Don't let the previous paragraph or the semi-slow middle of the book throw you off from reading this book though, once you hit the final count down of the book, Lisa McMann pulls you in and doesn't let you up for air until she's done with you. She then leaves you in a speechless sort of haze, not quite knowing what to think yet while you still digest the end of the book you read in a hurried slurr, because you couldn't get enough. Once I took a step back from this book after reading it, I found it was a very enjoyable read with some minor bumps in the road. Another satisfying read from Lisa McMann.

I give this book a solid 4 out of 5 stars.

Guest #1 Reviewer