The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy

Hello, readers! This week's review is by guest reviewer, Miss Shayne; for Miss Shayne's previous review posted to this blog, please click here, and for Miss Shayne's Staff Picks 2014 post, please click here.

I had been eyeing up this book since I saw we had it. I know I shouldn’t judge books by their covers, but I usually do. I was instantly drawn to this mysterious-looking book with the black-and-white forest on the cover. The Creeping looked so wonderfully creepy. This story takes place in a small town called Savage. We are immediately introduced to the main character, Stella, and her friends. We also get a bit of background information. Eleven years ago, Stella and her friend Jeanie disappeared, and only Stella returned chanting over and over, “If you hunt for monsters, you’ll find them.” However, Stella doesn’t remember anything that happened that day. Eleven years later, a little girl’s body is discovered, and the story launches into a murder mystery as Stella and her friends, believing that the murder and disappearance are connected, try to remember anything that happened leading up to the disappearance of their friend Jeanie.

This book was good, but it could have been better. Stella, the main character, slowly became the heroine I wanted her to be. I think it took too long for her to get there. She tried to act too much like her awful best friend at times, which made me cringe. One of the only problems I had with this book was Stella’s best friend Zoey. (After reading this book, I’m sure you would agree that she’s awful.) Zoey thought it was so important to be popular, when there were more important things going on. (Uh, hello? The string of connected murders spanning over the past few hundred years? Maybe a little more important than partying.)

The other problem I had with this book was all of the “connections” that the main characters made throughout the book. The main characters put some unrelated pieces together and come up with a wild goose chase for themselves that seems ridiculous, and yet the author sells it to us. Then, we find out the truth, and it seems ridiculous again. Classic misdirection. The ending would have been predictable if we weren’t trapped in the minds of imaginative teenagers.

Anyway, if you hunt for better books, you’ll find them.

--Reviewed by Miss Shayne

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