Review : Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Title : Cryer's Cross
Author : Lisa McMann
Publisher : Simon Pulse
Genre : Young Adult, Paranormal, Mystery
ISBN : 978-1416994817
Series or Stand Alone : Stand Alone
Release Date : February 8, 2011
Rating : 3/5 Stars - Good

Description from Amazon : 

The small town of Cryer’s Cross is rocked by tragedy when an unassuming freshman disappears without a trace. Kendall Fletcher wasn’t that friendly with the missing girl, but the angst wreaks havoc on her OCD-addled brain. 

When a second student goes missing—someone close to Kendall’s heart—the community is in an uproar. Caught in a downward spiral of fear and anxiety, Kendall’s not sure she can hold it together. When she starts hearing the voices of the missing, calling out to her and pleading for help, she fears she’s losing her grip on reality. But when she finds messages scratched in a desk at school—messages that could only be from the missing student who used to sit there—Kendall decides that crazy or not, she’d never forgive herself if she didn’t act on her suspicions. 

Something’s not right in Cryer’s Cross—and Kendall’s about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried. 

Trailer : 

 

 

Review : 

Kendall Fletcher lives in the small town of Cryer's Cross.  Nothing bad has ever happened there, and everyone knows everyone.  The high school is a one room classroom, so when one girl goes missing, the whole town knows about it.  Kendall takes it very hard when the girl goes missing, because she already has really bad OCD as it is.  Now Kendall has added on new tasks to her daily life, because she fears that she might be the next person to go missing.

Things are even worse for her when someone she truly cares about is the next one to go missing.  She even begins to think that the stress of the missing children has made her crazy, because she starts to hear their voices.  Words scratched into a desk at school are her only clue that she's not crazy, so she uses those clues to try to find her missing friend.

I'll be quite honest, I didn't even read the synopsis of this book before I started it.  The cover just looked so interesting that I wanted to read it from that image alone.  I was about half-way through the story, wondering whether or not there was a paranormal element when I decided to read the synopsis.  While this book does have some paranormal elements, you don't see them until close to the end of the book.  It all just seemed like a regular mystery novel to me for quite some time.

I liked Kendall, although she wasn't my favorite main character.  She really enlightened me on how a person with OCD goes throughout their day, and what they really do go through.  Most people don't realize how difficult life can be for a person with OCD, but McMann easily portrayed how a person with this disorder would live their life.  At times I thought Kendall was a little too judgmental, especially to the new boy in town, although he wasn't the nicest person to her either. 

This was the first book that I've read by Lisa McMann, and honestly I didn't enjoy it as much as I thought I would.  I've heard a lot of good things about her writing, but it felt like it lacked something, although I can't put my finger on it.  I'm not saying that this story wasn't good, because it was, but it was a little slow moving.  I did however, think it was good enough to read more of her work, so I'll be going back and reading her Wake Series.

Where did I get this book? : 

I received my e-galley from the Simon & Schuster Galley Grab for my honest review.

Amazon Affiliates : 

Clicking on title links in this post will redirect you to Amazon.com.  If you happen to make a purchase after clicking these links I will receive a small percentage of the profits. 

Review : Friend is Not a Verb by Daniel Ehrenhaft

Title : Friend is Not a Verb
Author : Daniel Ehrenhaft
Publisher : HarperTeen
Genre : Young Adult,  Mystery
ISBN : 978-0061131066
Series : Stand Alone
Release Date : May 4, 2010
Rating : 4/5 Stars - Really Liked It


Synopsis from Publisher : 

Henry "Hen" Birnbaum's sister, Sarah, missing for over a year, has come home unexpectedly, with no explanation at all. But he can't leave well enough alone; Hen needs to figure out why she disappeared, even if she won't tell him. It's not like he has anything better to do. His girlfriend just dumped him and kicked him out of their band. He can't play the bass worth crap anyway. His social life consists of night after night of VH1 marathons with his best friend and next-door neighbor, the neurotic Emma Wood.

Hen's sure the answers to Sarah's lost year lie with Gabriel Stern—Sarah's friend from college who also happens to be a twenty-two-year-old fugitive from the law and Hen's bass teacher . . . too bad he can't play bass worth crap either. A month into his quest, Hen has had countless consultations with Emma, watched approximately fifty-three reruns of Behind the Music, and made one new Facebook friend. Unfortunately, he's no closer to any revelations about his sister. The thing is, he's too distracted to notice it, but while Hen's been looking for all the answers, something mind-blowing happened: He got a life.

Review : 

Henry "Hen" Birnbaum has been going through a lot this year, and it hasn't all affected him for the better.  When his sister Sarah first ran away a year ago, it really tore him up.  All he knew was that she did something she wasn't supposed to do, and was now a fugitive of the law.  His own parents won't even give him the run-down on what his sister has done, although they know perfectly well what it was.  Needless to say, Hen is tired of being considered a child, he's 16-years old now, and has the right to know some things.

The night his sister decides to return to the family, Hen's life gets worse.  His girlfriend, and the leader of their band PETRA, breaks up with him in the middle of the rain, and then continues to boot him from his position as the band's bass player.  It's okay though, because he never really could play the bass very well anyway.  When he arrives home and finds a note from his parents claiming they've gone to pick up his sister Sarah, Hen can't believe it.  He can't decide whether he's truly happy to see his sister, or still infuriated with her for leaving without even saying good-bye.


Things between him and Sarah are weird now, especially since she still won't tell him what's going on.  When her friend and fellow fugitive, Gabriel Stern, offers to give him bass lessons, Hen decides to take them in hopes that Gabe will slip up and tell him what is going on.  Instead it seems Gabe is more worried about Hen admitting to feelings towards his best friend, Emily Wood, that he's not even sure are really there.  Emily has always been next door, and she knows just about everything about him, but can there be more to their relationship than Hen thinks?


I really liked Hen's character from the very first page.  He may have been a little depressing at times, but he was extremely quick-witted and had the tendency to make me giggle.  I could understand why Hen was angry at his sister Sarah for leaving, and then returning without giving him an inkling toward her reasons.  On the other hand, I think he could have been a little more happy to see her, especially if he missed her as much as he claimed.  


There was a lot of characters in this book, and believe it or not, despite how short it is you learn a lot about each and everyone of them.  My favorite character was probably Emily, even though there were a few times that I wanted to wring her neck because of the things she was doing.  She was all around good-hearted, and despite some of the things she did, they were always for the benefit of others.  


My least favorite character was Petra, the ex-girlfriend.  She wasn't really that bad actually, but it seemed that if you weren't cool, she wanted nothing from you.  The apple doesn't fall far from the tree though, if you ask me, because her father wasn't really any better.  Both characters are nice to those around them, but in the limelight of things you feel like your just not up to their standards the more you read about them.


The mystery of Hen's missing sister hovered over this entire plot, while it wasn't always front and center.  Hen almost always had it on his mind, despite the fact that he tried his hardest to just leave it alone.  The funny thing is, the answer to the mystery was in front of both Hen's, and the readers face the whole time, you just didn't know it.  I was completely surprised when I found out Sarah's story at the end of this book, and actually slapped my knee because I was too silly to figure it out earlier on.  


All around this was a great book.  You learn a lot about Hen, and his friends.  Despite the lack of appearance from his sister, Sarah, she is one of the main focus points of this novel.  Even though you get to watch Hen grow as a teenager, and learn more about himself and those around him, you still find yourself wondering what his sister could have done to get herself into so much trouble.  I'll more than likely be reading more books by Daniel Ehrenhaft in the future, because I loved his writing.  I even liked that it was narrated from Hen's point of view.  I'm usually not into books narrated by male characters, but his one was written perfectly, and it made me feel like I really knew Hen, sometimes better than he knew himself.


Where did I get this book? : 

I received my ARC for participating in a traveling tour with Around the World Tours.

Amazon Affiliates : 

Clicking on title links in this post will redirect you to Amazon.com. If you happen to make a purchase after clicking these links I will receive a small percentage of the profits.

Review : He Who Sings Last by Lisa Laird DiRosso

Title : He Who Sings Last
Author : Lisa Laird DiRosso
Publisher : Tate Publishing

Genre : Mystery

ISBN : 978-1606966952

Series : Yes, #1

Rating : 4

From Amazon :

Just how far will one fan go to prove her loyalty? In her novel He Who Sings Last, Lisa Laird DiRosso expertly knits a blanket of obsession laced with suspicion and murder in a suspenseful crime novel centered on has-been celebrity Jimmy Covelli. He leads a quiet, post-fame existence until some ghosts from his past come back to haunt him after nineteen years, when an unsolved murder case is reopened by a zealous New York detective. Covelli charms and harms wherever he goes, and in his destructive path, he leaves behind a host of resentful family members and brokenhearted fans. Will the detective catch him and be able to prove his guilt? Find out in He Who Sings Last.

Review :

Jimmy Covelli is the lead singer of the late band, The Floating Hearts. He now lives a quiet life in California and misses his life as a young heart throb. Since he's gotten older, he's gained some gray hairs, some extra poundage and an ever increasing frown. Things were much better when he could get any woman he wanted, and men envied him because of it. Life has just gotten too boring.

Not for long though, because Detective John Vintoni has traveled all the way from Nassau County, New York to question Covelli about a case that was closed nearly 20 years ago. A young fan of Covelli's, Connie Calabrese, was brutally murdered the night of one of his famous concerts at the Green Garden Coliseum, and Jimmy Covelli is the only viable suspect.

Miranda Madison is newly divorced and out to hunt down the man she truly loves. She's been a fan of Jimmy Covelli's since she was a young girl, and her obsession for him has only grown stronger over the years. With her late husband, David, out of the way, she can put in extra time hunting down Covelli. Will fate bring them together, or tear their lives apart? You'll have to find out by reading He Who Sings Last.

First of all, I'd like to thank the author of this novel, Lisa Laird DiRosso, for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book. It was quite different than the average mystery novel. I was expecting to read about murders from the victims point of view, and not only did I get that, but I got a whole lot more.

He Who Sings Last is a first hand look on what goes through the mind of not only the victim, but every party involved in a horrific crime. It really makes you think, and I liked that about this novel. It also makes you wonder whether or not the life of a celebrity is really all that it's cracked up to be. Who knows, your favorite celebrity may be a murderer, or not, but it is a possibility, and that was the message I recieved from this book.

DiRosso gives each of her characters a backround history that will have you guessing what their next move will be throughout the whole novel. I would recommend this book to people that enjoy reading mysteries, detective novels, and even true crime, although it is fiction. I look forward to reading any upcoming novels written by this new author, and am hoping there will be a sequel to He Who Sings Last, as it ends with a cliffhanger, and I must know what happens to the characters.

Read my Interview with author, Lisa Laird DiRosso here.

Order your copy of He Who Sings Last by Lisa Laird DiRosso at Amazon.com.