Cryer's Cross - Lisa McMann

**SLIGHT SPOILERS. YOU ARE WARNED**

Let me just begin by saying: WHAT. THE. HECK. =O
          That is what this book made me say. And it’s not a BAD “what-the-heck”, either. No, this “what-the-heck” is for the kind of book that leaves you with your mouth hanging WIDE open (almost touching the ground, in my case) and you sitting there still trying to process what a mind trip author Lisa McMann just put you through. This novel is for you mystery/paranormal lovers out there, and it’s called Cryer’s Cross. If the creepy cover hasn’t caught your attention already, then bust off your BUTT and BUY THIS BOOK NOW!

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...
More info about the book can be found here.

                You may think that this book is quite… predictable. But it’s not. Kendall is not your typical YA mystery novel protagonist at all. She’s just a normal farm girl who lives in a small town where everybody knows everybody. Oh, and she has a little something called Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. But her OCD doesn’t take away from her personality at all. In fact, it makes her an incredibly unique character because she is not perfect, like the majority of people in this world.

                *SPOILER IS HERE* When a couple of teens go missing in this small town, the entire town’s population is trying to find them, Kendall especially, since one of the missing persons is Nico. And when Kendall’s OCD causes her to notice something no one else would even dream of paying any attention to, things start getting strange. And stranger. And stranger still. Bizarre, paranormal things begin to happen as the novel picks up speed and becomes increasingly suspenseful and intense as Kendall begins to unravel the mystery. And of course, this book has romance in it too; with Nico gone, there’s another guy…

                However, the romance is kind of in the sidelines because the mystery involving the missing people is so much more dominant. Before almost every chapter begins, creepy message are written in italics, containing the always-ominous pronouns “We”, “Us”, and of course, “You”. An excerpt? Here:

WE

Thirty-five. One hundred. Thirty-five. One hundred. We

know. The weight, the heat. There is life heavy against Us

again. A heartbeat, a pulse through taut skin.

Got the goosebumps yet? Read the book and you’ll be covered in them. No lie. 

                Overall? AMAZING. I absolutely LOVE thrillers/mysteries/paranormal stories like Cryer’s Cross. The writing is absolutely marvelous (if you’ve even read the Wake Trilogy, you would know ;D), completely captivating and an incredible nail-biter. Seriously. I sat in front of my computer and began reading it on Simon and Schuster’s Pulse It at 6pm. By 10:30pm, I finished it without moving my butt from the computer even once. Not even to go to the washroom! So, thank you, Lisa McMann, for 4 ½ hours well spent. =)

OUT OF 5 STARS!!!

 - sm:)e .