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3.44 AVERAGE
3.44 AVERAGE
A quick read, read in a single afternoon. Great pacing of the mystery thriller. But somehow I felt as if I've read this before.
Originally posted at: The Rowdy Librarian!
3.5
“If you hunt for monsters, you’ll find them.”
Do you have the chills yet? If not, or even if you do, and you’re looking for a nice, eerie novel this Halloween season, The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy, is a great way to start!
Set in small town Minnesota, Savage could just be any other place on the map. But it isn’t. It is the site of a mysterious kidnapping, where only one little girl came back. That little girl is now pre-senior year Stella. It is the eleventh anniversary of her, and Jeanie’s, kidnapping. All summer plans seem to be in order, but strange things, including another little girl murdered, begin to happen.
I had chills the first chapter in and was honestly afraid to turn my light off when I put the book down. Alexandra Sirowy’s description is fantastic and you feel as if you are in the woods with the characters. I kept expecting trees to pop up around me and to be hearing the noises that were coming from something that could not be seen.
Her homage to folk tales was wonderful. What an awful monster to think lurks in the woods of your hometown. It had to be a monster, right? What else could cause these happenings? These parts of this book were my favorites. I am very interested in folklore and creepy old stories, and this fit the bill. The last page has you wondering a lot about the blurry line between truth and fiction.
What I was a little disappointed with was the sheer amount of high school drama. I understand that this is a young adult novel (and as we all know, I love those!), but a good 150 pages into the book and nothing involving this scary monster in the woods showed up yet! I understand introducing characters that are integral to the story and giving everyone some background, but it just got ridiculous. This book could have easily been at least 100 pages shorter and nothing would have been left out. I could’ve done with some more scary in these parts, and less Mean Girls (as much as I LOVE Mean Girls).
I figured out the twist a little before it happened, but she added more to it that I did not anticipate. I enjoyed the writing and the story kept me hooked.
I was torn between liking and disliking the main character, Stella. She is not very sympathetic, even for a girl that was kidnapped when she was six. She is mean to people that are “below” her and even after she is trampled on by her “best friend” she willingly accepts her back. Zoey, that “best friend”, is very unlikeable and her attitude adjustment towards the end seemed out of character. I did not quite understand the need for Michaela and Cole, Stella’s other two friends, as they are only in the story briefly and do not really do anything for it. Sam, her main love interest, is sweet and is like finding a four leaf clover. I do not know any boy, other than Severus Snape, that held on for a girl that long.
Jeanie’s story is interesting and I would’ve liked to know more about her. You learn from Stella and the others what she was like, but I still feel there were some things left unanswered. The ending kind of goes hand-in-hand with that though: what do you believe?
Overall I enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to her next one, The Telling.
3.5
“If you hunt for monsters, you’ll find them.”
Do you have the chills yet? If not, or even if you do, and you’re looking for a nice, eerie novel this Halloween season, The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy, is a great way to start!
Set in small town Minnesota, Savage could just be any other place on the map. But it isn’t. It is the site of a mysterious kidnapping, where only one little girl came back. That little girl is now pre-senior year Stella. It is the eleventh anniversary of her, and Jeanie’s, kidnapping. All summer plans seem to be in order, but strange things, including another little girl murdered, begin to happen.
I had chills the first chapter in and was honestly afraid to turn my light off when I put the book down. Alexandra Sirowy’s description is fantastic and you feel as if you are in the woods with the characters. I kept expecting trees to pop up around me and to be hearing the noises that were coming from something that could not be seen.
Her homage to folk tales was wonderful. What an awful monster to think lurks in the woods of your hometown. It had to be a monster, right? What else could cause these happenings? These parts of this book were my favorites. I am very interested in folklore and creepy old stories, and this fit the bill. The last page has you wondering a lot about the blurry line between truth and fiction.
What I was a little disappointed with was the sheer amount of high school drama. I understand that this is a young adult novel (and as we all know, I love those!), but a good 150 pages into the book and nothing involving this scary monster in the woods showed up yet! I understand introducing characters that are integral to the story and giving everyone some background, but it just got ridiculous. This book could have easily been at least 100 pages shorter and nothing would have been left out. I could’ve done with some more scary in these parts, and less Mean Girls (as much as I LOVE Mean Girls).
I figured out the twist a little before it happened, but she added more to it that I did not anticipate. I enjoyed the writing and the story kept me hooked.
I was torn between liking and disliking the main character, Stella. She is not very sympathetic, even for a girl that was kidnapped when she was six. She is mean to people that are “below” her and even after she is trampled on by her “best friend” she willingly accepts her back. Zoey, that “best friend”, is very unlikeable and her attitude adjustment towards the end seemed out of character. I did not quite understand the need for Michaela and Cole, Stella’s other two friends, as they are only in the story briefly and do not really do anything for it. Sam, her main love interest, is sweet and is like finding a four leaf clover. I do not know any boy, other than Severus Snape, that held on for a girl that long.
Jeanie’s story is interesting and I would’ve liked to know more about her. You learn from Stella and the others what she was like, but I still feel there were some things left unanswered. The ending kind of goes hand-in-hand with that though: what do you believe?
Overall I enjoyed this novel and am looking forward to her next one, The Telling.
"You keep squintin' in Savage's dark corners, you gonna wish yourself blind."
Wow, what a great creepy little story. I love that Stella wasn't perfect. She was angry and could be cruel. She made choices that wouldn't be considered nice and she had popular, wild, mean friends.
But on the night of the annual Bones party - an annual anniversary of a missing girl, Jeanie, that Stella went into the woods with but didn't come out with - a new body shows up.
And suddenly Stella isn't sure what's true anymore. Now, remembering what happened to Jeanie the day she disappeared seems more important than ever.
Best of all was the folklore. Stories I hadn't heard before and a history rich with horrors and evils and things that go bump in the night. I definitely plan to read anything [a:Alexandra Sirowy|7222174|Alexandra Sirowy|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1395250529p2/7222174.jpg] would like to spook us with :)
Wow, what a great creepy little story. I love that Stella wasn't perfect. She was angry and could be cruel. She made choices that wouldn't be considered nice and she had popular, wild, mean friends.
But on the night of the annual Bones party - an annual anniversary of a missing girl, Jeanie, that Stella went into the woods with but didn't come out with - a new body shows up.
And suddenly Stella isn't sure what's true anymore. Now, remembering what happened to Jeanie the day she disappeared seems more important than ever.
Best of all was the folklore. Stories I hadn't heard before and a history rich with horrors and evils and things that go bump in the night. I definitely plan to read anything [a:Alexandra Sirowy|7222174|Alexandra Sirowy|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1395250529p2/7222174.jpg] would like to spook us with :)
Read for free on Rivetedlit.com October 2019
Okay, this went way better than the previous October 2019 free reads.
The start was decidedly not boring unlike the rest of October's free fare.
I wasn't a big fan of the MC Stella & her friends in the beginning. All the popular girl nastiness and jokey name calling between themselves, like "slutarella", "Slutini", and "lesbos".
But the mystery and weird circumstances got me.
Also, total sucker for a good guy cinnamon roll like Sam.
Stella grew on me while exploring the mystery and standing up to Zoey. Then Zoey got somehow less irritating in the mix as well. I actually ended up liking them all in the end.
I thought it was over with...certain revelations. But I appreciate the follow through with more details & the message about news reporting, journalism, and paranormal stuff like The Creeping. Well done.
Okay, this went way better than the previous October 2019 free reads.
The start was decidedly not boring unlike the rest of October's free fare.
I wasn't a big fan of the MC Stella & her friends in the beginning. All the popular girl nastiness and jokey name calling between themselves, like "slutarella", "Slutini", and "lesbos".
But the mystery and weird circumstances got me.
Also, total sucker for a good guy cinnamon roll like Sam.
Stella grew on me while exploring the mystery and standing up to Zoey. Then Zoey got somehow less irritating in the mix as well. I actually ended up liking them all in the end.
I thought it was over with...certain revelations. But I appreciate the follow through with more details & the message about news reporting, journalism, and paranormal stuff like The Creeping. Well done.
Let me start b saying I am only giving The Creeping 5 stars because that is as high as GoodReads goes. If I could it would be a 10.
If you hunt for monsters, you'll find them. I had no idea what I was in store for when I began The Creeping. What I did find was a story so finely crafted that for once I didn't know who or what was at the root of creeping until it was right upon me. It began when Stella and her then 6 year old friend Jeanie went into the woods and only one came out. Jump forward 11 years to the day of bones celebration when the past comes back and the discovery of child's body. I became so emotionally invested not only in Stella's life, but I cared for Jeanie and wanted her to find peace. I will carry this story with me for a long time. Truly wonderful.
If you hunt for monsters, you'll find them. I had no idea what I was in store for when I began The Creeping. What I did find was a story so finely crafted that for once I didn't know who or what was at the root of creeping until it was right upon me. It began when Stella and her then 6 year old friend Jeanie went into the woods and only one came out. Jump forward 11 years to the day of bones celebration when the past comes back and the discovery of child's body. I became so emotionally invested not only in Stella's life, but I cared for Jeanie and wanted her to find peace. I will carry this story with me for a long time. Truly wonderful.
I thought this book was pretty boring which is saying something since it's all about a murder. There was a lot of filler that didn't add much to the story. I did like the ending though but by the time I got there I had been skimming the last 100 pages just to see what happened.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
3.5 stars. The Creeping meanders around the plot a bit slowly, and I initially detested Stella, the typical self-absorbed, not-always-nice popular girl. But I'm glad I stuck with it, because she had more depth than I originally expected.
The Creeping tells of Stella's summer, more than ten years after her six year old friend, Jeanie, was killed in the woods while playing with Stella. Her memories of that incident start to resurface after another young girl is found, and unexplainable things begin to happen.
Stella does grow on me as she begins to investigate the murders. She also starts thinking more for herself, rather than letting her best friend, Zoey, tell her what she can and can't do. The investigation eventually reveals those events from her past, and I rather enjoyed the surprising ending.
The Creeping tells of Stella's summer, more than ten years after her six year old friend, Jeanie, was killed in the woods while playing with Stella. Her memories of that incident start to resurface after another young girl is found, and unexplainable things begin to happen.
Stella does grow on me as she begins to investigate the murders. She also starts thinking more for herself, rather than letting her best friend, Zoey, tell her what she can and can't do. The investigation eventually reveals those events from her past, and I rather enjoyed the surprising ending.