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A review by shrewdbard
Dirt Creek by Hayley Scrivenor
3.75
This books strengths aren’t in wild, jaw-dropping twists, but in the realism and the character writing. I loved that this novel was critical of the common mystery trope of “every tiny misspeak is a clue and no moment is ever misremembered.” Instead, people’s memories are flawed. They forget to mention details, not even out of maliciousness. Which likely feeds into the larger theme - that most people who do bad aren’t bad people. Just people who have found themselves up against irrevocably bad choices.
I spent the whole book wishing Clint would die. He was such a pig, but in a depressingly all too real way. I was worried this writer wasn’t great at portraying 12 year olds at the beginning, but that’s just Ronnie’s uniquely innocent point of view - you’ll notice Lewis’s chapters feel more like they come from a middle school boy. The Greek chorus was an incredibly cool touch.
I figured out the perforator the moment they were introduced. But not the how or the why!
I spent the whole book wishing Clint would die. He was such a pig, but in a depressingly all too real way. I was worried this writer wasn’t great at portraying 12 year olds at the beginning, but that’s just Ronnie’s uniquely innocent point of view - you’ll notice Lewis’s chapters feel more like they come from a middle school boy. The Greek chorus was an incredibly cool touch.