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A review by ashkitty93
Croak by Gina Damico
5.0
October 2015 reread
Honestly, I can't come up with any reason why this only got four stars instead of five the first time around. Rereading this was like coming home. Almost the same way rereading Harry Potter feels like coming home. I read books two and three this past January, and only read Croak for the first time in December, so it hasn't even been a whole year apart yet but I missed this town. And these characters <3 I love books that make me feel like this.
17Dec14 Initial Reaction:
YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME.
Thankfully the other two books are already in my Amazon cart.
The whole premise is so imaginative and completely different from any other magical-ish world I've encountered in my literary travels; I've never really read anything that dealt specifically with death (until now: having just finished Croak and currently reading Sabriel, which deals with necromancy), so it was a bit... hm... morbidly refreshing, in that sense.
Everything just seemed to fit together so well. The Afterlife, the jellyfish, Yoricks -- although I was disappointed that no one started waxing Shakespearean when they all got drunk. Ah well, there's still two more books to go! And Poe. Holy cheese. If he wasn't already my favorite poet (and he's held that position for over ten years now) this would have definitely cemented it. Ms Damico's writing, especially the dialogue, just came out so clever and witty. I literally sat here and cackled out loud every couple pages. I instantly loved Lex's character and we need more Uncle Morts in the world. Driggs proved to be a worthy companion as soon as he started dishing things right back at Lex. Let's be clear: I don't advocate violence, but if she's gonna be a little shitbag then he's got more than enough right to stand up for himself. Although the name was a bit odd, I'll admit; I kept thinking of Drix from that old KidsWB show Ozzy and Drix--
Things got a little predictable when it came to unmasking the villain but I thought it was okay because the details were handled really well -- with the scars and whatnot. Reminded me of Ron in the Brain Room of the Ministry from Order of the Phoenix. And I got on my own nerves because I made the idiotic mistake of saying "let's check the end and see if they include a snippet from the next book" before I was done -- well, they didn't and I wound up piecing things together a wee bit earlier than I would have liked and spoilering myself. Dammit. JUST GIVE ME THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY.
Upon discovering the book and its gorgeous cover: She looks like Jack Frost with a reaper's scythe instead of an ice staff. First impression is a good one!
Honestly, I can't come up with any reason why this only got four stars instead of five the first time around. Rereading this was like coming home. Almost the same way rereading Harry Potter feels like coming home. I read books two and three this past January, and only read Croak for the first time in December, so it hasn't even been a whole year apart yet but I missed this town. And these characters <3 I love books that make me feel like this.
17Dec14 Initial Reaction:
YOU CAN'T DO THIS TO ME.
Thankfully the other two books are already in my Amazon cart.
The whole premise is so imaginative and completely different from any other magical-ish world I've encountered in my literary travels; I've never really read anything that dealt specifically with death (until now: having just finished Croak and currently reading Sabriel, which deals with necromancy), so it was a bit... hm... morbidly refreshing, in that sense.
Everything just seemed to fit together so well. The Afterlife, the jellyfish, Yoricks -- although I was disappointed that no one started waxing Shakespearean when they all got drunk. Ah well, there's still two more books to go! And Poe. Holy cheese. If he wasn't already my favorite poet (and he's held that position for over ten years now) this would have definitely cemented it. Ms Damico's writing, especially the dialogue, just came out so clever and witty. I literally sat here and cackled out loud every couple pages. I instantly loved Lex's character and we need more Uncle Morts in the world. Driggs proved to be a worthy companion as soon as he started dishing things right back at Lex. Let's be clear: I don't advocate violence, but if she's gonna be a little shitbag then he's got more than enough right to stand up for himself. Although the name was a bit odd, I'll admit; I kept thinking of Drix from that old KidsWB show Ozzy and Drix--
Things got a little predictable when it came to unmasking the villain but I thought it was okay because the details were handled really well -- with the scars and whatnot. Reminded me of Ron in the Brain Room of the Ministry from Order of the Phoenix. And I got on my own nerves because I made the idiotic mistake of saying "let's check the end and see if they include a snippet from the next book" before I was done -- well, they didn't and I wound up piecing things together a wee bit earlier than I would have liked and spoilering myself. Dammit. JUST GIVE ME THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY.
Upon discovering the book and its gorgeous cover: She looks like Jack Frost with a reaper's scythe instead of an ice staff. First impression is a good one!