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viktorian 's review for:
The Creeping
by Alexandra Sirowy
Disclaimer: Thanks to Edelweiss and Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for the free ARC! This has not influenced my review (beyond the simple fact that it enabled me to read this).
The Creeping was one of those books that reminded me of a cable horror movie some moments, and a spooky Southern Gothic novel at others, and both facets could be good or bad--I'm the type that happens to like both, and it worked here for me. I have to give the author a lot of credit for her characterization of the MC, Stella; you might not always like her, but Sirowy does a good job of showing how and why Stella ended up as a sort of shallow seeming, popular girl whose main concern was keeping up her social circle, even when it means making her unlikable at times, and then shows evolution without it seeming too contrived.
Pros: the PLOT, trope resistance, the ENDING (and the themes that go with it), the adult detective, and the romance, if only because I'm happy that it wasn't the one I thought it was going to be when the book started and I think being preoccupied with the idea of a guy was totally in character for Stella.
Cons: Nothing really stands out for me that I can recall a week later, but I do remember kind of slugging through the last half before the ending really built up, which isn't the best of signs. Also, Stella's supposed to be one of the most popular girls in school, so shouldn't she be better at reading people and manipulating situations? Her BFF really did the heavy lifting on that.
tl;dr: The Shining this is not, but that's part of what makes it work. Also, I bumped this up an extra star because of the ending was awesome and worth sticking around for.
The Creeping was one of those books that reminded me of a cable horror movie some moments, and a spooky Southern Gothic novel at others, and both facets could be good or bad--I'm the type that happens to like both, and it worked here for me. I have to give the author a lot of credit for her characterization of the MC, Stella; you might not always like her, but Sirowy does a good job of showing how and why Stella ended up as a sort of shallow seeming, popular girl whose main concern was keeping up her social circle, even when it means making her unlikable at times, and then shows evolution without it seeming too contrived.
Pros: the PLOT, trope resistance, the ENDING (and the themes that go with it), the adult detective, and the romance, if only because I'm happy that it wasn't the one I thought it was going to be when the book started
Spoiler
(I was so glad that it wasn't Jeanie's bitter, older, mysterious brother.)Cons: Nothing really stands out for me that I can recall a week later, but I do remember kind of slugging through the last half before the ending really built up, which isn't the best of signs. Also, Stella's supposed to be one of the most popular girls in school, so shouldn't she be better at reading people and manipulating situations? Her BFF really did the heavy lifting on that.
tl;dr: The Shining this is not, but that's part of what makes it work. Also, I bumped this up an extra star because of the ending was awesome and worth sticking around for.