Cryer's Cross in Once Upon a Twilight blog

Dec 08, 2010 Sara Heacox rated it really liked it

I don't read spooky, creepy stories usually because they give me the heebie jeebies! I have never been a one to read Stephen King (although I like his work). I really liked this book. I will say that it gave the creeps. I finished it at night and could have sworn that I heard noises all night long!

Lisa does a great job of making the story creepy without being morbid or graphic. Even though it is told through the third person, the story is about Kendell, a girl with OCD. I found it interesting t ...more

Like · see review

Aug 04, 2010 Cynthia Lopez rated it liked it

I’m a fan of Lisa McMann’s Wake trilogy, they were some of the first YA books I read and I loved that her writing is very easy to get lost in, it flows easily and you can read her books really fast, most in just one sitting. I was happy to see that it hadn’t changed in Cryer’s Cross. I finished this book in a day, Lisa McMann doesn’t waste a lot of time with useless details, her books get to the plot of the story right away, and Cryer’s Cross didn’t waste time getting to the creepy parts.

I liked ...more

Like · see review

Aug 10, 2010 Katieb (MundieMoms) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: mundie-moms-review, arcs-i-own, mundie-kids-book-reviews, 2011-100-book-challenge

Creepy, haunting and very addictive, Cryer's Cross will lure you in and leave you needing more.

Like the rest of her fantastic books, Lisa's writing is captivating. She has an ability to bring her world to life and makes me fall in love with her broken characters, as they're realistic, relatable and they always leave me feeling satisfied with the end of their story and wanting more all at the same time. Cryer's Cross is no different. Only this time, the hunt is on to find out who or what is makin Creepy, haunting and very addictive, Cryer's Cross will lure you in and leave you needing more.

Like the rest of her fantastic books, Lisa's writing is captivating. She has an ability to bring her world to life and makes me fall in love with her broken characters, as they're realistic, relatable and they always leave me feeling satisfied with the end of their story and wanting more all at the same time. Cryer's Cross is no different. Only this time, the hunt is on to find out who or what is making people disappear with out a trace in the tiny town of Cryer's Cross, Montana.

Kendall is a character I really enjoyed getting to know. She's real, she's not stuck on the latest trend, and instead she helps out on her family's farm, plays soccer, and enjoys spending time with her best friend Nicco, and deals with living each day with a serve case of OCD. I was completely fascinated with the way Lisa introduces us into Kendall's world, and the compulsions that rule it. Having OCD myself, I found myself both drawn to Kendall in understanding and sympathy. Though her OCD is much more extreme than mine, I really liked that it's Kendall's OCD that makes her realize there's something sinister going on. She's the only one who sees the writing on the desk, the plea for help, that is etched into the desk that sits in the one room school house where her missing best friend Nico once sat and the girl who disappeared before him, Tiffany.

Lisa takes creepy to a whole new level. I'm not one who enjoys horror movies or reading creepy books (call me a whimp), but I was hooked with this book and found I couldn't "look away" or put the book down. I had to know what was going on. Not only did I want to see how Kendall would handle so much change in a short amount of time, but I wanted to see how her and Jacien's relationship developed, but I had to know more about the "We". Although most of the book is written in third person, the "We" has a freakishly, addicting voice that makes me you want to know what/who they are, and what exactly their need is. Let me just say, I will never look at a desk the same again.

Cryer's Cross has an intense creepy factor to it, but also a fantastic, realistic romance. In true Lisa fashion she brings together two broken characters, Kendall and Jacian and writes a beautiful romance that continues to build as the mystery surrounding Nico and Tiffany's intensifies. I liked that they both have something to offer the other and help each other to heal in a way no one else can. Not one for crying, Kendall's grief over losing Nico literally poured off the pages and had me crying. This is fantastic read that I couldn't get enough of. I highly recommend picking up Cryer's Cross! There is some minor language, but nothing too bad. I would recommend Cryer's Cross to those 14 yrs & older. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Nov 22, 2010 Crystal rated it really liked it

What a thrill-ride. I was sucked right into this book from the beginning and who wouldn't be. It starts with a missing girl in a small town and a girl who is OCD trying to come to terms with that and herself as a new school year begins.

I liked Kendall, I'm not familiar with OCD personally, have seen instances of it on tv, but no one that I know of has it, so I found this to be interesting that the main character of the book has it. It was interesting to see how she deals with that and life. I li What a thrill-ride. I was sucked right into this book from the beginning and who wouldn't be. It starts with a missing girl in a small town and a girl who is OCD trying to come to terms with that and herself as a new school year begins.

I liked Kendall, I'm not familiar with OCD personally, have seen instances of it on tv, but no one that I know of has it, so I found this to be interesting that the main character of the book has it. It was interesting to see how she deals with that and life. I liked the small town feel of the book. Cryer's Cross is tiny, has all of it's high school grades in one class and everyone knows each other and helps each other out. Jacien is new in town and seems aloof and hard to get to know at first, but when the second teenager goes missing, Jacien starts to play a bigger role. I really liked him as well, he was hot of course, but there was something more to him in the book. He was moody but a good soul and it made him likeable even when he really wasn't.

The storyline kept me intrigued. It was like YA horror with teen angst, good parents and a small town built in. I really enjoyed the book and was so into it I could read it in the room with my husband and two kids who were watching tv at the time. It was that interesting to me. I felt like I was in Cryer's Cross and looking at Jacien and Kendall and the other members of the community.

I also liked Kendall's parents, they were involved in her life for the most part. They knew her comings and goings and who she was running around with and I liked that. Kendall also had a respect for her parents that is lacking in a lot of books, so I feel those were positive things that added to the story for me as an adult. I think the teenage crowd will relate as well. It's not a perfect relationship, but it does seem to be a healthy one.

My only complaints were the book was a little choppy. That may have been smoothed out in the final copy a and it may just be me. Some of the events were a little jarring and I felt it jumped around some. Did that detract from the overall story - no, not really. I still loved every minute of the book. It's an entertaining and quick read. I really wish this type of book had been around when I was a teenager. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 29, 2010 Christin (Portrait of a Book) rated it really liked it

Shelves: 100in2011, young-adult, paranormal, mystery

The countdown widget for this book, as well as the trailer, both seemed to promise a story that was deliciously creepy. Cryer's Cross did not disappoint.

"The smaller the town, the bigger the secrets." So the cover of Cryer's Cross proclaims, and how true it is. Kendall Fletcher's entire routine is shaken by the disappearance of Tiffany Quinn. Despite her OCD, Kendall tries to move on as best she can; after all, she has soccer, Julliard, and her quasi-boyfriend Nico to think about. But then Nico The countdown widget for this book, as well as the trailer, both seemed to promise a story that was deliciously creepy. Cryer's Cross did not disappoint.

"The smaller the town, the bigger the secrets." So the cover of Cryer's Cross proclaims, and how true it is. Kendall Fletcher's entire routine is shaken by the disappearance of Tiffany Quinn. Despite her OCD, Kendall tries to move on as best she can; after all, she has soccer, Julliard, and her quasi-boyfriend Nico to think about. But then Nico disappears as well, and Kendall's mind is permanently locked on overdrive. When another search turns up nothing, she tries desperately to distract herself - even if it means spending time with Jacian, the seemingly rude, brooding, and yet undeniably hot new senior in town. Eventually Kendall notices something strange, courtesy of her OCD: The graffiti on Nico's desk is changing. New messages are there, and what's more, that's the same desk that Tiffany Quinn sat in before she disappeared. Kendall is strangely drawn to the desk, to the voice that must be Nico's. If only she can learn enough from the messages, she knows she can save him. But in a small town, things are never what they seem...

Even though I'd heard about Cryer's Cross from fellow bloggers and seen good reviews of it, I kept thinking of it as "one of those books I'll read when I have time." Then I went to the Lisa McMann signing and heard her read the first chapter. And I was hooked. I read the book in a few hours one afternoon, because, once I started, I couldn't put it down. Kendall is such a relatable character; even people without OCD suffer from recurring thoughts and preoccupations. I loved that she was interested in both athletics and arts and that, even though she became close with Marlena, she could still be one of the guys. And then there was the creepy/paranormal factor. The comments from "WE" were, in a word, chilling. Piecing them together as Kendall tried to unravel the secrets of the desk and the town definitely made for a compelling read. I had my suspicions, but I would never have put everything together quite the way it was in the end.

The only thing I wanted from this book was more - I wasn't quite ready to let Kendall and Jacian go at the end. And while Lisa has a very clean, effective writing style (and one in which present-tense definitely works), occasionally I wanted more description, or perhaps a bit more of the character from the "WE" sections in the rest of the book.

Overall, Cryer's Cross is a great mystery with just the right amount of paranormal elements and a dash of romance added in. I'm ashamed to admit that I haven't read the Wake trilogy, but I will definitely be reading that soon, and I cannot wait for Lisa's new novel, The Unwanteds, that will be released in September! ...more

Like · see review

Feb 01, 2011 Danielle rated it it was amazing

Shelves: for-review, youngadult, ebook

A brain riddled with the accumulation of things. Things that need to be ordered, numbered, checked off and categorized. When Kendall steps out of her bed each morning it’s an endless stream of tasks that need to be accomplished, not because they require it, but because she is plagued by obsessive compulsive disorder. When one of her classmates in a school that lists less than three dozen students total goes missing it’s enough to send her into a panic. And when Kendall loses another, more signif A brain riddled with the accumulation of things. Things that need to be ordered, numbered, checked off and categorized. When Kendall steps out of her bed each morning it’s an endless stream of tasks that need to be accomplished, not because they require it, but because she is plagued by obsessive compulsive disorder. When one of her classmates in a school that lists less than three dozen students total goes missing it’s enough to send her into a panic. And when Kendall loses another, more significant friend, she begins to wonder if she’s losing her mind when messages appear on a now-empty desk. Only time and a dark secret revealed will help Kendall, and will potentially uncover the secrets of Cryer’s Cross.

As some of you may already know, I’m a fan of Lisa McMann’s Wake Trilogy (well, except the last one) and so when I heard about this new addition to her library I really wanted to pick it up. Thankfully I was able to review a Galley copy from Simon & Schuster! Well, this was above and beyond what I would have expected. That’s not to say I didn’t enjoy or don’t still enjoy her first series, but this was just so much more. In Cryer’s Cross it seemed the writing was more developed, the characters seemed deeper, the plot was better executed and overall it was a fantastic read. Albeit, a bit creepy, but I still really enjoyed this one.

What I loved…first off, Kendall. How can you not love a fellow OCD girl, and a teen at that? Granted I’m not anywhere near as bad as Kendall gets, but I’ve had my fair share of experiences worrying about things left undone (ie. stove left on, curling iron, etc.). Also, I’m a huge task list person, sometimes to a fault. I can’t move forward until things are checked off of my list, it’s almost paralyzing unfortunately. Again, though, I’m not anywhere near as bad as Kendall, but it was so nice to see how developed her character was in this regard in such a short period of time. And though Kendall had this disability I liked that she wasn’t overcome by it, she was still independent, she still took charge and didn’t rely on others to “take care of her.” An incredibly refreshing female lead character, especially for a YA “horror” novel.

In addition to Kendall, the others in the cast of characters were excellent as well. Although, I was of course saddened by one of the losses in the story, it still made perfect sense in the scheme of things. What I did enjoy though was how well connected Kendall became to Jacian, a new member of her town and high school. Initially they aren’t drawn to each other in the slightest, but it’s nice to see how their relationship progresses without being the “main” theme of the story, more of the background.

This was an incredibly gripping story. Cryer’s Cross is by far, in my opinion, Lisa McMann’s best work to date. If you aren’t easily creeped out, and love a great mystery with a bit of paranormal thrown in to make it extra interesting than you definitely need to read this. McMann’s storytelling is tight and the characters are incredibly true to life. Cryer’s Cross will keep you at night until you finish the very last page and then leave you begging for more. ...more

Like · see review

Nov 27, 2010 Maryanne/MA rated it really liked it

I'd give this 4.5 stars if I could. I really enjoyed it. The characters were very well developed as was the setting. The only thing that would have made it better would have been a little more detail about exactly what was haunting the town of Cryer's Cross. ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Aug 27, 2010 Paula from Reading Lark rated it really liked it

Very nearly rated this one a 5- just one thing bugged me. Message me (after you've read it) if you want to know what it was. Otherwise, truthfully, I read this one in one sitting, and loved it. ...more

Like · see review