Croak (Croak)

by Gina Damico

Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex's parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape. But Uncle Mort's true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He's a Grim Reaper. And he's going to teach Lex the family business.
She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can't stop her desire for justice--or is it vengeance?--whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

• ISBN10: 0606247769
• ISBN13: 9780606247764
• Publish Date: 20 March 2012 (first published 1 January 2012)
• Publish Status: Out of Print
• Out of Print: 6 April 2021
• Imprint: Turtleback Books
• Edition: Bound for Schools & Libraries ed.
• Format: Hardcover (Library Binding)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

[lizarodz]

Amazing! Croak was SO awesome. Do you want to know how awesome? Let me count the ways:


Great characters: Lex is hilarious, pragmatic, confident (most of the time), brave and loyal. I fell instantly in love with Driggs, he was also funny, handsome, and loyal. All the ‘juniors’, Lex’s family, especially uncle Mort; and all the people of Croak are amazing! These characters become alive within the pages of the book.


Great story: The story is so original and unlike anything I’ve read before. The plot is wonderful, including enough background information that you understand what is going on and with many twists and turns, although I have to confess that I had my suspicions on who the ‘bad guy’ was. Yes, the story is a little creepy, but just enough to keep it interesting.


Great writing: Ms. Damico is hilarious! She writes an amazing story that is performed by amazing characters. The pace of the story was great too, with enough action to keep me on the edge of my seat.
The ending was a big surprise to me and somewhat painful to read, but that is just a testament to the great writing. I cannot wait for Scorch, the sequel, due to be published in September of this year.


About the cover: I have to say that if I didn’t read the synopsis of Croak, I would have never picked it up. Even hubby and ‘A’were a bit surprised when they saw me reading it. The cover is silver metallic (reflective even) and is just bizarre and creepy (and Lex looks like a guy too!)

[kimbacaffeinate]

my review to post on 5/26 to coincide with my blog review.

[inlibrisveritas]

I want to thank Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for sending me a copy of this!

When I first saw this I was pretty intrigued, I’ve never read a book about a reaper before and the cover is super shiny so I had a immediate attraction to it. (I mean who doesn’t like shiny things?) Not to mention the first sentence of the summary talks about her suckerpunching someone, that’s pretty different. So when I saw HMH’s twitter giveaway I jumped all over it.This was actually my second read during the April 2012 Dewey Readathon, and it was absolutely perfect for it.

This is an interesting book in the fact that it kind of makes fun of the things you see in YA so often, and yet it still manages to be a great book in itself. Gina really knows how to balance out the humor and the serious quite well through out it so even though parts can be downright silly she can reign it back without it seeming forced. The visualization is pretty nice as well, and the details give you a good sense of what every thing is like. The town of Croak was pretty awesome and really unique, I loved the set up and the people that Lex meets. It really is a place of character and it seems like a really fun place to be. The technology of the town is beyond weird and totally unique, and it goes great with the odd storyline. The reaper aspects were really cool and well thought out. I loved the concept of the scythe being more for transportation than actual reaping, and I also loved how they tend to represent the one who owns it. The pace of the story is pretty quick and you enter into the story running, which at first was a bit weird for me but once I got into it I loved how quickly everything flowed. I think the most surprising aspect of the book was the serious nature of some of the topics and situations that come up. Such as death, loss and abuse. Nothing is harped on in any immense detail, but there is a darker side to this story and while it is discussed in great details in does give you a sort of human connection to the characters. I think the only problem with this book is the age rating and the amount of cursing. I personally didn’t get offended by any of it but I know that if a parent buys this for their 10 -13 year old they may be a tad alarmed by the frequency. That being said I didn’t find it to be terrible and the worst curse words are never used.

The characters are also pretty unique and also pretty cliche, if that makes any sense. They seem to be set in the cliche but they also seem to poke fun of it as well, so none of it really bothered me. Lex is a pretty out there main character, she’s tough and loud…and kind of pushy but it works. She’s perfect for the role she has to play and she actually reminded me of a few people I went to high school with, so even though I personally had nothing in common with her I totally got what she was like. Driggs was alright, he’s the perfect counter point to Lex and he’s kind of adorable but at times he came off as an over excited 3 year old. It made me laugh but it was a bit odd. He also has an insane appetite and I envy it a bit. The relationship between the two is pretty funny at times and overall the whole thing didn’t seem rushed at all. The other Juniors are also pretty entertaining in their own right, each with a personality that is completely their own and makes for an interesting mix of friends for Lex.

Overall it’s a great book for those wanting a unique story and a good laugh or two. For those looking for books for younger kids I’d be a bit wary of this one, or at least make sure to read it first and then decide

[Kelsenator]

To see the whole review, visit my blog here:
Kelsey's Cluttered Bookshelf.

I absolutely loved this book, and will be getting my own copy pretty soon, as well as pre-ordering a copy of the second book which is due out in September or 2012.

But now onto the review! One of the things I loved the most were the characters. Not only were they full of emotion, but they made me laugh a lot. Lex’s humour and witty attitude, Driggs and his love for Oreos, her Uncle Mort and his weird ways, and the friends she meets there, I loved reading about all of them.

The story centers around Lex, who is very close to being expelled from school. Once an A+ student, she finds herself filled with such rage that she can’t control. She takes it out on anyone she can at school, beating them up. Her only friend is her twin sister.

Her parents decide that to shape up her attitude, she’s to spend the summer with her Uncle Mort, whom she hasn’t seen since she was a little kid. He supposedly lives on a farm, and she will be working for him, taking care of cows. After a huge fight, she arrives in the town of Croak, a tiny town with weird shop names and just as weird people.

When she gets there, she realizes there is no farm, and no cows, but she will definitely be working. Her uncle is a Grim (reaper), and she will be joining in on this business. After the initial shock, she becomes a natural, she makes friends, and she becomes more happy. Then it appears as though someone is murdering others, when they weren’t supposed to die, and they can’t figure out how. They start to wonder if it was an inside job, someone they may know. And the Juniors of the Grims want to take it into their own hands and figure it out.

Aside from the characters, I loved the story for this, the aspect of Grim Reapers, along with the little bits of comedy, I just could not put this book down, I finished it pretty quickly too. The writing was so good!

I suggest this book for anyone looking for a great read, with some paranormal elements, humour, and young adult fiction fun.