The Creeping

by Alexandra Sirowy

• ISBN10: 1481418866
• ISBN13: 9781481418867
• Publish Date: 18 August 2015
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Imprint: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 400
• Language: English

Reviews

[layawaydragon]

Read for free on Rivetedlit.com October 2019

Okay, this went way better than the previous October 2019 free reads.

The start was decidedly not boring unlike the rest of October's free fare.

I wasn't a big fan of the MC Stella & her friends in the beginning. All the popular girl nastiness and jokey name calling between themselves, like "slutarella", "Slutini", and "lesbos".

But the mystery and weird circumstances got me.

Also, total sucker for a good guy cinnamon roll like Sam.

Stella grew on me while exploring the mystery and standing up to Zoey. Then Zoey got somehow less irritating in the mix as well. I actually ended up liking them all in the end.

I thought it was over with...certain revelations. But I appreciate the follow through with more details & the message about news reporting, journalism, and paranormal stuff like The Creeping. Well done.

[shannonmiz]

This review was originally posted on It Starts at Midnight
Saying this book is creepy would just be stating the obvious, yes? Whatever, it was! Suffice it to say that I am really glad that I do not live in this town, for a whole host of reasons. First, the likelihood of getting murdered is pretty high, especially as a female. Second, there are some really strange people taking up residence here. Anyway, there are all kinds of things happening, so I am going to break it all down.

The Characters

At first, I really didn't think I was going to like this book, because I wanted to punch Stella and her friends (but mostly Zoey) in the face. That seems pretty harsh, right? Right, because Zoey is an asshole. Seriously, she made me stabby because I don't understand why a person would have to be so awful. They even spoke ill of Jeanie, who you know, has been missing for over a decade. That's always special. And Stella didn't seem mean (though maybe a bit vapid), but going along with all of Zoey's nonsense certainly didn't endear her to me. At first. 

Stella did have a lot of growth during the course of the book, slowly realizing that she didn't have to be Zoey's relay partner in the Asshole Olympics. It was a slow development, but that is more realistic anyway.

There were a couple of characters who I liked from the beginning, though. Sam, who used to be one of Stella's best friends until she ditched him for Zoey (because of course you'd leave the nice, fun guy behind and run for a girl who insults dead people and the mentally ill) comes back into the picture when Stella needs his help. On one hand, it looked a little desperate, but on the other, I think he was just a genuinely nice dude. Of course, a romance develops. Even though it's kind of convenient and predictable, it was sweet and I shipped it. Stella's friend Michaela was cool too, but I couldn't figure out what she was doing hanging out with Zoey. There's also a police officer who is so, so dedicated not just to the case but to Stella's welfare- they'd become close after him working the case for so many years, he almost seemed like a surrogate father at times.

Why did Stella need a surrogate father? Parent-in-YA Syndrome alert! Dude was busy at work, you see. And Stella's mom left eons ago so... yeah. Here's my advice for Stella's dad: When your daughter's life is in danger, you maybe don't leave her home alone? Use a personal day? Some vacation time? Yeah, he won't up for Father of the Year this year.

The Plot

See, here is where things get good. The book starts off a bit slow, but eventually the plot starts to really pick up speed and turns into something I didn't want to put down. I had to know what happened to Jeanie and Stella all those years ago, what was happening around town currently. I won't say I was floored by how it all turned out, but I also wasn't exactly expecting it either, so a decent set of twists!

The writing also got progressively better as the book went on. At first, I think I was so distracted by the characters and their insults and their not-nice slang that I wasn't even taking notice of the writing, but as the book went on, it is clear that the author has a very good grasp on mystery writing, and that was certainly the shining point in the book.

Overall

At first, this was hard to get into, because mostly I had hoped a giant bear would come into the woods and eat Stella and her friends, and that would have been a super boring book. Two pages of conversation, 398 pages of bear dinner. 

But, when the mystery begins and Stella starts getting her act together, it is quite an enjoyable book, and I definitely didn't know what to expect, which is always a plus in a mystery! It moved at a good pace, and was certainly entertaining. So if you like creepy stuff, this one would likely be a win- as long as you can handle the character annoyances and some slowness in the beginning!