Published: August 2015
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 400
Copy Provided by: Publisher
Summary: Goodreads
Summary:
Twelve years ago Stella and Jeanie vanished while picking strawberries. Stella returned minutes later, with no memory of what happened. Jeanie was never seen or heard from again.
Now Stella is seventeen, and she's over it. She's the lucky one who survived, and sure, the case is still cloaked in mystery—and it's her small town's ugly legacy—but Stella is focused on the coming summer. She's got a great best friend, a hookup with an irresistibly crooked smile, and two months of beach days stretching out before her.
Then along comes a corpse, a little girl who washes up in an ancient cemetery after a mudslide, and who has red hair just like Jeanie did. Suddenly memories of that haunting day begin to return, and when Stella discovers that other red-headed girls have gone missing as well, she begins to suspect that something sinister is at work.
And before the summer ends, Stella will learn the hard way that if you hunt for monsters, you will find them.
Now Stella is seventeen, and she's over it. She's the lucky one who survived, and sure, the case is still cloaked in mystery—and it's her small town's ugly legacy—but Stella is focused on the coming summer. She's got a great best friend, a hookup with an irresistibly crooked smile, and two months of beach days stretching out before her.
Then along comes a corpse, a little girl who washes up in an ancient cemetery after a mudslide, and who has red hair just like Jeanie did. Suddenly memories of that haunting day begin to return, and when Stella discovers that other red-headed girls have gone missing as well, she begins to suspect that something sinister is at work.
And before the summer ends, Stella will learn the hard way that if you hunt for monsters, you will find them.
Review:
Right off the bat I was concerned that I would not enjoy this book. I HATED the way Zoey talks to Stella. I realize they are friends but does this generation really call one another slut in a casual conversation? It just about drove me mental. However, the tone of the novel settled down as the reading continued. It took some time but I was anti-Zoey for a little while. She abandoned Stella when she needed to talk and blew her off so easily. Real friends just don't do that and her actions are so inconsistent with the way Stella views their friendship. As we get further into the novel, we see just how surface their friendship really is.
Jeanie is a part of their past. A very disturbing part of their past and it is hard to get away from her ghost. There is closure that has never been found when it comes to Jeanie's disappearance. When something happens to Jeanie's mother, the story takes an odd turn and Stella turns to another group for help. It was not a smooth transition but thinking about it now, after Jeanie's disappearance, Stella seemed to split into two different lives. The before and after. We begin at the "after" side of Stella's life when Zoey is a huge influence. However, more evidence appears about the disappearance of Jeanine, the "before" period creeps forward.
Sam is a part of Stella's life before Jeanie. They were best of friends and did everything together. I hate the way Zoey's friendship forces Stella to treat Sam horribly in front of the cool kids. Personally, I think the teens who aren't afraid of being themselves are the best people to know. And the ones who stick up for them are even better. It shows character. I hope to teach my child to stick up for the underrepresented. That true friends don't have to act a certain way to be popular. That being a real friend to a few people is more important than being acquainted with everyone.
I honestly wasn't sure what to think of the characters in this novel. Zoey drove me mental. I wasn't sure if she could be trusted or was just manipulating Stella the entire time. Here are a couple of my notes.
Chapter 12 - Zoey is a control freak. I hate how she is trying to bully Stella into having nothing to do with Sam. When he is such a sweet guy and only seems to care about Stella's well-being.
Chapter 22 - I didn't think it would ever happy but I think that Zoey just dropped her bit@@ mask at the door
In the end, I enjoyed this book. It was kind of edgy and while I keep going on about the relationship side of the novel, there are many suspenseful sides as well. Think of it as 13 going on 30 meets the horror genre. It keeps you thinking - what the huh? Believe it or not, using The Creeping for an ISU might not be a bad idea!
Jeanie is a part of their past. A very disturbing part of their past and it is hard to get away from her ghost. There is closure that has never been found when it comes to Jeanie's disappearance. When something happens to Jeanie's mother, the story takes an odd turn and Stella turns to another group for help. It was not a smooth transition but thinking about it now, after Jeanie's disappearance, Stella seemed to split into two different lives. The before and after. We begin at the "after" side of Stella's life when Zoey is a huge influence. However, more evidence appears about the disappearance of Jeanine, the "before" period creeps forward.
Sam is a part of Stella's life before Jeanie. They were best of friends and did everything together. I hate the way Zoey's friendship forces Stella to treat Sam horribly in front of the cool kids. Personally, I think the teens who aren't afraid of being themselves are the best people to know. And the ones who stick up for them are even better. It shows character. I hope to teach my child to stick up for the underrepresented. That true friends don't have to act a certain way to be popular. That being a real friend to a few people is more important than being acquainted with everyone.
I honestly wasn't sure what to think of the characters in this novel. Zoey drove me mental. I wasn't sure if she could be trusted or was just manipulating Stella the entire time. Here are a couple of my notes.
Chapter 12 - Zoey is a control freak. I hate how she is trying to bully Stella into having nothing to do with Sam. When he is such a sweet guy and only seems to care about Stella's well-being.
Chapter 22 - I didn't think it would ever happy but I think that Zoey just dropped her bit@@ mask at the door
In the end, I enjoyed this book. It was kind of edgy and while I keep going on about the relationship side of the novel, there are many suspenseful sides as well. Think of it as 13 going on 30 meets the horror genre. It keeps you thinking - what the huh? Believe it or not, using The Creeping for an ISU might not be a bad idea!
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