Cryer’s Cross
Lisa McMann
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 8, 2011
Pages: 233
Source: Library

Rating: 4.5 stars

The community of Cryer’s Cross, Montana (population 212) is distraught when high school freshman Tiffany disappears without a trace. Already off-balance due to her OCD, 16-year-old Kendall is freaked out seeing Tiffany’s empty desk in the one-room school house, but somehow life goes on… until Kendall’s boyfriend Nico also disappears, and also without a trace. Now the town is in a panic. Alone in her depression and with her OCD at an all-time high, Kendall notices something that connects Nico and Tiffany: they both sat at the same desk. She knows it’s crazy, but Kendall finds herself drawn to the desk, dreaming of Nico and wondering if maybe she, too, will disappear…and whether that would be so bad. Then she begins receiving graffiti messages on the desk from someone who can only be Nico. Can he possibly be alive somewhere? Where is he? And how can Kendall help him? The only person who believes her is Jacian, the new guy she finds irritating…and attractive. As Kendall and Jacian grow closer, Kendall digs deeper into Nico’s mysterious disappearance only to stumble upon some ugly—and deadly—local history. Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried.

This was my first Lisa McMann book, and boy, was I impressed! With the first few pages I fell in love with the story and the writing. Cryer’s Cross is a fun mystery that will keep you guessing as to where it will lead readers next.

The characters were really well written. Kendall was a really well-rounded character, and I really liked her as a main character. My one complaint with her would be the fact she calls her parents mommy and daddy at points – I don’t know any teenagers who still refer to their parents as “mommy” and “daddy”. Jacian and Marlena were a lot of fun to read about. I loved the scenes they were in, and thought they both brought a lot to the story. Hecter’s stories and knowledge were a lot of fun as well.

The orginality of the plot was another aspect that really made me enjoy Cryer’s Cross. It really was unlike anything I had read before – which was very refreshing and appreciated. I also really enjoyed how I felt there were multiple layers to the plot – and something was always going on. Everything wasn’t always directly related to the main plot, I felt, which was a really great aspect of Cryer’s Cross.

I was a bit confused about some of the details of the ending. Even now, I look back trying to sort out exactly what had happened. The actual ending was really cute, but it was those last few chapters that muddled a few details for me.

I would definitely read this one! I picked it up off the shelves at school half way through the day, and by 8:30 that night I had polished off the last page. Cryer’s Cross has an addicting quality that will keep you reading, until you turn the last page.