Croak

Today's post is on 'Croak' by Gina Damico. It is  published by Graphia which is an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt publishing. It is 311 pages long. The cover is a silver with a young woman in a black hoodie with a scythe. The intended reader is Young Adult and it is really YA. It has some interesting points but the YA crowd are the ones who are going to enjoy it the most. There is nothing but some language in this so parents beware Lex curses. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the back of the book- Life's not fair. Why should Death be any different? Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to up-state New York to live with 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 her the family business. Lex quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated entirely by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. Along with her infuriating yet intriguing partner, Driggs, and a rockstar crew of fellow Grim apprentices, Lex is soon zapping her targets like a natural born Killer. Yet her innate ability morphs into an unchecked desire for justice- or it is vengeance?- whenever she's forced to Kill a murder victim, yearning to stop the attackers before they can strike again. So when people start to die- that is, people who aren't supposed to be dying, people who have committed grievous crimes against the innocent- Lex's curiosity is piqued. Her obsession grows as the bodies pile up, and a troubling question begins to swirl through her mind: if she succeeds in tracking down the murderer, will she stop the carnage - or will she ditch Croak and join in?

Review- The only thing that is disappointing about this book is that it is written for YA's. The writing is strong, the characters are YA but fun and interesting, and what is really going on will keep you guessing. Lex is annoying at the start but by chapter three that is worked out. It is just because she is full of grim energy and once she start working she is likable. The other characters in the story help build the plot and the mystery. The murders are not the focus of this book. It is about Lex learning who her really is and what she is do in life. The town of Croak sounds like a place I would have loved to go as a teen but I was and still am a goth. Teens who are feeling like they cannot control their lives because of all the changes that are happening to them will relate with Lex. I remember feeling how Lex feels at the beginning of the story, before Croak when she is just angry and does not know why. The story ends with the villan getting away but that is okay because I have the next book in the series waiting for me tomorrow.

Rating a solid Four and A Half stars with hopes for the second volume. I get nothing for this review and I borrowed this book from my local library.