Cryer's Cross by Lisa McMann

Cryer's Cross

Lisa McMann

240 pages

Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release Date: February 8th, 2011

Source: eARC from Publisher

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.

  
      Compelling and creepy, Cryer's Cross was one book I just couldn't put down, yet at the same time, I wanted to. It was haunting, and I made the mistake of reading it only hours before bed. And I have an old wooden desk, with scrapes and marks all over it, which only made things worse.

   From the very first page, there's trouble. Tiffany Quinn is missing, and in the small town of only 212, one missing teen is a really big deal. After months of searching, they give up, and soon, life goes on as normal in the small farming city of Cryer's Cross. Then the new guy and his sister move in. Jacian is full of rage and Kendall can't help but imagine Jacian kidnapping Tiffany and cutting her up into uncountable pieces.

   The tension builds, and between chapters, eerie messages of 'We' and 'Us' only add to the suspense. Though we don't learn much about the characters, I found myself needing to turn the next page, just to see what would happen. When Nico, Kendall's best friend, goes missing, Kendall's life breaks. She's drawn to his desk, the same desk Tiffany Quinn used last year, and she can't help think maybe she'll disappear if she uses it. Maybe disappearing won't be so bad.

   But then come the voices, the whispers, the begging. Then everything changes. What Kendall first dismisses as impossible is actually possible and can't be ignored. In the small town of Cryer's Cross, Montana, something is happening.

   I had mixed feelings at times. I didn't get to learn much about Kendall, though I like the fact that she's a normal teen, with an OCD problem. But the plot was enough to steer my review to five stars. Cryer's Cross was a quick read, and you'll find yourself sucked in before you know it. And by then, it'll be too late to pull yourself back out. Lisa McMann's latest novel is a thriller you just can't miss out on.

I love the cover. It's as haunting as the story itself. If I didn't know what the story was about, the cover would be enough for me to pick up the book. The desk in the dark room and the etched-on title hold a lot of significance to the story.