Book Review & Giveaway- Cryer's Cross

By Lisa McMann

Published by Simon Pulse

Released on February 8th, 2011 TODAY

Source- ARC from the publisher

5 stars- I highly recommend it

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 (quoted from Goodreads).

Creepy, haunting and very addictive, Cryer's Cross will lure you in and leave you needing more.

Like the rest of her fantastic books, Lisa's writing is captivating. She has an ability to bring her world to life and makes me fall in love with her broken characters, as they're realistic, relatable and they always leave me feeling satisfied with the end of their story and wanting more all at the same time. Cryer's Cross is no different. Only this time, the hunt is on to find out who or what is making people disappear with out a trace in the tiny town of Cryer's Cross, Montana.

Kendall is a character I really enjoyed getting to know. She's real, she's not stuck on the latest trend, and instead she helps out on her family's farm, plays soccer, and enjoys spending time with her best friend Nicco, and deals with living each day with a serve case of OCD. I was completely fascinated with the way Lisa introduces us into Kendall's world, and the compulsions that rule it. Having OCD myself, I found myself both drawn to Kendall in understanding and sympathy. Though her OCD is much more extreme than mine, I really liked that it's Kendall's OCD that makes her realize there's something sinister going on. She's the only one who sees the writing on the desk, the plea for help, that is etched into the desk that sits in the one room school house where her missing best friend Nico once sat and the girl who disappeared before him, Tiffany.

Lisa takes creepy to a whole new level. I'm not one who enjoys horror movies or reading creepy books (call me a whimp), but I was hooked with this book and found I couldn't "look away" or put the book down. I had to know what was going on. Not only did I want to see how Kendall would handle so much change in a short amount of time, but I wanted to see how her and Jacien's relationship developed, but I had to know more about the "We". Although most of the book is written in third person, the "We" has a freakishly, addicting voice that makes me you want to know what/who they are, and what exactly their need is. Let me just say, I will never look at a desk the same again.

Cryer's Cross has an intense creepy factor to it, but also a fantastic, realistic romance. In true Lisa fashion she brings together two broken characters, Kendall and Jacian and writes a beautiful romance that continues to build as the mystery surrounding Nico and Tiffany's intensifies. I liked that they both have something to offer the other and help each other to heal in a way no one else can. Not one for crying, Kendall's grief over losing Nico literally poured off the pages and had me crying. This is fantastic read that I couldn't get enough of. I highly recommend picking up Cryer's Cross! There is some minor language, but nothing too bad. I would recommend Cryer's Cross to those 14 yrs & older.

Lisa is going on TOUR!! Be sure to visit her site here http://www.lisamcmann.com/ to see what cities she's going to.

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GIVEAWAY TIME!!

I'm really excited that we'll be interviewing her on her stop in Austin next week. I'd love to involve all of you with the interview, SO if there's something you'd like me to ask Lisa, please leave me a comment with your name (you do not have to leave your full name), as I'd like to let Lisa know who's asking the question. We'll pick up to 3 questions to be asked, and our interview will be recorded and posted on our blog.

That's not all, IF you leave us a valid question to ask Lisa about Cryer's Cross or her writing, you'll be entered to WIN a SIGNED ARC of Cryer's Cross! You MUST leave us a comment with a question we can ask Lisa in order to enter. Those who don't, will be not be entered to win.

Leave us a comment and fill out this form to enter-