This book review is spoiler free!
Author: Cindy Paul
Series: Standalone
Audience: YA
Rating: 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Buy the book here.
Synopsis
Something lurks underneath the surface of the Hog Creek river…
Welcome to dusty and washed-out Hog Creek, where nothing ever happens. Until Grayson accidentally sees a horrifying creature disappear into the local river. He ignores the incident, but then people start to go missing…
Writing Style
The book is a quick read thanks to the layout. Short sentences and enough enters that give a signal that another character is talking. The book is easy to read after a long day. There are also illustrations in this book which give you an idea about the surroundings.
Characters
Grayson
Grayson is the main character. He’s Mexican-American. He sells fake ID’s to rich kids to support his father. Grayson also works in a record shop.
Shelby
Shelby is the only Black goth in Hog Creek. She’s friendly towards Grayson even though they’re not friends and offers to teach him how to swim.
Aaron
Aaron is a guy that Grayson has seen in the record shop. They’ve never really had an introduction. He goes to a high school called Berxley Hall.
Romance
There’s some romance in the book but it’s slow paced. It’s a LGBTQ+ romance.
What I liked the most
I love that there are illustrations with this book! It immediately gives me an idea about the surroundings. I usually struggle with picturing something when I read so this is very nice for me.
Conclusion
EverAfterPrint was kind enough to send me a review copy in exchange for my honest opinion.
Hog Creek is a town where something strange is going on. Early on in the book we find out that there’s a creature with absurdly long limbs, and thrice as many of them, just walks to a river and disappears. Things become strange when people suddenly go missing.
The book has a mystery vibe because we slowly get pieces of information, making us start with a lot of questions in the beginning. We see everything through Grayson’s eyes and slowly get more information about what his life is like. There’s also some LGBTQ+ romance in the book but it’s slow paced. Not much happens romance wise until the middle of the book.
The book felt a bit slow in the beginning because it took me a little while to figure out what the plot exactly was about. That quickly changed once Shelby was introduced. She gave the book a nice pace by pulling Grayson out of his comfort zone.
The book contains beautiful illustrations by Renée Zonneveld.
Warning: this book contains heavy topics such as bullying, abuse and homophobia.
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