Cryer's Cross

January 3, 2011
In this ghost story, McCann (the Wake trilogy) delivers an atmospheric but unsatisfying tale of smalltown horror. Kendall Fletcher, a soccer player with obsessive-compulsive disorder who dreams of performing on Broadway, is determined to escape her tiny hometown of Cryer's Cross, Mont., by getting into Juilliard. When her best friend, Nico, is the second student to vanish mysteriously in
recent months, it throws Kendall's ordered life into disarray. Soon, enigmatic daydreams and clues lead her to believe that Nico is the latest victim of a supernatural mystery, and she may be the next target. A handsome but surly newcomer, Jacián, may be the key to surviving whatever is preying on the teens of
Cryer's Cross. While the remote, rural setting is laden with potential (the one-room high school has only 24 students) and the constant whirring of Kendall's OCD-afflicted mind adds an interesting dimension, the elements never completely gel. McMann handles the buildup of the story's tension well, but her resolution feels quick and easy, and even bloody final revelations can't mitigate a premise that's far more silly than spooky. Ages 14–up.

January 15, 2011

High-school junior Kendall Fletcher begins to have real trouble with her obsessive-compulsive disorder after a freshman girl disappears without a trace from her tiny, rural town. When her boyfriend Nico goes missing next, Kendall's OCD symptoms worsen, and she starts to fall apart completely. She begins to hear Nico's voice calling for help and discovers messages scrawled in what used to be his desk. Readers know from the beginning that Kendall isn't crazy, because several chapters, including the very first one, are preceded by italicized passages titled "WE" that reveal the presence of a supernatural entity in Cryer's Cross. But what exactly is it? What town secrets does it conceal? And will Kendall succumb to it, as Nico did? Fans of supernatural thrillers will enjoy this one despite the fact that the resolution is too sudden and the "WE" passages are much more bewildering than scary. The present-tense narration gives the story a sense of immediacy, and the budding romance between Kendall and sexy newcomer Jacián boosts its teen appeal. (Supernatural thriller. 14-18)

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February 1, 2011

Gr 7-10-This horror/suspense offering never really gets a full shiver going, even though McMann infuses her story with a 50-year-old wooden school desk and a menacing collective of tortured souls possessing it. Even when the desk-spirits seem to explain the bizarre disappearances of two of several high school students in the tiny Montana town of Cryer's Cross, the intended creep factor intended falls short. What doesn't fall short is the solid characterization of Kendall, a senior who tries to keep control of her OCD even after Nico, her best boy-friend since infancy, goes missing. Weird carved messages show up on the desk he was using before his disappearance, and Kendall thinks she hears his voice when she sits at it. Luckily, she has the distractions of soccer, a new boy from Arizona who slowly warms up to her, and her family's potato harvest to keep her from obsessing about Nico's loss and the eerie desk-until they just become too compelling. Then she, too, faces danger from the trapped entities that inhabit the desk. The mystery of why and how the desk is possessed and urging teenagers to harm themselves is given a quick and illogical gloss over when explained. Discerning readers are unlikely to suspend disbelief, but they may find character and setting help redeem the book.-Suzanne Gordon, Lanier High School, Sugar Hill, GA

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2011
Grades 8-12 Kendall is a senior in a one-room high school where last spring Tiffany, a freshman, disappeared. Now it is the start of a new year, and Kendalls boyfriend, Nicothe only one who truly understood Kendalls OCD has gone missing, too. While compelled to straighten the desks before class one morning, Kendall discovers that Nicos desk was also Tiffanys desk. This seems like more than a coincidence, but Kendall is afraid that people will think she is crazy. The towns dark past is a well-kept secret, and though she doesnt want to admit it, Kendall will need the help of brooding newcomer Jacian if she is going to find Nico. Kendall is a unique character, and the details of her OCD compulsions are well drawn. Haunting passages from another world, which provide just enough detail to intrigue and disturb readers, are intertwined with Kendalls story. Part mystery, part ghost story, and part romance, this book has enough to satisfy a variety of readers and will find popularity with McManns established fan base and new readers alike.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)