Kindle And Me...: Croak (Croak #1) by Gina Damico

25 March 2012

Croak (Croak #1) by Gina Damico

Croak (Croak, #1) by Gina Damico.
Audience/Genre : Young Adult/Paranormal.
Published on : March 20th 2012 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Sixteen-year-old Lex Bartleby has sucker-punched her last classmate. Fed up with her punkish, wild behavior, her parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her 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 that of 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 is it vengeance?—whenever she’s forced to Kill a murder victim, craving 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?

Book Trailer.

I've been waiting for an excuse to use that image FOREVER! A few days ago, I saw the trailer of Croak and it was so awesome and made me want to read the book right away. There's an adult series about a Grim Reaper by Darynda Jones and I love it so I was pretty excited to find a YA book about the same.

When I started reading Croak, I went in expecting a light, entertaining read (because of the trailer), which it was but I didn't expect it to be a book that I'd remember. Now that I've finished reading it, I can confidently say that I'll definitely be picking up Scorch. Ah, Grim Reapers have the coolest jobs!

Lex used to be a pleasant girl. She used to get good grades and have plenty of friends like her twin sister Cordy but that was ages ago. Lately, Lex is angry all the time and is just trouble - she bullies her classmates, gets into fights and is the perfect definition of a misfit.
Lex's parents have tried everything but she hasn't changed, so as a last resort, they send her to stay with her Uncle Mort (who is a farmer) for the summer, hoping it would do her some good. Only problem is, her uncle isn't a farmer, he's a grim reaper... AND he thinks Lex is meant to be the same. So now Lex is a reaper-in-training and for the first time in so long, she feels like she belongs.

What kept this book going for me was Lex. She's spunky, witty, sarcastic and fun! She's a strong girl and makes a pretty great female lead. I loved the idea of the little town Croak with its small population where you know everybody - it's got a special charm!

There's a mystery going on in the book as a sub-plot - people are dying and not of natural causes and Lex, being the nosy, curious girl she has always been, is hell-bent on figuring it out.

Although most of the book was light, it got darker and really interesting towards the end. My only let-down was that for a book with a lead who swears so much and a story about death, I did not expect the book/author to shy out on describing a kiss. I was disappointed.

Excluding that, Croak is definitely a unique, fun and charming read that will have you tearing through the pages!