The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy

Series: Standalone

Genera(s): Mystery/Horror

Subjects: kidnappings, murder, monsters, amnesia

Setting: Savage, Minnesota

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Stella

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 387 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Simon & Schuster book for young readers

Summary/ product description: “Eleven years ago, Stella and Jeanie disappeared. Stella came back. Jeanie never did.

Now all she wants is a summer full of cove days, friends, and her gorgeous crush—until a fresh corpse leads Stella down a path of ancient evil and secrets.

Stella believes remembering what happened to Jeanie will save her. It won’t.

She used to know better than to believe in what slinks through the shadows. Not anymore.”

My Review: The Creeping is a pretty good horror story. It’s a standalone, so you don’t have to worry about waiting for sequels. It’s about a girl named Stella who was supposedly kidnapped with this other girl named Jeanie when they were six and Stella was the only one to return and she had amnesia. Stella is a pretty interesting narrator. A dead girl who looks like Jeanie is found in the cemetery and this set event into motion. Stella is more determined than ever to recover her memories of what happened when Jeanie was taken.

Stella’s current BFF is Zoey. They’ve been friends since they were kids and Zoey is very popular. Sam was  Stella’s old friend up until middle school. They see each other at a part and Stella tries to avoid the embarrassment of being seen with him because some leechy girls would start nasty rumors. Stella starts to get close to Sam again and romance blooms. I really like Sam. He’s a geek, but a very nice and good looking, even if poorly dressed, one. Also Daniel, Jeanie’s brother, is back in town.

I really liked the setting of this book. It’s set in Savage, Minnesota during summertime. It’s a real place, even though the author changed some stuff about the place. The real Savage, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis, has a lot less woods. I checked on Google Earth. 

Blackdog Lake is not a state park, but part of a Wildlife Refuge. There is no cemetery next to in, no houses so close to it and no beach. Prior lake is real too. I’ve never been to Savage, but I’ve visited Minneapolis a few times and the Minneapolis zoo isn’t too far from Savage. I actually when to the zoo the day the bridge collapse happened and we were camping in the Rochester KOA. Unrelated, I know. I just like book with real settings that I’ve been to or near.

This book has twists and turn and lot of dark and creepy moments, but it isn’t super scary. I was kind of disappointed by the lack of ghosts and paranormal stuff. There’s talk of a monster and murderers. It’s closer to a slasher flick like Scream than the Ring. I did remind me of Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea by Genevieve Tucholke, minis the devil stuff. This book is a murder/kidnapping mystery at it’s heart. I enjoyed it and it’s a perfect as a summery horror story or a Halloween tale.

Cover Art Review: The type treatment is interesting. The way the title is woven and layered in the branches. I wish the cover was more creepy though.