Gina Damico

Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex’s 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 shoveling manure. He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach Lex the family business. She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can’t stop her desire for justice—or is it vengeance?—whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again. Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

Croak

Sarah Sammis

Croak by Gina Damico follows a pretty standard plot — teenager in trouble is sent to a distant relative as punishment. There he or she has a life-altering experience with his or her amazing, not-at-all as described relative. In this case, the troubled teen is an angry girl named Lex who likes to sucker punch her classmates (among other things) and her relative is Uncle Mort, who as his name implies, is a grim reaper.

The book is roughly divided into thirds: Lex being bad ass and grumpy, the wacky town and the equally wacky job of being a grim reaper, and finally a murder mystery with THE BIG BAD. It's a by the numbers coming of age / paranormal. As a starter book for someone not familiar with this type of story, it's fine but it could and should have been better.

The problem is, bad ass young ladies as grim reapers has been done before and so much better. The bar is set high and Croak tries to limbo under the bar, rather than to jump to meet expectations. Reaper girls who come before Lex of note: Susan from The Hogfather by Terry Pratchett and Georgia (aka George) of the tv series Dead Like Me. Even the moral heavy Hunger by Jackie Morse Kessler has a more interesting and believable reaper-like character in Lisabeth.

Read via NetGalley

Aleena Korell

This book.... it just delighted me. The worldbuilding and setting is prime, the romance defies all kinds of tropes, and it's just plain hilarious. 
Lex is an imperfect but lovable main character, one of a cast of fascinating and witty characters that keep you laughing and interested. One thing I particularly liked is even though she's a snarky delinquent, she doesn't hate other girls-- she has real, meaningful friendships. 
Try it out if you're looking for a laugh :)

Jessica Nottingham

Croak caught my eye early on. Grim reapers. A strong and sarcastic main character. What more could a reader ask for? I was looking for something a little bit different in my reading list, and I thought that this would be just the ticket. As soon as I opened the book and met Lex in the flesh, I knew I was in for a treat! This book drew me in right away, and I happily followed along.

First off, I absolutely must talk characters because they are all so fabulous Each one has their own unique personality, and it's impossible not to fall in love with this motley crew. Lex's unflinching sarcasm, Drigg's cocky demeanor, overly optimistic Sofi, they all just shine off the page. I found myself giggling out loud, a lot. I also caught myself reading pages again, just to relive the hilarious banter and altogether random insults that they throw at one another. These are people I'd love to hang out with, and that made reading this book so much more fun.

Now that's not to say that the story here isn't good too. The beginning of the story is a little odd, but once Lex finds herself in Croak everything else starts to make sense. Without spoiling I can tell you that Lex finds herself in some pretty interesting situations. One of which involves some fluttery feelings for a boy. Now don't mistake, Lex isn't the shrinking violet type. Far from it. Let's just say that bruises ensue. Anyway, it is really the mystery aspect of the story that steals the show here. Damico drops just enough hints to keep you reading, and to keep the pace flowing really nicely. Even though I figured out the culprit pretty early on, the book was still a great read. That says a lot.

The one thing that I was so disappointed about was the ending. After being so caught up in Lex's life, and so enthralled by the mystery surrounding Croak, the ending just felt so flat to me. I'm sure others will love it, and still others will feel no big emotion either way. In my opinion though it was just too convenient and kind of anti-climactic. I know that this is the first in a series though, so I'm hopeful! I'll be back for more.

Croak

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