Review: Croak by Gina Damico

Croak (Croak #1)
By Gina Damico
Publisher: Graphia

To Sum It Up: Teenage delinquent Lex Bartleby never thought her loving, understanding parents would crack, but they've had enough of their daughter's troubling behavior. They plan to send Lex to live and work with her Uncle Mort on his farm in upstate New York. Lex is not happy; she doesn't want to leave her twin sister, Cordy, milk cows, shovel manure, or live with her estranged, eccentric uncle for the entire summer. But Lex has no choice in the matter, and she soon finds herself in the small town of Croak. It's nothing like she expected. Uncle Mort is stranger than she ever thought; he's a Grim Reaper. Mort collects souls and sends them to the afterlife, and he intends to bring Lex in on the family business. Lex and Uncle Mort aren't the only Reapers in town, either; everybody in Croak is a Grim Reaper. Lex soon becomes a star pupil; she and her partner Driggs kill and cull souls faster than any other junior team. When Lex and Driggs come across bodies with no apparent signs of cause of death, they start to suspect that a vigilante Reaper is going around killing people he or she deems fit to die. Lex, having had thoughts of her own personal vengeance, must decide what to do when she does come across the killer: stop the murderer or join him or her.

Review: I've never really read a book about Grim Reapers before, so I guess you can say that Croak was the first. When you think about it, Reapers seem like a capital idea, but no one is really writing about them. After reading Croak, I can't help but wonder why Grim Reapers haven't taken the world by storm.

To say that I highly enjoyed Croak is an understatement. I really, really, liked the book; it was just missing that special something that makes a five star book five stars. Damico is a genius. The idea was so fun and unique. She has the talent to really bring her characters and settings to life. Everyone in the book had a great sense of humor. I appreciate sarcasm and wit in my books; it just makes them more fun and entertaining to read.

I loved Lex; she was so mean and sarcastic, but she was also loyal and hard-working. I felt bad for her in the beginning; Lex had no idea why she was feeling so angry and destructive all the time. It turned out that lashing out and, well, being a delinquent are signs that you’re a Reaper, and once you start the “job,” the symptoms fade away. I also loved Lex and Driggs's relationship. Driggs was hilarious, hot, misunderstood, and strong. He was perfect! My favorite character overall though was Uncle Mort. He was beyond cool! Mort was so sketchy. You obviously know that he has some major history; you just don't know the specifics.

The whole town of Croak was pretty amazing. Everyone was laid back but serious, crudely sarcastic but loving. They were all quite endearing. The mystery element was great, too. I had my suspicions about the killer and about what might be going down, but I never saw the end coming. Talk about a cliffhanger! As soon as I finished I wanted, oh, so badly, to have the next book. To my frustration, it’s not out yet. :(

The only problem, if you can even call it that, that I had with Croak was the pacing. The whole book was quite captivating, but I felt that the plot didn't really kick into gear until I was about half way done with the book. Maybe that's why I don't feel comfortable giving this book five stars.

All in All: Overall, I really enjoyed this book! Croak is hilarious in its entirety, and the ending is killer. It was fun, entertaining, and left you wanting more. I can’t wait for the sequel, Scorch!