The quick cut: A teen girl with her brother and divorced dad spend the summer in a small town called Nightfall. They discover life is less simple than it looks from the outside.
A real review:
We've all heard or read about monsters that go bump in the night, but what would you do if they ran your hometown? Would you capitulate to their demands or take them down? This is a real question for Theo.
Theo and her brother Marco live in Arizona, but involuntarily end up in Nightfall, Oregon for the summer. After a party goes wrong, their recently divorced dad takes them with him back to his hometown for the summer to live with their grandmother that they've never met. It looks like a small nowhere town with both special until people start acting strange. Is this town more dangerous than it looks?
I've read books by Suzanne Young before and had them end up in both the love of hate piles, so I was apprehensively excited for this one. It did not take long for me to fall in love with Theo and the strange journey she takes.
The book starts out slow, let's you get to know the town. Then it jumps to warp speed for the last quarter, which timing wise felt perfect. Once you start getting answers, it all goes quickly. While I saw the twist coming from a mile away, having it be that obvious didn't take away from the entertainment value at all.
Theo takes a true journey personally as well. A loose thread throughout the book is coming to terms about her parents divorce. Seeing her go from angry to accepting is interesting and although I would've loved an explanation from the mom, I know that's not how reality works. It's nice to have a little realism here.
A monster story with a lovable heroine to root for.
My rating: 5 out of 5