*Warning: This review may contain spoilers. Read at your own risk.
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Pages: 272
Source: Own
The Story:
The woods were insane in the dark, terrifying and magical at the same time. But best of all were the stars, which trumpeted their light into the misty dark.
Castella Cresswell and her five siblings-Hannan, Casper, Mortimer, Delvive, and Jerusalem- know what it's like to be different. For years, their world has been confined to their ramshackle family home deep in the woods of upstate New York. They abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father.
Slowly, Castley and her siblings start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they're still the freaks they've always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice.
Castley's world rapidly expands beyond the woods she knows so well and the beliefs she once thought were the only truths. There is a future waiting for her if she can escape her father's grasp, but Castley refuses to leave her siblings behind. Just as she begins to form a plan, her father makes a chilling announcement: the Cresswells will soon return to their home in heaven. With time running out on all of their lives, Castley must expose the depth of her father's lies. The forest has buried the truth in darkness for far too long. Castley might be their last hope for salvation.
Castella Cresswell and her five siblings-Hannan, Casper, Mortimer, Delvive, and Jerusalem- know what it's like to be different. For years, their world has been confined to their ramshackle family home deep in the woods of upstate New York. They abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father.
Slowly, Castley and her siblings start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they're still the freaks they've always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice.
Castley's world rapidly expands beyond the woods she knows so well and the beliefs she once thought were the only truths. There is a future waiting for her if she can escape her father's grasp, but Castley refuses to leave her siblings behind. Just as she begins to form a plan, her father makes a chilling announcement: the Cresswells will soon return to their home in heaven. With time running out on all of their lives, Castley must expose the depth of her father's lies. The forest has buried the truth in darkness for far too long. Castley might be their last hope for salvation.
Rating:
One-word Review: STRANGE
Reading Tune: Take Me to Church by Hozier
My Review:
Tag Line:
This family keeps it's secrets buried.
Opening Line:
At three o'clock Sunday morning, I was balanced on the apex of Ms. Sturbridge's roof, watching my brother upturn bundles of wet leaves with a stick.
Plot:
Not having read the blurb, I had no idea was the expect going into The Cresswell Plot. Honestly, from the title, cover and tag line, I figured the storyline was something along the lines of prominent, rich family comes apart at the seems when dark secrets -- murder -- come to light.
Instead, the secret was interesting but there was not an OMG moment. In that respect, the buildup was a waste, I think. The story follows Castella Cresswell and her family of 5 siblings, a religious fanatic father and a semi-mute disabled mother. Castella and her siblings were raised to believe their family were the only pure family good enough for Heaven and they were fated to pair off in holy matrimony . . .
And that is the only spoiler I will be giving about The Cresswell Plot.
Having said that, the pacing was slow but the tension was decently built up. Luckily, I did like Wass' writing and world-building. Those were definitely pros to The Cresswell Plot and kept me engaged in the story. There are very noteworthy quotes in that resonated with me which, while I was disappointed with The Cresswell Plot, allowed me to recognize Wass' potential as a rising star if she just puts more effort into plot.
All in all, The Cresswell Plot was an okay read. I was underwhelmed to be honest.
Character Breakdown:
The character dynamic was very well-written. The characters were fleshed out and jumped off the page. Such potential for an intriguing, keep you on the edge-of-your-seat plot if Wass had better follow-through.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from The Cresswell Plot:
Castley: "I focused on not thinking about what would happen, on not planning. Because if you planned, you would only be disappointed. If you tried to force the future, it never worked out the way you pictured it. Father taught me that. By planning everything, he taught me that." -- page 15 Tag Line:
This family keeps it's secrets buried.
Opening Line:
At three o'clock Sunday morning, I was balanced on the apex of Ms. Sturbridge's roof, watching my brother upturn bundles of wet leaves with a stick.
Plot:
Not having read the blurb, I had no idea was the expect going into The Cresswell Plot. Honestly, from the title, cover and tag line, I figured the storyline was something along the lines of prominent, rich family comes apart at the seems when dark secrets -- murder -- come to light.
Instead, the secret was interesting but there was not an OMG moment. In that respect, the buildup was a waste, I think. The story follows Castella Cresswell and her family of 5 siblings, a religious fanatic father and a semi-mute disabled mother. Castella and her siblings were raised to believe their family were the only pure family good enough for Heaven and they were fated to pair off in holy matrimony . . .
"Father taught us that we were the only pure people left on earth, we were the only worthy people, and because of that, we would all have to marry one another." -- page 10
And that is the only spoiler I will be giving about The Cresswell Plot.
Having said that, the pacing was slow but the tension was decently built up. Luckily, I did like Wass' writing and world-building. Those were definitely pros to The Cresswell Plot and kept me engaged in the story. There are very noteworthy quotes in that resonated with me which, while I was disappointed with The Cresswell Plot, allowed me to recognize Wass' potential as a rising star if she just puts more effort into plot.
All in all, The Cresswell Plot was an okay read. I was underwhelmed to be honest.
Character Breakdown:
The character dynamic was very well-written. The characters were fleshed out and jumped off the page. Such potential for an intriguing, keep you on the edge-of-your-seat plot if Wass had better follow-through.
Here is one of my favorite quotes from The Cresswell Plot:
Meet the Author:
Eliza Wass is a freelance writer, editor and journalist. She has worked—pause for breath—as a front desk hostess at Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom, a camp counselor, a children’s tutor, a riding instructor, actress, waitress, bartender, bookseller, in real estate, retail and accounting. In fact, there is every chance she prepared your breakfast this morning and after she took your kids to school, she did some light dusting around your bookshelves.
She comes from Southern California, where she was one of nine perfect children with two perfect parents. She has thousands of friends, all of whom either come in a dust jacket or post obsessively on Twitter.
She spent 7 years with the most amazing man in the world, her late husband Alan Wass of Alan Wass and The Tourniquet, who inspired her to pursue her dreams and live every day of her life.
***Check out Eliza Wass' website for more information about her and The Cresswell Plot: HERE
Happy Reading!
