Reviews

Clever Creatures of the Night by Samantha Mabry

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madisonlevine's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

2.5

Thank you to Novel Suspects and Algonquin Young Readers for the gifted copy.

Case returns to West Texas to visit her friend Andrea. When she shows up to the house in the woods, Drea is nowhere to be found. She suspects something bad has happened and starts asking questions and searching. This book was very atmospheric and led you to trust no one but Case. The creatures know too that something is wrong as strange things begin happening.

helliott25271101's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? N/A
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

amandajt11's review against another edition

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mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

sweetxsage's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This is a quick, horror/thriller read, but I'll be honest, I was confused for most of it. I don't think there was enough spacee for it to be fully realized, especially with the overall world building. There is a volcanic eruption that takes place, but for a lot of the story, it didn't seem like it mattered much to the plot?

I did appreciate Case's dedication to figuring out what happened to her friend, and she was a good narrator for the story. I just think having that extra time or space would have helped in making an interesting premise work even better.

Content Warnings

nostoat's review against another edition

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4.0

Parts of this felt like sentences left unfinished. All the pieces were definitely here but the entire picture didn't quite click into place for me. Regardless I loved our main character. And I loved the chronic pain rep, and the apparent lack of stigma around opioid use. That's rare to find in any media.