Reviews

This is one of those books that consume – and it all takes place in 24 hours. At first I thought the chapters were out of order until I realized they were time based haha. Drea’s roommates are definitely strange, hiding their own secrets, and agendas. Desperation, isolation and trauma does extremely strange things, even to the sanest and most well put together people. I really enjoyed Case’s character – resilient, damaged, fiercely loyal, and mostly practical considering the situation she finds herself in. The letters and bits and pieces of Drea that Case uncovers ratcheted up the feeling of unease throughout the book. Their relationship wasn’t traditional but then again, neither of the girls are either.

The prairie is not a lush paradise but that does not mean it is not beautiful – it can also host deadly creatures and situations as well. One thing that I will say about the local fauna is this: Old Yeller hogs, but it’s worse and it’s at night – and it is terrifying. I absolutely loved the nature aspect reflected in this book.

I wanted to know more about the disaster – its scope and the impact beyond the state of Texas. Initially I was expecting more horror and fantastical/paranormal horror – what we do get isn’t disappointing, just not where I thought the story was going. The White witch/ghost tale threaded throughout the book felt like it should have had more of an impact on the story. I am not big on open-ended conclusions to books but as far as this one goes I wasn’t hugely disappointed at the end.

If you are looking for a whirlwind mystery with the list below, I highly recommend checking out this interesting & quick book.

FMC who is anything but a typical YA main
natural disaster & its aftermath
strange roommates with secrets and their own agendas
small town & (prairie) rural setting – they’re also real places
legend/ghost story

A huge thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for reaching out to me about a gifted copy of Clever Creatures of the Night to read. I cannot wait to see what the author writes next.

catybug's review

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

lattelibrarian's review

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dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0

I wish I liked this book more than I did. It's an interesting premise and I like the structure of the book (it's divided between night and day and chapters by timestamps) but I just...didn't get it. Why did Drea hide all of those notes? Who the heck was Charlie? How did she even figure out he died by their hands? Who even ARE these people?

I don't know, I felt confused a lot of the time lol. I didn't really understand the alliances forged or why the characters did what they did.

thebeesknees79's review against another edition

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dark tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

I received an eARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Ugh. This is tough. I had high hopes for this one and was certain at about 50% in my only critique would be this should have been a novella and about 100 pages shorter. But then that ending. Like there was one tiny part I liked. But overall? Too quick, too messy, and it literally wrapped nothing up. It was anticlimactic. I imagined about 5 possible endings that at least would’ve been more satisfying. I felt like way too much time was spent on the letters that were written…and it was a story that came across as truly sinister…until the end. Seriously bummed about this.