Book Review: Croak

 Croak by Gina Damico

Series: Croak #1

Publisher: Graphia Books

Published: March 20, 2012

Fed up with her wild behavior, sixteen-year-old Lex’s parents ship her off to upstate New York to live with her Uncle Mort for the summer, hoping that a few months of dirty farm work will whip her back into shape.

But Uncle Mort’s true occupation is much dirtier than shoveling manure. He’s a Grim Reaper. And he’s going to teach Lex the family business.

She quickly assimilates into the peculiar world of Croak, a town populated by reapers who deliver souls from this life to the next. But Lex can’t stop her desire for justice – or is it vengeance? – whenever she encounters a murder victim, craving to stop the attackers before they can strike again.

Will she ditch Croak and go rogue with her reaper skills?

So, the last time I read a book about grim reapers I wasn’t entirely impressed and abandoned that storyline for a bit until I came upon this book. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, and completely fell in love with the characters that Damico created. What I love the most about this book is how effortlessly the dialogue flows, and finally teenagers that actually swear!  

Lex is considered to be a delinquent by her family and classmates. She wasn’t always like this, however, she used to be a good daughter, straight-A student and her nickname wasn’t always Tyrannosaurus Lex. And then something in Lex changed—she was always angry and she couldn’t control it, she would always lash out. Her parents finally have enough of her crap and ship her off to live with her Uncle Mort in the small town of Croak. Croak isn’t just a small town, it’s actually not here or there. It is a town where all the grim reapers live, and they make money by milking the tourists of all their cash and basically freaking them the fuck out.

When Lex meets Uncle Mort, she’s leery of him at first but eventually she begins to like him and even trust him. Unlike her parents, Uncle Mort treats her like a regular person and understands why she’s always so angry. It’s part of the requirement of being a grim reaper, actually. As Lex begins to understand her new power, she starts to make friends and eventually grows to like Croak. However, things aren’t always as they seem and terrible things begins to happen in Croak … and they all start about the same time that Lex arrived.

I love the world that Damico built, and her writing is quirky and humourous just like her characters. What I really enjoyed was the difference between Killing and Culling, and how “reaping” souls has to be done in pairs. The detail and how fleshed out the grim reaping process is made me really enjoy the book even more. As always, you guys know how I love when authors flesh out their secondary characters. The fact that I was able to get attached to the background characters (the bartender, Edgar Allen Poe, etc.) shows how much thought Damico put into her story.

Also, the romance between Lex and Driggs? Totally cute and awkward and I 100% ship it! They are so adorably awkward, and I wish I read more relationships that have that awkward element to it. What I really like about it is that, I’m not cringing and hiding my face in my hands because it’s just completely ridiculous, ya know? It’s sweet and adorable, and just the right touch to blend in with the storyline.

All in all, Croak is definitely something y’all should pick up and read if you’re in the mood for awkward and angry grim reapers!

This is basically Lex