This was not a well written book. Very difficult to read and stay interested. The characters and plot were not interesting

At age 7, Cassidy accidentally set a fire that killed her childhood friend. Through the years she has been forced to live with the tragedy. Her main source of comfort is her older brother Asher, who saved her from the fire and vows to keep her safe. When Cass masterminds a plan to kill her nemesis Melody, who then ends up dead, Cass and her best friend Gideon try to find the murderer. There are twists and turns and it’s a little far fetched, but still a good read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my unbiased review.

This book was so good! It was creepy and kept me guessing til the very end. The writing was really good and I liked the characters. I would definitely recommend if you like a good thriller!

I received this ARC from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.

Deliciously creepy and unsettling. The MC was a perfect unreliable narrator whilst still being a touchingly relatable portrait of a teenaged girl, burdened with a reputation and identity that she perhaps didn’t want or deserve. There was definitely something of ‘if they do not love me, let them fear me’ about Cass. The idea that you can turn popular opinion about you into a sort of protective colouration that will get you through high school relatively unscathed was particularly well done – and it was disturbing how this survival mechanism was turned against Cass. Or did she do it to herself? This was a compelling read.

I haven't read much YA in the genre since my foray into Pretty Little Liars, but the cover and blurb for Little Creeping Things sold me.

Cass is haunted by her past. Assuming the blame for a horrible fire that took the life of her best friend, scarred her brother, and almost killed her, Cass embraces the identity of Fire Girl, believing anyone who gets close to her is doomed to be burned. Unfortunately, she finds herself in a precarious situation when she overhears the murder of her sworn enemy. Spiraling deeper into the mystery and suspect pool, Cass must confront her demons to overcome her tormented history and solve the case before it's too late.

Little Creeping Things was a wonderful blend of murder and mystery. As an MC, I really liked Cass. Her reflective nature and anxiety about the past was endearing. She never absolved herself from blame, and with the severity of the event, it made sense that something of that nature would follow her. A small town where everyone knew each other, it was interesting to see how the fire affected the rest of her life. From taunts to bullying, Ichaso did a superb job of structuring the plot so that the weight of responsibility she felt didn't seem hyperbolic or unwarranted.

While I don't often care for romantic subplots, I found Cass' relationship with Gideon refreshing and adorable. Exploring the nuances of friendship, how childhood friendship can blossom into romantic entanglements, their friendship was never perfect or cut and dry. They fought, held differing opinions, attacked problems in two completely different ways, and yet when things got scary or difficult, their instincts were always to protect each other.

I think the only thing that got repetitive was Cass' suspicion of literally every male character in the book at some point or other. She jumps from one to the next, producing "proof" for all of her rationale into why this person was *definitely* the killer. I wouldn't say she's an unreliable narrator, but you're supposed to question her ability to critically think about the information she's giving to us as the reader. I had to suspend some disbelief on this part, one because she's a teenager inserting herself into a murder investigation, and two, I didn't understand how she was so sure of everyone else's guilt; but, comparing it to a show like House or, yes, Pretty Little Liars, where all the wrong answers are exhausted before the truth comes to light, her approach to solving the mystery worked. I wasn't shocked by the ending, but I didn't dislike it either.

Overall, I'd highly recommend this to anyone looking for a psychological YA thriller with a dash of romance thrown in. I really enjoyed this read.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Sourcebooks for providing an arc in exchange for review consideration.

Thank you, NetGalley and Sourcebooks Fire for an arc of this suspenseful page-turner by Chelsea Ichaso. Hooking me from Chapter One with nicknaming the main character and voice of the story "Fire Girl," I had a hard time putting this book down and stayed up way too late one evening too many to finish it. I regret nothing.

Ichaso's portrayal of high school life, of the way a nickname and identity you perhaps never wanted nor asked for yourself can follow you around like a bad, reoccurring dream was exceptionally organic. All too often, YA stories and their points of view feel too old and out of touch for YA. This one fit the high school persona perfectly, and on that note, what really kept me reading was the almost-frustrating fact that I couldn't decide if I trusted Cassidy. Her compelling backstory coupled with her ease of lying to her oldest and dearest friend Giddy threw me for a loop more than once. Even at 90% through the novel, I wasn't entirely sure if I believed her, and I absolutely loved that element. Give me an unreliable narrator every time, please.

A well-woven mystery with gut-tightening-read-with-many-lights-on moments, Little Creeping Things will appeal to fans of E. Lockhart, Gillian French, and Kara Thomas.

Creepy, chilling and twisty! I haven't read many books lately so was glad I could get into this one from page 1. Highly recommended!

Since she was a child and her best friend died in a fire she started Cassidy has been called fire girl and relentlessly tormented by the kids at her school. Now in high school when one of her biggest tormentors goes missing Cassidy becomes the target and she begins to question everyone and everything. With a twist ending you never see coming and a good lesson about the powers of rumors this book was an engaging read!

I struggled through this one, I'll be honest. I didn't connect with the main character at all. Cass is hard to follow when she goes into one of her episodes. She's panicked and spacey a lot. Also I wasn't really surprised by the twist in the end...

Little Creeping Things - Chelsea Ichaso

Cassidy Pratt survived a fire as a child, but her neighbour wasn’t as lucky. Ever since, Cass has been haunted by flashbacks of the fire, and has been treated as a social pariah by the popular kids at school. But that’s okay. She has her brother, Asher, and her best friend, Gideon. But things start to unravel for Cassidy when she overhears what could very well be the murder of someone that she knows. Worse? It sounded like it happened exactly the way she had planned it.

Our main character is heavily flawed. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as all humans are flawed. She is also a very unreliable narrator. Being a social outcast, as well as teased by the popular crowd, Cass is reluctant to let anyone into her and Gideon’s small, close world.
When Cass overhears what she believes to be the murder of the town darling, Melody - who happens to be the cousin of the neighbour who died, as well as Cass’s biggest tormenter - she is reluctant to share everything she knows. Even Gideon, her best friend since she was six, feels like someone she can’t talk to. Because as well as an ingrained belief that Cass herself started the fire all those years ago, she has another secret. She wrote down the exact method the possible killer may have used to do away with Melody.
Cass feels that the whole world, apart from Gideon and her brother, Asher, are against her. She can never measure up to her older brother’s stellar school record. She has flashbacks to the fire that plague her at the most inopportune times - such as the middle of a volleyball game. With the disaprearance followed by murder of Melody, Cass is reluctant to tell anyone everything she know.
Honestly, this review is getting hard to write without spoilers. So.
I thought that the character development for Cass and Gideon was done well - though we know less than we might about Gideon, it vibes with the way that Cass holds things close to her chest. Character development for the rest of the book… Not so great. Asher is home all the time and all we know is that he has his own business, and a friend called Brandon - who Cass doesn’t like. There is a character introduced in the beginning of the book who I didn;t think twice about when they reappeared; as far as I knew, it was our first time meeting them.
I thought I knew who-dunnit; I was wrong on my initial instinct but I did figure it out in advance of our main character.

In all, not a bad book. I kept reading it, because I wanted to know what happened, and I wasn’t expecting the reveal near the end.

Content Warning: Violence, death of a child, death of a teen, fire
Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review, but unfortunately this was just not a book I could sink my teeth into. It started out too slowly for me and I couldn't keep any interest in the characters.

#LittleCreepingThings
#YA2020
A must read debut that will give you the heebie jeebies. If you love suspense then this book is for you!

This is one of the best books I've read in a long time. It was literally a one-sitting read, and I regret nothing. I was completely hooked from the first page, and I was left guessing right until the end. Very well written. Loved it.