. Uninteresting and terribly written. Twists are ridiculous. I was excited because of the unreliable narrator. But it did not make up for how much I didn’t like the book. Cassidy was like a baby pyro and she get as made fun of. But now she is going to solve a murder... and I already think the book is silly and had a hard time taking it seriously. 

This book is hard to go through, and i tried so hard, I did it, but it was not something I enjoyed very much at all. Cassidy is super like Elmo and just doesn’t know how to get over herself. Even though she is supposed to be the bad one. It was hard to care about anything she was saying. 

This book did not have a lot of depth and the story really didn’t give me what I was expecting to happen at all. I thought this was going to be creepy, but it was not. The twist was even like whoa, more just oh, Which did not make sense since it was what was what the book had been building up to just to let me down. This could have been a lot better if it was like... hinted at. But you just ge the ending and there is no hints to say like hey this could happen. So that was lame. I dunno, this book could have been good. But It just didn not work out for me.

This is a YA thriller that follows our main character Cass who has led a tormented life. She has been the victim of bullying and generally treated poorly and unfairly by some girls in her school. She finds herself deserving of this treatment as she was involved in a fire which killed her then best friend back when she was a child. She makes no secret of her hatred of these girls, and also the hatred of herself. She wishes the girls dead regularly, and this comes back to haunt her as one day she is out in the woods in a secret hideout with her best friend when she hears one of those girls and then hears her scream in terror. Cass straight away assumes the worst has happened, and indeed the reader later finds out this girl has been brutally murdered.

This was a fun read, which was fast paced and easy to fly through. It had typical YA thriller vibes, which I personally quite enjoy for light reading. I will say, the downfall of this book is that it is surprisingly predictable. I guessed who the killer was, quite early on at that. I wasn't hundred percent sure, and the author did try and send the reader on various twists and turns off the scent, so if you are a beginner to the thriller genre, you may not guess correctly. For people who read a lot of thrillers though, I suspect you will find this a little too predictable. I didn't mind too much, as I did enjoy the overall journey. I liked the two main characters Cass, and her best friend Gideon. They were great to get to know and hang out with, though the teenage angst was strong!

This was a fine read, a little above average for me, and other than being predictable it was a great time. If you haven't read many thrillers, or you just enjoy YA thrillers in general, I highly recommend you pick this one up.

Cassidy was an absolute dumpster fire of truly terrible decision making ability. 

She continuously chose the wrong actions to take at so many turns, and as the reader I wanted to bang the book against my head every single time.

It was also incredibly entertaining and I loved watching her dig herself into more and more holes. She self-sabotaged constantly. 

The whodunnit aspect of the book was fun enough, albeit predictable. There are two characters who are never suspected, so really it was a 50/50 shot about which one was going to be the baddie. Still fun to read, but didn’t have me scratching my head in perplexity.

Honestly the poor girl desperately needs therapy. So much of her life was stunted because of things she hadn’t worked through. I sort of wish the author had made an effort to say it’s okay to seek help.

THE SHORT STORY:  Ghostly blue doll eyes, ignited by sparks of flame. Thick tendrils of smoke, choking her insides. Crackling of fire and the screams of a little girl. Scenes from Cassidy Pratt's traumatic past play like movie stills in her mind, haunting her present and disabling her every day life. It was an accident, but the town has never let Cassidy live down the deadly fire that took her neighbor’s life, bullying and targeting her as though she did it on purpose, as though an evil lingers inside of her waiting to resurface ever since. And Cassidy’s joked about being a little crazy, she's even gone as far as planning the perfect crime, the murder of her biggest bully, the cruel and beautiful Melody Davenport. But, when Melody actually does go missing, Cassidy finds herself in a threatening situation as an accomplice to a crime she never meant to commit. Has the trauma kindling inside of her finally ignited into true evil?

“I let those little creeping things embed themselves inside my brain, inside my very core, until they ate away who I was.”

From the start of this novel, I wasn't sure how to interpret Cassidy's frantic, conspiratorial character, and her need to constantly use her friend Gideon as her own savior. She was stressed out and it was stressing me out. But, as the novel progressed into a small town mystery, I started to understand Cassidy's purpose. She wasn't supposed to be reliable and weren't supposed to know if we should believe her stories. With each chapter, it seemed as though Cassidy revealed another secret that she had been holding back, unravelling a series of lies and coverups we wish we had known before we followed her every word. Cassidy is not a reliable narrator, and she's not meant to be. Once Cassidy's instability revealed itself, I spent the rest of the novel questioning whether or not Cassidy really was the "Fire Girl" the entire town thought she was. 

In addition to a deeply conflicting protagonist, this novel also had a great mystery, which kept me confused and guessing until the end. I think I created three alternate endings in my mind before the real explanation was revealed, the sign of any great mystery. This is not an easy read, but it's not meant to be; the characters frustrate you, the secrets and lies rattle you, and it has one of those plots that could be easily solved if everyone would just converse with each other. But it's this tension that makes for such a compelling, mysterious read and keeps you enthralled until the end.

Grades: 9th grade and up

Other book recommendations:   Keep This to Yourself by Tom Ryan, One of Us Is Lying by Karen M. McManus, We Were Liars by E. Lockhart, Sadie by Courtney Summers, There's Someone Inside Your House by Stephanie Perkins.

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Such a terrific premise for a book: the main character writes down her secret fantasy for killing off her nemesis, but then someone snatches her notebook and frames her for the murder. 

The hook was so great, it kept me reading clear to the end to find out who committed the murder. However, I wish the main character was easier to like. I found myself not really caring what happened to her. She was whiny and repetitive with her complaining. While the story was a compelling mystery to solve, I wanted more character development with richer, fuller arcs.

Nonetheless, if you like interesting mysteries, read LITTLE CREEPING THINGS.

Here are some of my favorites lines from the book:

"Though Maribel boasts breathtaking scenery, boredom is the leading cause of death."
"The name Brandon Alvarez sits on my tongue like a rotten bite of fruit. I want to spit it out."
"I'm dizzy. All that digging and walking and lying."
"Everyone in this town knows I'm trouble. Or troubled."
"But I let myself believe the lie ... and it shaped every decision I made. I let those little creeping things embed themselves inside my brain, inside my very core, until they ate away at who I was."


[I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via Net Galley, which in no way influenced my opinion.]

This was fun and quite addicting! I will say, full disclaimer, that I was pretty sure I knew what the deal was from fairly early on, and I did turn out to be right. But, that didn't stop me from compulsively reading to find out if I was! So that is to say, it certainly isn't glaringly obvious or anything, I just had a hunch. Anyway, moving along! 

One of my favorite things about this one is that I actually really cared about what happened to Cassidy. She was a great main character, which is sometimes lacking in thriller/mystery types, but not in this one. Cassidy has a really rough background, stemming from a fire when she was young, and it's been haunting her for years. She is not even sure if she is a reliable narrator, which of course makes us wonder just as much. 

I loved that she was so desperate to know the truth, even if it implicated her. And she wanted so badly to save Melody, even though Melody was kind of the worst. It was just all the more reason I rooted for Cassidy. I also loved how Gideon was (mostly) by her side no matter what, their friendship, and Cassidy's feelings for him, made my heart melt in the midst of a pretty precarious situation. 

Bottom Line: An enjoyable and very readable mystery with a great cast of characters!

As a child, Cassidy Pratt, accidentally started a fire that killed her neighbor. At least, that's what she's been told. She can't remember anything from that day, but she’s  pretty sure she didn't mean to do it. Cassi is a victim of the  town's bullies, especially  the cruel and beautiful Melody Davenport, who won’t  let her live down her past. In Melody's eyes,  Cassidy is a murderer and always will be.

One day in the woods, Cassidy overhears what sounded like an abduction and Melody goes missing, Cassidy knows she should go to the cops, but, she had recently joked about how much she'd like to get rid of Melody. She even planned out the perfect way to do it and  chronicled it in her now missing journal!

 Now Cassidy must figure out what really happened, because if she comes forward without a suspect, she knows people will point fingers at her. Again. And she can't let that happen.

Will you be able to guess the truth behind Melody’s disappearance?

YA mystery/thriller

Well, I must admit, this book totally hooked me with its delightfully creepy cover. Being a debut novel, I hadn't heard much in the way of pre-publication noise, so I was definitely curious. Unfortunately, the cover just may have been my favorite thing about this one! Cassidy narrates this one as a high schooler in her small Oregon town. She's on the receiving end of taunts, whispers and outright bullying in the aftermath of an incident that took place a decade earlier that resulted in the death of her best friend. Case starts to feel surrounded by death when she's the last person to hear Melody's voice before she goes missing. And though Melody was a bully, Cass feels invested to solve the crime for fear that she may coincidentally be blamed on account of her reputation as the town "Fire Girl". This puts stress on her relationship with her best friend, Gideon, and times leads her to doubt her own sanity.

The overall lack of character development makes it hard to connect with Cats - or any of the other minor characters. Plus, the book's plot really comes out more in a telling than showing fashion. This really slows the pacing down. The core relatiohships fall flat, too, and it ultimately isn't that big of a surprise when the truth is revealed. I did finish this one, but I have to admit that I contemplated bailing on it a few times because I just never felt all that motivated to keep reading. I really had hoped for something much creepier and more compelling. I guess my love for the cover really set my expectations too high for this one... the book just never felt very grounded in reality, and it felt oddly dated at times (punch at a dance!)... it just never lived up to my hopes.

2020's answer to Pretty Little Liars, anyone? This was fast-paced and very readable. I can totally see it being a new Freeform series. It had a solid plot. I felt like the characters could be a little flaky but perhaps this was on purpose? It was a little difficult to tell at times which I thought better editing could have made clear. Lots of plot devoted to bullying and other issues facing teenagers which made it seem fresh.

I really enjoyed this YA thriller! My main issue with most mystery/thrillers is that the ''big reveal'' at the end of the novel tends to be very predictable, but this book wasn't predictable at all. I was put on the wrong track so many times (!!) and never would have guessed the ending. I also really enjoyed figuring out what happened in Cass's past. It certainly put more dept to the story. Overall, this was a solid 3 stars read for me. It was a fun YA story to read, but I do think I expected it to be more creepy (like the title and cover suggested).

When I first started this book I was really invested on trying to figure out who was the killer and for the life of me I could not figure it out. I really enjoyed this murder mystery. Everytime I thought I figured it out something else comes up. Its was a little irritating to be honest. I really started feeling bad for Cassidy because she always felt alone and felt like she was going crazy. All because no one wanted to actually talk. I did feel like there was like way to much focus on the relationship between Cassidy and Gideon. It was a lot of teen angst and jealousy with a little bit if murder thrown about. That's what the middle of the book seemed to be focused on mostly but the author pulled it all together in the end. This all started with the notebook of Cassidy's. Her and Brandon wrote out a plan and then it come to life. Cass immediately starts thinking about Brandon but as the story progresses she starts finding out more information which causes her to constantly second guess herself. I think the strangest thing about the story is Brandon is a constant in the story for the the most part and then hes just completely gone and not mentioned again. I know this book doesnt have the highest ratings right now but I think if everyone stuck with it it might actually surprise you at the end. This book was fast paced,  surprising, and entertaining. I'm looking forward to Chelsea Ichaso's upcoming books. 


Thanks to Netgalley and Sourcebooks Fire for my arc copy of this book for my honest review.

This was just too much teenage drama for my taste, especially since it’s not even specified as YA or otherwise. I had to talk myself into finishing this book. Multiple times I wanted to just put it down and walk away. The writing itself wasn’t bad, the author has an incredible voice and knows how to create an enthralling tale. My issue was with the characters. Throughout the entire read I was enraged with the main character, Cassidy, who proved to be a selfish teenager who plays victim while inflicting the same behaviors from which she suffers. A bully who spreads lies and gossip while decrying her own trauma and treatment. It was such a gross display of irresponsibility that it was hard to focus on the actual story because I was too busy being angry. Even with multiple opportunities to come clean, or be a good person, or just be honest, Cassidy refuses to take the higher road. Until the bitter end, she remains a petulant and possessive. 

I was given an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

So many books are full of grown people making really stupid decisions.  This one at least has teenagers doing the stupid things.  The adults are barely there.  That does not make this a teenage, or young adult, book.  Whatever that means.  My point is that you can understand your, scared, unformed minds making the decisions that are made. With that in mind, I enjoyed this book without expecting too much of the characters.  Unfortunately, it wasn't too hard to figure out who-dun-it and the red herrings were very obvious.  It was just an enjoyable and quick read.

This is a very solid YA mystery/thriller that I know so many people will enjoy. Ichaso balances the complexities of being a teenager really well with the drama of solving Melody’s disappearance. There was quite a few twists and turns in this story that I found myself guessing who did it all the way to the reveal. And the reveal did not disappoint and it was such a great ending to a well told story.

The story did start off a little slow but as the plot progressed so did my enjoyment of the story. I think for me I had no connection with the characters and I am very much a character over plot kind of a reader. So once I started to know Cassidy and the people around her I became more invested in how everything was going to play out. Cassidy also has a best friend, Gideon, and I really like how their whole subplot played out. When there wasn’t as much going on with the mystery there would be drama playing out between the two of them and it helped keep me engrossed in the book.

If you enjoy YA mystery/thrillers then I highly recommend this one to you. I feel like it is a fresh take on the genre and it isn’t afraid to show how dark people can be. I also think that if you enjoy YA contemporaries and you want to branch out a little then this would be a good one to try since it does have some teen drama in it as well as the mystery. Also, this cover is so creepy and I’m happy to say that there is an aspect of this book that deals with a creepy doll so it does tie into the story.

This YA is a solid thriller that has a couple of twists and turns along the way. It has a little bit of everything you see in a YA book - teen angst, teen romance, mystery, small-town setting, etc.

Cassidy Pratt was told that when she was a child, she started a fire that killed her neighbor. She has no memories for that day but her town; especially the town bullies remembers. When one of her biggest tormentors, Melody goes missing, Cassidy believes she has some information. She heard Melody before she went missing but is fearful because she planned how to get rid of Melody.

Then she gets a text which reads: I’m so glad we’re in this together.

What happened to Melody? Who is to blame? Is someone setting Cassidy up? Is Cassidy an unreliable character? Will the truth only add more sticks to the fire?

I found this book to be a solid 3 star read. The beginning and end were strong. The middle lagged a little for me. Overall, an enjoyable YA book. I had an inkling who the culprit would be...will you?

Thank you to Sourcebooks Fire and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5 stars

Unreliable narrators are my favorite and I was so excited for this premise. 

I sort of liked Cassidy? She means well, but jumps to conclusions and spends the entire book accusing various people of being the murderer. There are a lot of mean girls and one or two characters who deserve to be hugged. {Emily and Gideon, I’m looking at you.}

Plot wise, it was okay. Cassidy’s inner monologue of guilt did get repetitive and the constant sneaking around didn’t add the tension I was expecting. Most disappointing was the reveal and so-called explanation, all of which was wrapped up in 2-3 pages. 

Overall, it had a lot of potential, but sadly, this story was forgettable. 

**Huge thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for providing the arc free of charge**

"I stand helpless, a familiar desire seeping into my veins. That desire to watch something burn."

Little CreepingvThings by Chelsea Ichaso was a fun book. It was a bit creepy, and kind of a whodunnit.  The main character is your typical, helpless, Bella-esque teen girl except she has a tragic past. She's known throughout her small town as "Fire Girl" after a fire trapped her and killed her best friend when they were young children. When another girl in town goes missing, Cass is pretty sure she knows who the culprit is. Her best friend, Gideon, gets dragged into the search. I actually guessed the ending early on in the book but was still left guessing until the confirmation. I couldn't put this book down, reading the entire thing in a day.

Disclaimer: The quoted text is from an uncorrected proof of this book that I received from FIREreads and NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Little Creeping Things by Chelsea Ichaso is a YA Thriller and it's quit an interesting story about a teenage girl who experiences a traumatic event when she was seven-years ago. Because of this traumatic event the name "Fire Girl" has haunted Cassidy her whole life, she has tried to ignore the comments that have been thrown her way. However, hearing what sounds like a cry for help in the woods one day and finding out the next her nemesis has gone missing Cassidy's world turns upside down and she starts to wonder is she truly is "Fire Girl." 

As much as I did enjoy it in certain aspects there were times in the story where I felt like nothing was happening. A part of me felt like I wanted the story to hurry at get to the point, in some moments it felt like the story kept doing too many twists for me. However, I did enjoy the characters and how they developed throughout the story, they were great and really the reason I felt so invested in the story. The mystery of what really happened to Cassy when she was seven years old in the fire really kept me engaged with the novel itself. The ending wasn't what I expected which was great, but it also didn't feel like that big of a shock either. I was more shocked about the side twist than who the killer was. Overall I think its a good YA Thriller novel.

This book is different from the other books that I've read because of the gore depicted in the book. If you like reading about gore and death then this is the book for you. Basically the premise of the novel is that the main character Cassidy is trying to figure out who killed her arch nemesis Melody. Additionally another important detail to note is that Cassidy is a survivor of a childhood fire which left her friend dead who happened to be Melody's cousin. Ichaso weaved a intricate web of deception and tragedy in her novel.

If you’re looking for a YA Thriller that will keep you guessing until the end than you’ll enjoy Little Creeping Things. It’s not just one mystery either.

Cass can’t remember everything from that frightful day that took place when she was younger. All she knows is there was a fire, her friend died, and she may have started it. Now the girl who’s bullied her for years has gone missing along with a notebook of possible evidence to show Cass may be the one who took her.

Follow Cass and her friend Gideon as they follow the clues to find Mallory and possibly fill in the parts of the fire Cass can’t remember.

Just when you think you know where each clue is taking you, and to who, the path changes. This was a great fast paced YA read that will definitely keep you on your toes!