Hate animal sacrifices lol I just think we are *past* that in society idk!!!

Anyway, I thought this was entertaining enough and struggled with pacing sometimes, but I still was fascinated and intrigued.

The Creeping is a summertime thriller that blends romance, friendship drama, and bone-chilling mystery. The premise instantly hooked me—two girls vanish in childhood, but only one returns with no memory of what happened. Years later, the discovery of a red-haired girl’s body stirs up old fears, buried memories, and a disturbing pattern of disappearances.

Sirowy nails the atmosphere—the pacing stays steady, the creep factor builds beautifully, and the tension is enough to make you double-check your locks at night. The “monsters” here take many forms, both human and not, and the suspense keeps you turning pages.

That said, I struggled with the portrayal of the teenage characters. The dialogue often felt more like exaggerated stereotypes than authentic voices, with a heavy emphasis on social hierarchies that sometimes pulled me out of the story. While the mystery was compelling, the mix of romance and horror occasionally felt unbalanced, with certain emotional beats undercutting the dread.

If you’re in the mood for a medium-paced, eerie read with strong small-town creepiness and a mystery that flirts with the supernatural, this could be your perfect summer night pick—just be ready for some eye-rolling at the high school drama.

Characters: 4.00⭐️
Setting: 4.00⭐️
Plot: 3.75⭐️
Themes: 4.00⭐️
Personal enjoyment: 4.00⭐️
Emotional Impact: 3.75⭐️
Overall rating: 4.00⭐️

<b>"If you hunt for monsters, you'll find them.</b>

Eleven years ago, Jeanie and Stella disappeared, but only Stella came back. Stella has moved on with her life trying to enjoy her school life and popularity until a corpse show's up at an annual summer party that resembles Jeanie and now memories are coming back, and Stella wants to help find who this murdered is.

I really enjoy Alexandra Sirowy's writing style as she is able to build very creepy and atmospheric worlds in these small towns. She captures teenage angst with the idea of jealousies and the need to remain popular. I really liked Stella's character development as she tries to figure out what really happened to Jeanie and why she survived and her friend didn't. This feels like it would be a really good summer teen thriller movie. There were ties to some Morse mythology which I really enjoyed, and I wished was a explored a little bit more.

My only criticism which I think a lot of people might have nowadays, is that the romance between Stella and Sam was not really needed. I can understand why it was in there, but the need for hook ups and talk about sex felt more like page fillers. I think it was good to show the relationship between the two characters though, but I also have to remind myself this book was written 10 years ago.

This is my second Alexandra Sirowy and definitely will not be my last. She writes excellent thrillers for young adults.

Would I recommend this book? Yes.

I think this book could’ve been a hundred pages shorter.

I’ll start off by saying the book wasn’t bad. It just dragged. There were a lot of unnecessary scenes that made the pace sometimes feel like I was watching paint dry. I did enjoy the dynamic between Stella and Zoey-dysfunctional relationships are always interesting to read about but it also felt like Zoey didn’t have any redeeming quality’s at all which even in relationships that are strained friends can usually still see some good in the other person.

It also just felt so off in certain chapters and because of the friendship dynamic and also trying to add romance into this book (a romance really wasn’t needed) it completely shifted the tone of the book, taking the reader out of the suspenseful darkness that Stella found herself wandering through. Scary situations were cut short by trying to force two characters into sharing romantic glances and touches that weren’t necessary to the plot. You could’ve taken the dead body out of this story and had a YA drama that would’ve been fine on its own.

Instead it was marketed as a horror/thriller and because of the dynamics and the unnecessarily added elements the main plot started to feel out of place. The tone shifted throughout the book when it would’ve been incredible if it stayed steady since the beginning, keeping the reader strung on a bow instead of letting the arrow loose every other chapter.

I did like the last 20% of this book, I felt like the reveal was interesting. I just would’ve loveeeed if the tone we got in the last few chapters was weaved deeper throughout this 400 page novel.

Thank you to Simon Teen for an arc in exchange for an honest review!

This is the second book I’ve read from this author & it was so good! It reminded me a little like The Telling by her, but the twist still was unexpected. The pacing was slow but it did make for a great build up! The summer vibes were spot on, and the creepy feelings were all there. As I kept reading, it was so hard to figure out who did what! The side characters were all unique and distinct which I really enjoyed. The story takes place in Minnesota and I really was intrigued with the folklore was brought up & how it did big a bit more deeper than just bringing it up once!it made you want to read more of it and see the mystery behind it all!

I wish we saw more of the FMC Stella’s dad just because all of the police going around & investigations running, it just seemed like he was more filler than a parent. I also thought a couple of the scenes were not needed because throughout the read we got to see some yearning between a couple of the main characters which was sweet, but near the end it could’ve been portrayed differently. I understand what the author wanted to do, but you already get the gist of it throughout the whole read! Otherwise, it was a creepy book with some interesting folklore!

Thank you so much Simon teen for this advance reading copy. This book had a lot of potential for me and I think it would be really great for people who are looking for a spooky read for the fall. The idea is really cool. That two girls go missing and only one of them comes back with no memories. I love a small town investigation, but it seems like the things that happened with the police would never happen in real life and there didn’t seem to be any parents around. I get that that was a motivator for some of the teens’ actions but as a parent, I just don’t see that happening. The beginning was a little bit slow for me, and I do think that that was to set the scene for the creepier things that happen later on in the book one of the things that threw me off was the addition of a romance, sub plot, which kind of distracted me from more of the mysterious parts of the book. I think that a teenager would enjoy this book because it features language that they might use and the vibes would appeal to someone looking for a spookier read without being overly scary. Overall I’d recommend if someone has a teen looking for a book for the fall!!

This book is crazy and definitely fitting for horror. This book kept me guessing and I really enjoyed reading it. It definitely shows how tales can twist the truth.

I do love a story of creepy and eerie woods, especially when nobody remembers what happens. This is what happens to Stella and Jeanie, while out playing and berry picking only Stella comes back. The trauma is so big that she doesn’t remember anything, and now that she’s a teenager all she wants to live a normal life.

Unfortunately that is far from happening, now that a body has been found, old memories are resurfacing and secrets are being told. I liked the Norse mythology aspect of this book and how it made for a spooky and unsettling atmosphere. The ending felt like a Brothers Grimm dark fairy tale and it was very fitting for the story.

Thank you to Simon Teen and NetGalley for the arc. I enjoyed this over all. It definitely was creepy and would be perfect for Halloween, fall time.

God this was eerie as hell and had ME questioning reality! There are so many twists and the entire time I was just filled with dread and an overall feeling of being unsettled. This book is perfect for fans of The Dead and the Dark and House of Hollow so don't miss it!

I wasn’t a fan of this one. I loved the blurb and the cover but the story itself felt so one dimensional. It was as if I were reading someone’s notes on it rather than a book. The characters felt forced into stereotypes who were all just frankly awful people. The animal sacrifices were also a big pass for me with this book.

The plot and overall atmosphere of the book was nice though. It took a few chapters but it felt like it gave off the thriller/suspense vibes I was expecting. This book kinda reads like Fallen so if you liked that book/series I’d recommend it.

Plot: 4/10
Pace: 4/10
Ending: 5/10
Characters: 2/10
Enjoyability: 3/10
Writing Style: 2/10
Would I Recommend? No
Favorite Character: n/a

Favorite Quote: ❝Monsters aren't half as scary as human evil.❞