Croak

By: Gina Damico

Narrated by: Jessica Almasy

Length: 8 hrs and 16 mins

Publisher's summary

Fed up with her wild behavior, 16-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?

©2012 Gina Damico (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Meant for young adult but fun for all ages

Any additional comments?

This book uses language that is probably more familiar to younger audiences, I thought that added to its appeal actually. Lots of sarcasm (the good kind) and wit (also the good kind) can be found here. It's worth picking up for a fun, quick read.

Great story!

I read this story years ago and liked it and I now still do. The narrator was great and brought to life the characters and their personalities. each chapter left me guessing what would happen next and I loved it. Great all around.

Captures and entertains.

Surprisingly clever. Held my attention to the very end.
Can't wait to start next book.

How I spent my Summer

Where does Croak rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Loved this. I love Jessica Almasy's narration. Great plot, and fun book until boom it gets very dark at the end.

What other book might you compare Croak to and why?

I don't know that I have read another Grim Reaper YA book. The strong female protagonist who needs to save the day is very similar to Hunger Games, and the divergent series.

Have you listened to any of Jessica Almasy’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Yes I listened to the Infinte series by Lori M. Lee. I loved this one just as much.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

yes. I hated when I had to stop and wished I had had 8 plus hours to just devote to it.

I enjoyed this right up till the end

This was a fun story or teen-aged Grim Reapers in training. I had some issues with how the author treated these teens and their job. It seemed a little too slap-dash and there are some real moral dilemmas that are touched on but only superficially. It is a common issue I have with other YA books. The story though is fun and the main character, once the author stopped making her a violent lunatic, was funny and had her moments. Then the book had a heartbreaking climax that was very well done. Which the author then ruined with the actual ending, which was unrealistic and painful. As if she had written herself into a corner and had to take a sledgehammer to the plot to get back to where she wanted to be. Still, that painful bit of writing was only a very small part of the story and I am still interested in picking up the sequel to see how the series continues.

Good but....

Make no mistake: this is definitely a YA book. I've listened to quite a few YA books that were well crafted and enjoyable ("Firelight" by Sophie Jordan comes to mind), but between the attitude and the angst and unsophisticated storyline of "Croak", I probably will not be continuing with the series (unless it goes on sale maybe). It's not bad, just not engaging enough for my adult mind to latch on to.

Great story, distracting reader

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I read this book first and then decided to listen to it. I love the story, The main character is a teen girl who up until lately has been a model student and daughter. no spoilers here, but suffice it to say there is a reason she went weird, and it makes for an interesting story!

Downside: While the reader definitely has the teenage voice down she kind of distracted me from the story.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Lex's partner, he really brought out the best in her.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

Like I said, it was distracting.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The end, I'm not giving any spoilers!

YA Urban Fantasy Murder Mystery

Please fin this complete review and many others at audiobookreviewer dot com

Gina Damico has truly created a world that I never once thought could exist. A world where people souls are dependent upon humans that have been selected to play the role of a "Grim Reaper" that deliver the souls to the afterlife. Yes, I said humans, you could think of them as mutants in a way, as these people have special abilities that us normal people don't have. These people live in a real town called Croak, there happen to many similar towns throughout the world, where they go to work helping people get to the afterlife. But then the reapers start being attacked by an inconceivable killer, another reaper. Croak is really a young adult urban fantasy murder mystery that was quite entertaining by the great character and story building abilities of Damico. At times it did kind of feel like a super-natural Scooby Doo and the Gang mystery but that was just the young adult aspect shining through.

Entertaining

I was engaged, I liked the characters and liked how the story flowed. The narrator did a good job. There was a fair amount of teenager wailing and whining and I thought the narrator handled that well. Many YA books I just have to stop listening to because of a narrator's high pitched whining was more than I could handle. I liked this story and just purchase the next two in the series since they were on sale.

Unique and captivating.

What did you love best about Croak?

Personally, I found it to be a refreshing take on life after death.

What other book might you compare Croak to and why?

I would compare it to Showtime's Dead like me. I know its not a book, but perfect comparison.

What does Jessica Almasy bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Some of the sass that Lex has.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Couldn't stop listening. Ran through all three books in less than two weeks.

Any additional comments?

Keep going with the series!