Review "Crossroads"

Some information

Title: Crossroads

Author: Chandler McGrew

Pages: 306

Genre: Paranormal

Published: September 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace

My Source: Author (thank you!)

My Score on Goodreads: 3 stars

Covertext

Sheila Bright talks to the dead including the ghost of her mother who wants to move to California. Kira Graves produces money out of thin air and can transform people into monsters. The two of them, along with Shape Shifters, Pookas, Lost Boys and more all inhabit the Crossroads, where good and evil collide. When Kira’s family and everyone else in their carnival are murdered by unearthly creatures called Grigs, Kira and her constant companion, Jen, flee toward a half-mythical place of safety called Graves Island, but they fail to reach it when Kira is drawn through the looking glass into another world. The planet of the Creators is deteriorating from a land of dreamscapes into one of nightmares, and the only way to stop the Empty-Eyed Man from turning the entire universe into chaos is for Kira to destroy the tool he most desires. But what she must sacrifice to do so may be worth more to her than the prize.

My Review

I have to admit I don't normally read this kind of books with all kinds of supernatural elements. After reading this book, I discovered again why I don't. It's just not my genre. I like stories that could really happen. Nonetheless I liked this book and this story. It's very well written and author Chandler McGrew doesn't waste time on unnecessary scenes. That's a thing I highly appreciate. Something that did bother me from time to time were all the comparisons the author made. The words "it was a lot like..." appeared one too many times.

In "Crossroads" McGrew tells us the story of Kira Graves, a young girl that grows up with her parents in a carnival. Kira has a pretty normal life (at least that's what she thinks) untill one night everything changes for her. When her parents and all the other carneys are killed by a horrible "thing" one night, Kira doesn't know what to do and is left all alone in the world. The only "person" she has by her side isn't real and can't be seen by everybody... The last thing her mother told her was that Kira would be punished for something she didn't do and that she had to go without looking back. Not understanding Kira begins a life changing journey with her "pooka" or protecter Jen (the one that can't be seen by everybody). On this journey Kira discovers a lot about herself. She seems to be able to create things out of nothing and doesn't really know why she's got this "gift" or how she must use it. She meets Sheila Bright on her journey who also seems to be a little "odd". Indeed Sheila also has a strange gift, though she rather thinks of it as a curse. She's able to talk to the dead and just like Kira she doesn't know what to do with this ability. 

Together Kira and Sheila discover a lot of things they didn't want to discover at all. They visit worlds they'd rather avoid and meet creatures that shouldn't have been created. 

I have to admit I came more into the story when it reached its climax. I wanted to know what would happen next and that's a good thing when you read a book... Duh... A thing that bothered me (aaargh) was that my version of this book didn't have a page numbering. It almost drove me crazy (only exaggerating a little :p )! The lay-out still needs some work, but we all know the story is the most important part of a book so I won't say something more about this. 

All in all it's a good story but I think you have to be a fan of this genre. You can see the author has put a lot of effort in this book, so we can only be positive on that part... What I liked were the philosophical ideas that appeared from time to time in "Crossroads". I don't know wether the author did this on purpose or it's just a coincidence, but it gave a little more to this book. Though I "only" gave 3 stars to this work, I can recommand it to (some) readers. I'm sure lots of people will really like this book a lot!