Review: The Missing by Lisa McMann

Title: The Missing
Author: Lisa McMann
Series: None

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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Kendall loves her life in small town Cryer's Cross, Montana, but she also longs for something more. She knows the chances of going to school in New York are small, but she's not the type to give up easily. Even though it will mean leaving Nico, the world's sweetest boyfriend, behind.
But when Cryer's Cross is rocked by unspeakable tragedy, Kendall shoves her dreams aside and focuses on just one goal: help find her missing friends. Even if it means spending time with the one boy she shouldn't get close to... the one boy who makes her question everything she feels for Nico.
Determined to help and to stay true to the boy she's always loved, Kendall keeps up the search--and stumbles upon some frightening local history. She knows she can't stop digging, but Kendall is about to find out just how far the townspeople will go to keep their secrets buried...

Lisa McMann isn’t a new author for me. I’ve read and loved her Dream Catcher trilogy so when I got Cryer’s Cross, aka The Missing, I was very excited to jump into it.

In the small town of Cryer’s Cross nobody is safe anymore. After two teens are gone missing, the people of the town are shaken and especially Kendall Fletcher. When Kendall’s best friend/ boyfriend, Nico goes missing, she isn’t sure she can cope. Kendall has known Nico all of her life and she can’t remember even a moment when Nico wasn’t there to help her when she needed him. Now she’s alone, struggling to control her OCD and determined to find out what happened to her best friend. Everything gets complicated when a new family moves into the small town and the oldest son, Jasian is a suspect.

I really loved this book. When I first started reading it I was very confused with the flow. The story is told in third person but there were times that we hear a mystery voice. I had no idea what was going on until the end. That was really creepy by the way.

Kendall was so different from the average heroine. She had to struggle with her OCD in her everyday life and Nico had always been there to help her when things got tough. Now everything is changing. Her best friend is missing never to be found, her dreams of dancing are falling apart and as if that wasn’t enough she has to face Jasian, who isn’t the bad guy everyone though after all. She was so compassionate yet curious for the world around her. She never gave up on her search for Nico which was a sign for her inner strength while the guilt about accusing Jasian, consumed her.

I also loved Jasian and his sister. Their start with Kendall wasn’t good but they were both there for her when she thought she had no one to rely on. Jasian was so mature for his age. He was supposed to be the bad guy in town but all he wanted was to fit in. His relationship with Kendall was complicated in the beginning but he never gave up on her.

Cryer’s Cross, aka the missing, was a great YA horror/ romance with a lot of suspense and a long forgotten secret of a small town. I can’t believe I didn’t read it sooner.

I highly recommended!