Novel Review: The Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass

Rating (Out of 5): ~3.5

Genre: YA Contemporary, Suspense, Family, Cult-like

Publisher: Hyperion

Release Date: 2016

Spoilers?: No.

Buy it here: Amazon. Barnes and Noble. Book Depository. Powells.

Goodreads Synopsis:

 The woods were insane in the dark, terrifying and magical at the same time. But best of all were the stars, which trumpeted their light into the misty dark.

Castella Cresswell and her five siblings—Hannan, Caspar, Mortimer, Delvive, and Jerusalem—know what it’s like to be different. For years, their world has been confined to their ramshackle family home deep in the woods of upstate New York. They abide by the strict rule of God, whose messages come directly from their father.

Slowly, Castley and her siblings start to test the boundaries of the laws that bind them. But, at school, they’re still the freaks they’ve always been to the outside world. Marked by their plain clothing. Unexplained bruising. Utter isolation from their classmates. That is, until Castley is forced to partner with the totally irritating, totally normal George Gray, who offers her a glimpse of a life filled with freedom and choice.

Castley’s world rapidly expands beyond the woods she knows so well and the beliefs she once thought were the only truths. There is a future waiting for her if she can escape her father’s grasp, but Castley refuses to leave her siblings behind. Just as she begins to form a plan, her father makes a chilling announcement: the Cresswells will soon return to their home in heaven. With time running out on all of their lives, Castley must expose the depth of her father’s lies. The forest has buried the truth in darkness for far too long. Castley might be their last hope for salvation.

The Cover:

The cover I have is the one above, which I really like. I think it focuses on the creepy aspect, and I like the dead leaves and the font of the title. I really like it, and it's largely what caught my attention. There's a new cover now, which I think is okay, and perhaps focuses on the brightness of the ending, but I think I prefer the first one.

Review:

Castella lives with her five brothers and sisters, in a house with her father and mother, and they live under God, as their father dictates. They were home-schooled until recently, when they were discovered and forced into public school. At school, they're the freaks, who aren't really allowed to socialize or join anything, and are under strict rules at all times.

Lately, Castella has started wondering about what's beyond, about what it would be like if she were free. And once a person starts thinking that, there's no going back. Especially when their father starts getting more strict and more crazy.

It's obvious there's something wrong with their father, and mother, from the very beginning. And craziness like that bleeds, it spreads, and when you're being forced to accept something as truth, it's hard to distance yourself from it.

This was a very disturbing story, from the very beginning. We discover what their fathers rules are, how they're supposed to live and be with each other only, and the things they do every day and are punished with. It's all very cult-like and disturbing.

I think the way it played out made a lot of sense. Castella was seeing other options, but when you're brainwashed like that, abused like that, it's hard to move beyond it. Her siblings weren't quite seeing what she was, and the secrets they discover, are what forces them to. I think her interactions with the other kids at school made sense, too. They were all freaks, and even though she starts getting along with a boy there, it was actually good he didn't end up being her hero. It would have been unrealistic, but also, she needed to learn that she had to do these things on her own. She was the only one who was going to save herself.

I really enjoyed this book. It was dark and disturbing, and frustrating at times, but it was rather realistic. And the ending was really sweet, I'm happy with how it seemed to have turned out.