Author: Gina
Damico. Release date: 2012. Publisher: Graphia. ISBN: 9780547624570.
Annotation:
Now
that Zara has stolen her power to Damn, Lex has become an outcast in Croak,
with the townspeople all convinced that she is responsible for the murderous
rampage that Zara is now on. With Croak no longer safe, Lex and her friends
must travel to the DeMyse, the Las Vegas of the Grimsphere, to escape Zara and
learn more about a mysterious book that might put an end to Zara’s killing
spree.
Personal
thoughts: I absolutely loved Croak,
so I was super excited to pick up the sequel and continue with the fun and
laughs. Unfortunately, I didn’t experience very many of either when I was
reading Scorch. The storyline was
very bleak, and I felt like everything whimsical and enjoyable about Croak just wasn’t present. I still like
the characters and think that there is potential for the author to improve, but
Scorch was a bit of a sophomore slump
for me.
Plot
summary: After Zara stole her power to Damn souls to an eternity of
torment, Lex has become an outcast in Croak. The townspeople don’t seem to
understand that Zara killed Lex’s sister, Cordy, to get to her and that she
never meant for her power to transfer to Zara; they only know that Zara is on a
murderous rampage and that Lex is responsible. Determined to put a stop to Zara’s
killing spree, Lex, her friends, and Uncle Mort begin to research the Wrong
Book, a mysterious text that is held in an impenetrable cabin in the woods
surrounding Croak that holds the key to some of the Grimsphere’s most elusive
secrets. The only problem? Zara wants the Wrong Book for herself and begins
Damning innocent people around the country, convinced that Lex has the book in
her possession and is hiding it from her. With the townspeople getting more and
more hostile and the threat of an attack from Zara looming, Lex and her friends
decide to travel to DeMyse, the Las Vegas of the Grimsphere. There they hope to
learn more about the Wrong Book and stay safe long enough to figure out if the
information it contains can put an end to Zara’s reign of terror.
Review: Picking up
where the first book left off, Scorch,
the second installment in Gina Damico’s Croak
series, proves to be a decent sequel to what was a stellar beginning in the
previous novel. While the author does a lot to expand the world she created in Croak, introducing new characters,
backstories and locations, a lot of what made Croak such an enjoyable novel is, unfortunately, absent. The dry
humor that permeated the first book is almost completely gone, replaced with a
storyline full of tension as Lex and her life in the quirky town of Croak crumble.
The plot is far more serious in Scorch,
with Zara, the surprise antagonist in Croak,
going around the country murdering innocent people. The town of Croak itself,
which played a big part in the first novel, is also replaced by various new
locations, such as DeMyse, a shallow, Las Vegas-esque city run by an
over-the-top mayor. Some of the relationships begun in Croak are expanded, particularly that between Lex and her boyfriend
Driggs, but the majority of the novel is dedicated to Lex’s life getting worse
and worse as Zara wreaks havoc on the Grimsphere. Overall, Scorch is not nearly as fun as Croak,
but the series still has lots of potential, especially since the author does a
good job of world-building and creating a storyline that can carry through to
another novel. Hopefully the third novel, Rogue,
can continue the series in a positive direction when it is released September
10, 2013.
Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy
Reading
level: Grade 8+
Similar
titles: Croak by Gina
Damico, Anna Dressed in Blood and Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake, Revenants series by Amy Plum, Soul Screamers series by Rachel Vincent.
Themes: Grim reapers, the afterlife, murder, revenge,
death, danger, secrets.
Awards/Reviews:
Positive review from Kirkus and School Library
Journal.
Series
Information: Second installment in Croak series.
First installment, Croak, released in
2012. Third installment, Rogue, set
to be released September 10, 2013.
Discussion
questions:
- Do you agree with Zara using her powers to
Damn criminals, even if it wasn’t their time to die? Why or why not?
- Why do you think Lex became an outcast in
Croak after Zara stole her powers?
- Do you think Cordy is happy in the Afterlife?
Why or why not?
- Why do you think Zara wants the Wrong Book so
much?
- Do you agree with the decision Leroy made to
keep DeMyse safe? Why or why not?
- How would you explain what happened to Driggs
at the end of the novel?
- What would you like to see happen in the third
novel, Rogue?
