Castella “Castley” Cresswell is part of a big family dedicated to God. Her and her five siblings live with their patriarchal father and injured and quiet mother deep in the woods. Though they attend school, they are bullied for their lifestyle and their clothes, while their bruises are ignored. When Castley is assigned her favorite class without any of her siblings, she slowly starts to see that perhaps she could make her own choices and that, just maybe, her father is wrong, especially as he hints their time on Earth won’t be too much longer.

What I Loved:

THE CRESSWELL PLOT brims with suspense and a creepy tension that can only bring chaos by the end. The premise of the cult family is intriguing, and readers will quickly sympathize with the siblings as the father’s psychotic methods are unraveled. As Castley and some of her siblings start to recognize the mind games, the pages won’t be able to turn quick enough, and the story flies by as trust is broken, relationships are destroyed, and the safety of Castley becomes more and more unlikely.

What Left Me Wanting More:

Though each character is interesting, the character arcs are a bit lacking. Castley’s rebellions are more jagged in development than smooth, and her siblings often fall a little flat. Likewise, while there are attempts to show how the father could have gotten to where he is in the story, readers are left with more questions than answers on how things got so bad, making him more of a one-dimensional villain. However, he is still scary, and the climax will inspire more than a few gasps.

Final Verdict:

Though the characterization leaves something to be desired, fans of a good cult suspense will devour THE CRESSWELL PLOT.

Originally posted at YABC: http://www.yabookscentral.com/explore-ya-fiction/discussions/review?id=37693