NICOLE'S REVIEW: Scorch by Gina Damico

Title: Scorch

Author: Gina Damico

Format Acquired: Paperback
Publication Date: Sept. 25, 2012

Publishing House: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

ISBN: 9780547624570
Source of Copy: Purchased from Fully Booked

Summary: Croak used to be the only place where Lex, a teenage Grim Reaper, felt like she fit in. But after she let the murderer Zara get away - and inadvertently transferred her ability to Damn souls to her on top of that - Lex is a pariah in the little town full of Grims. Her Junior Grim friends have stood by her, bu that has only made them outcasts. Meanwhile, Zara is still out there Damning innocents, and no one is safe. It's up to Lex's Uncle Mort, mayor of Croak, to protect the townspeople. But when tragedy strikes, the Grims rise up against him, too.

To escape their wrath, Mort takes Lex and the other Juniors on a wild road trip to DeMyse, a glitzy Grim city, where they can hide out until the chaos in Croak subsides. Though this sparkling desert oasis is full of luxuries and amusements, Lex wants nothing more to do than to return to her simple little town and the good graces of its citizens. Her best chance at that would be to stop Zara once and for all - but how can she do that from DeMyse, where Grims seem mysteriously oblivious to Zara's killing spree? Lex needs to track down the secret book that would make Zara even more dangerous. But she has no idea of the chilling lengths her nemesis will go to in order to find it.

(Image and information courtesy of Goodreads; Summary lifted from actual book)

Review:

Scorch is the sequel to Croak, and for those of you who haven't read Croak yet you should probably get to that first. I'll try my best not to spoil the first book. I'm not making any promises, but I guarantee that this book's a winner.

First off, let me just say something about Lex and Driggs. I adored them both so much better in this book, they were so freaking cute, adorable and sweet and had quite a number of scenes that had me grinning, then laughing, then wanting more. Let's just say that I particularly liked this shower scene of theirs. It was hilarious. I wanted to hug them both. Damico's characters are just as dysfunctional and entertaining as ever and I think I fell in love with each and every one of them all over again-especially Ferbus, I really liked him.

Anyway, Lex is back! And she's just as badass as she was in the first book, but you know, better. The story starts with our lovely Lex returning to Croak where, after the events that transpired in the first book, she was not received well. The townspeople treat her like she's a blight on their existence and basically shun Lex and her Junior friends and blame every little bad thing that happens to Croak on them. Norwood and Heloise were the worst of the lot and I wanted to reach into the book and slap them silly and do other nasty, violent things to them for picking on the Juniors and Mort, too (although, I can't imagine Mort getting picked on).

In Scorch, Lex is still looking for ways to hunt down Zara and is following clues that lead her to this super secret book that holds well, secrets, obviously. But then things go horribly wrong and Lex, her Uncle and her Junior friends all flee to DeMyse to escape the chaos that is Croak. This is where everything takes a turn for the worse and Scorch took me on a roller coaster ride of suspense and heartbreak. When it ended, I really had to stop myself from slapping someone (I know, I know, I'm violent). Just when I thought it would all be okay, BAM, everything goes up in flames. It was intense and I loved every minute of it. Well, except Zara, I didn't like her, she's so consumed by revenge and power that she'll do anything to get what she wants, even to the point of Damning innocents and was really, incredibly frustrating at the end.

Scorch is the utterly thrilling sequel to Croak, it's intense, it's heart-breaking and it's strangely funny, even if I did want to bash my head in when I read the ending. You definitely need this book in your life. 

Rating:

                     

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