Blackbrooke
By Emma Silver
4 of 5 STARS
I live in Blackbrooke and you would have had to be living under a rock to never have heard of it before now. This town is different to most others…Humans aren’t the only residents…”
The residents of Blackbrooke share their town with the Creatures, or Crits as they are known. Grotesque, roaming the streets at night looking for food, their presence means humans have to live by the Rules, keeping them indoors and forbidding them of basic desires.
The most important Rule?
Don’t be a ‘walk out’!
Straight-A student, Liberty Connor, hates the Crits and the endless Rules she and her tight knit group of friends have to live by.
Planning her new life on the Outside with her boyfriend, Gabriel, Liberty whiles away her days waiting to turn 18, so they can leave and be free. That is, until the world she thinks she knows begins to unravel…
Her friends start to walk out. So she’s told. However, something’s not right. Things don’t add up.
Liberty faces a race against time to discover what’s going on with the Creatures of Blackbrooke.
Is it them she has to fear, or something much closer to home?
Blackbrooke is a Young Adult horror novel that has you on the edge of your seat.
Blackbrooke, England. Population 10,000 and dwindling. Centuries ago, an agreement was made. Humans rule the day, but when the klaxon bell rings, its time to lock up tight. The nighttime is ruled by the Crits. Four different types of monsters make up the Crits. There are Lurkers, Watchers, Hunters and the Queens. Each playing a different role and each horrible and terrifying in description. Rules were put in place to keep the peace and to prevent any temptations to the Crits.
This story is written in the POV of Libby Connor. Libby is 17, a full time student and lives at home with her parents and four year old brother Oscar. The mother is mostly out of the picture so Libby has been helping her father raise him. She also works part time at a tourist shop called Tales from the Crits with her kooky/hippie boss Denzil. Other important characters are her boyfriend Gabriel, her best friend Gemma and Gemma's boyfriend, Noah. We also have Cassius, her childhood friend. Cassius and Libby's friendship became estranged though as the years went by. Cassius is pale as can be. White hair, pale skin that's nearly translucent, two different colored eyes. All of that making him easy pickings to be the brunt of many a joke, being made fun of relentlessly.
At school, the girls and boys only intermingle during Blackbrooke history class, at the cafeteria and when they are all called to assembly. Which happens way too often considering they are announcing the most recent students to have 'walked out'. That term is used when someone 'walks out' during the night, knowing full well the Crits will get them.
There is a slight triangle, if I can really call it that. Gabriel is sweet and very caring. Cassius is just, so much more in my opinion. I just don't know how to explain it. He's just so different and suits Libby a lot differently then Gabriel. Maybe it was the skinny jeans with skinny tie and wool coat that got me. Who knows.
Libby is soon entrenched in a mystery involving recent 'walk outs'. Finding an ally in Cassius, we are taken on a terrifying journey of death and betrayal, forbidden secrets and finding out who she can really trust.
This book really is a hell of a story. So many things happen. We are taken from one clue to the next as the frightening answers are revealed. My thoughts on this book are jumbled, it is not a comforting story. The end was a huge shock and left me wanting more. Yes, it is a cliffhanger. Even if most of the questions are answered, the last chapter leaves us with new ones. I enjoyed every minute of it and even cried at one point.
A terrifying yet captivating debut... Miss Silver, may your creative forces continue to crank out such enthralling works. Everyone will be thirsty for more after reading this one.
This story is written in the POV of Libby Connor. Libby is 17, a full time student and lives at home with her parents and four year old brother Oscar. The mother is mostly out of the picture so Libby has been helping her father raise him. She also works part time at a tourist shop called Tales from the Crits with her kooky/hippie boss Denzil. Other important characters are her boyfriend Gabriel, her best friend Gemma and Gemma's boyfriend, Noah. We also have Cassius, her childhood friend. Cassius and Libby's friendship became estranged though as the years went by. Cassius is pale as can be. White hair, pale skin that's nearly translucent, two different colored eyes. All of that making him easy pickings to be the brunt of many a joke, being made fun of relentlessly.
At school, the girls and boys only intermingle during Blackbrooke history class, at the cafeteria and when they are all called to assembly. Which happens way too often considering they are announcing the most recent students to have 'walked out'. That term is used when someone 'walks out' during the night, knowing full well the Crits will get them.
There is a slight triangle, if I can really call it that. Gabriel is sweet and very caring. Cassius is just, so much more in my opinion. I just don't know how to explain it. He's just so different and suits Libby a lot differently then Gabriel. Maybe it was the skinny jeans with skinny tie and wool coat that got me. Who knows.
Libby is soon entrenched in a mystery involving recent 'walk outs'. Finding an ally in Cassius, we are taken on a terrifying journey of death and betrayal, forbidden secrets and finding out who she can really trust.
This book really is a hell of a story. So many things happen. We are taken from one clue to the next as the frightening answers are revealed. My thoughts on this book are jumbled, it is not a comforting story. The end was a huge shock and left me wanting more. Yes, it is a cliffhanger. Even if most of the questions are answered, the last chapter leaves us with new ones. I enjoyed every minute of it and even cried at one point.
A terrifying yet captivating debut... Miss Silver, may your creative forces continue to crank out such enthralling works. Everyone will be thirsty for more after reading this one.
Great Review Emmy! So excited to have you on this tour! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to participate! Woohoo to a Cassius interview! ;)
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