Blog Tour: The Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass
Hey guys! I'm happy to back on my blog and a part of The Cresswell Plot blog tour! Below you will find information about the book, a review, information about the author, and a giveaway opportunity. Enjoy!!
Publication: 2016
# of Pages: 272
Source: Physical Copy for Review (All opinions are my own)
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.
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.
I will start by saying that this book has a completing interesting and captivating premise. Wass writes various aspects in a way that makes you want to fly through the book and see what happens next. What I loved most was the inclusion of the religion. The Cresswell family is extremely religious following closely to the instructions of the Bible, but also a separate Bible written by the father for the family. Through this the reader gets the opportunity to see how controlling this aspect of the book is for the family and how much they are taught to fear the anyone or anything that is a part of the outside world. It was hard to read how abusive the father was towards the rest of the family; however, for some reason I could not pull myself away. It blurred the lines so heavily between being religious and using religion as a tool to oppress individuals. The dynamic of this topic truly brought the book to it's peak and it made me appreciate how Wass chose to write the book.
What disappointed me about this book was the conclusion. The beginning and middle of the book were so fast-paced and interesting that I was expecting the ending to be this surprising and thriller filled ending; however, it came too abruptly. It left me wanting so much more. It seems like some additional text would have assisted with tying everything together. In addition to this, I really wanted to know more about the father. He was a really interesting character and played a pivotal role in determining the day to day functioning of the family; however, no back story was provided for him. As a reader you ultimately have no understanding of how the father became such a religiously strenuous character.
Overall, I thought The Cresswell Plot was an interesting book with intriguing characters; however, the ending left me wanting more and wanting a better understanding of what led to various aspects of the characters. If you are looking for a book that will ultimately intrigue you and force you to step outside the boundaries of your comfort zone I would definitely recommend this book.
Eliza Wass is a freelance writer, editor and journalist. She comes from Southern California, where she was one of nine perfect children with two perfect parents. She has thousands of friends, all of whom either arrive inside dust jackets or post obsessively on Twitter.
Eliza spent 7 years in London with the most amazing man in the world, her late husband, Alan Wass of Alan Wass and The Tourniquet, who inspired her to pursue her dreams and live every day of her life.
Eliza spent 7 years in London with the most amazing man in the world, her late husband, Alan Wass of Alan Wass and The Tourniquet, who inspired her to pursue her dreams and live every day of her life.
Giveaway: 3 Finished Copies of THE CRESSWELL PLOT (US Only)
Tour Schedule
Week 1:
Week 2:
6/16: Ex Libris - Review
I think I read in an interview with the author that there is a prequel novella that goes into the father's backstory. I hate an unsatisfying ending too but I'm still really intrigued by this book. I like the term "religiously strenuous" which I think is a good euphemism for religious nutcase! Lol!
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read this one, sounds great!
ReplyDeleteThis book sounds like a really good read! I can't wait to read it!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds great! I really want to push my boundaries and this seems like it can! It's too bad that the ending was abrupt. I'll have to check this out one day. By the way, I nominated you for the Infinity Dreams Award on my blog here!
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