The Cresswell Plot by Eliza Wass is an eerie, intense story about family, faith, and control. Castella Cresswell lives under the strict, oppressive rule of her father, who believes their family is destined for salvation. As she questions his teachings, tensions rise, pushing her toward a dangerous path. Perfect for fans of dark, character-driven tales that explore the power of belief and the courage to break free.

Nice suspense/thriller book. Overall though, I had trouble connecting with the characters. I was on the edge of my seat for a good portion of it, but then when it didn't deliver, the ending wasn't nearly as satisfying as I hoped.

Castley and her family are outcasts in their small town due to their weird ways. When their abusive father decides for them to go back to heaven, Castley refuses and rebels. Can she save her family from being buried alive? Read and find out for yourself.

This was a pretty good and sad read. I enjoyed this book about learning to live your own life away from family. Definitely look for this book wherever books are sold.

Such a good suspense thriller. I was so scared for the main character that she would get hurt. It definitely kept me on my toes. It was a little too short, but it was a good ending nonetheless. I just wanted more.

Cult stories are The author needs to show us the negative and controlling elements without painting all fringe religions as "wrong", mainstream life as inherently better or right. That's one element that Wass gets right. While we see the Cresswells forced into mainstream culture and their varied reactions, I have some complaints. Some elements don't get nearly enough explanation. And the ending devolves from a fairly well plotted exploration of familial ties and parental influence into something of an inexplicable mess.

It was hard to feel any type of connection to the characters. I mean, sure, I felt bad for them, but it was because of their situation... Otherwise, I just felt so disconnected from the book! I wish the characters had a bit more development.

Thank you to NetGalley and Disney Hyperion for this free readers edition. In exchange I am providing an honest review.

Hmmmm.
Six kids, two adults, a broken down house, and some c.r.a.z.y. beliefs, i.e. a little family cult. Castella, one of the children, serves as the narrator for this very odd story about a very crazy man and his family. Clearly Father is a narcissist, as all cult leaders are. And he has convinced his family - up until this point - that he really is God. Problem is all the kids are in public school and things just don't add up the older they get and the more they see, hear, and experience outside of their weird bubble. The boys want girlfriends, the girls want boyfriends, they want to wear clothes that don't look like sacks hanging off their bodies, they want to have friends, they want to have a role in the school play, they just want to be normal. But the Cresswell Six are not normal. Or are they and it's everyone else who isn't? Castella and her siblings are trying to figure it all out and Father isn't having it. One day he decides the time is close for them to return to their heavenly residence. Time is running out and Castella is the only one with enough courage to fight for a future.
I kept reading the book because there was a pretty consistent build-up of tension, heading toward the climax of the story. But then it kind of fizzled out. I'm left scratching my head a bit. It lacks backstory - such as why. Why did Father begin this funky cult? The culmination of the story not only fizzled out but felt rushed to a conclusion. It was a let down after certain parts of the story seemed to be building toward a better conclusion. Things felt a bit disjointed throughout the book but the last part was the biggest let down.

You might wonder why I keep reading young adult books even though...

Because sometimes they are really, really good.

This one wasn't.


It should have been though because the synopsis sounds right up my alley. A close knit family lives off in the woods in a shack. You have six kids, Hannan, Caspar, Mortimer, Delvive, Jerusalem and Castella. They live with their 'prophet' father and mother (who can't walk because umm I think daddy pushed her down the stairs)
They know that they are different from the town folk. Daddy gets his thoughts directly from God and they know that only the way they live is going to get them into heaven.
So how do they live? They aren't allowed to socialize with the heathen town folk, wear homemade dresses and when they get to heaven their family is sooo special that they are going to marry each other because of the perfectness.
Castley starts to realize that something isn't right with her family. She starts to question. Then Daddy decides God has told him it's time the family went to Heaven.

It sounds good. It just didn't hold up. Throw in a weird story line with a local boy named George who did a one ninety at one point in the story and I was scratching my head.
It's never told why Daddy thinks he is the voice of God or nuthin.

It wasn't the worst book ever but I won't remember it tomorrow.

Booksource: Netgalley in exchange for review.

This book was different and completely engaging - a great little thriller/mystery for those who are looking for an awesome little gem!

This book started so awesome! And then… ugh!

I think the best way to explained is like this…

Take a very valuable porcelain vase. That valuable vase is the plot: religious fanaticism.

Then, with the brushes of very good writing, paint this bizarre byzantine religious scene:

A totally deranged fanatic father exercising total control over his six children. Make the characters very unique, starting with the names of the six kids: Baby Jerusalem, Castley, Mortimer, Hannan, Caspar, and Delvive. Make them totally haunted, terrified and desperate. Add a mom in a wheelchair [because something happened to her] that doesn’t even speak. She doesn't see or talk to them.

Then paint this striking imagery of their father’s visions around this family: Below them the eternal flames of hell that the father assures them will consume them if they don’t follow his fanatic rules [which include incest!]. Above them a celestial stairway to a completely unattainable heaven.

Then add villagers [friends at school] around them pointing and laughing and them, calling them weirdos.

As I said… imagine all as a VERY exquisite work of art, because it is. All of it. The writing, the premise, the story, the characters…

Now take this exquisite vase and drop it so it shatters in gazillion pieces.

Then try to glue them together. It will never look the same right? You can always see the edges of the pieces and gaps because some very small pieces are missing.

That’s how I felt reading this book!

So brilliant! So unique! So beautifully written! But so disjointed!

This book could have easily been a five-star, had it flowed smoother.

It wrapped me in so much awesomeness! So much darkness, and weariness, and creepiness, and despair.

I felt like a constant screeching of metal on metal in my head! In a good way!

The characters were great too. I especially loved the six children. Their lives were so murky but they were so beautiful, like delicate violets sprouting in the mud.

Then… around 70% into it became so frustrating! It was sooo weird the way the scenes flowed that my mind ended up shattered too!

Scenes would have a plot device that will keep you guessing, or even terrified. Then it would reach a climax, and puff! End! Just like that! Leaving the issue unresolved! And then a new mini drama would start in the next scene and they would have NOTHING to do whatsoever with each other.

For example… there is one scene when you are SURE that finally the father will be caught doing something terrible to one of his kids. There is people in the place where he wants to take this child but he doesn’t know it. But the child DOES know there will be people there. So the entire scene is about the child hoping that finally their father will be stopped. So all this anticipation is built for paragraphs! You are holding your breath, clasping your hands, waiting for WHATEVER IT IS that is gonna happen. Would the father get away with murder? Would someone finally stop him? WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN???

Well… I don’t want to spoil it but you will never find out because the scene ends and then the next one starts like nothing happened and you are like.... huh???? Wasn't he going to punish the child? I guess he didn't huh? Not a word or thought from the child either, not even something like "Phew! Thank god my dad is like Dory and forgot what we were doing in the previous scene"

Nope! The child is like Dory too!!

OMG! UGH. UGH. UGH. SO FRUSTRATING!!!

I do recommend this book though. The first 70% is so worth it and makes up for all the weirdness at the end. :)

Castella and her five siblings live an isolated life in their ramshackle home, suffering the bizarre incestual preaching of her father. Slowly, each sibling tests the boundaries of their father’s strict laws.

As Castella forms a plan to escape, refusing to leave her siblings behind, her father gets a new message from God, the Crestwells will soon be going to Heaven.

Really creepy read!

I thought the story was okay, even though it was a bit odd. I felt sorry for the main character. All she wanted was to be a normal girl. The ending was a bit sudden. I feel like things could have been wrapped up differently.

I'm glad that I finally got around to reading this one -- it sort of makes me think of The Library at Mount Char, but only in the twisted family/abuse/"religion" sort of way. Plus it's not adult fiction.

I will say that it's probably upper YA though just because of some of the things it deals with -- they might not be understood by younger readers. The abuse is mostly shown or recounted pretty vividly. There's also, in case you're bothered by that sort of thing, an awful lot of f-bombs being dropped. It doesn't bother me, but I was surprised by it since this is a book about a family that might as well be a teeny tiny cult.

It took me a little bit to get interested/invested, but I also basically read it in just a couple of hours.

One of the few things holding it to 3.5 - 4 stars for me is the fact that there was a feeling of skimming over the surface for me. Also with some of the characters their actions were just like a switch was thrown because a thing needed to happen to move things in a different direction.

But still well worth checking it out -- and I'm still really glad that my "wish" got granted at Netgalley for this one.