Customer Reviews

The Creek

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Well, if you never read a book by Jennifer L. Holm, here is a great book to start with. This book is for anyone that likes a good suspense novel when you have tons of time on your hands and feel like just reading a good book.

Well it starts out with a girl named Penny (12) who hangs out with her friends, Mac, Benji, Oren, Zachary, and her brother, Teddy. But after a while, things start changing on the block that Penny lives on. Celab Devlin returns and things start getting really scary for everyone. Before Celeb left dogs, cats, turtles, and even people showed up hurt which makes everyone in the town, panic over his return to the neighborhood. Everyone thinks he's back to his old habits, recking havoc all over town again. But, when a girl shows up dead, Penny knows something everyone else doesn't know, which sends her on her own to find the real murderer.

So if you're in need of a good book, I would HIGHLY recommend THE CREEK by Jennifer L. Holm. And if you like this book by her, read her other two history books, (which I just finished, and, even though their history, they don't seem it at ALL) Boston Jane and Wilderness Days. Enjoy!!!!

Jennifer Holm's newest, THE CREEK, sure is a page turner. It's full of suspense. It's edgy -- a child gets killed.

HOWEVER. The book takes place in a contemporary time, but it "feels" like it's set in the 1950's -- or some time past. This opinion gleaned from the dialogue and what the kids do for fun and even what the parents do (what kind of parent nowadays bakes cookies for the neighborhood kids? Sadly, not many. How common, even in a small time, is a pediatrician seeing patients in his home after hours?) and the basic details of everyday life (Oldsmobile? They've been out of business for some time, now. Trans Ams were pretty tough, like, a generation ago.) This isn't necessarily a "bad" thing; this story COULD take place any time, any where.

ALSO, though suspenseful and plot twisty, upon a second reading, the clues just aren't there. Holms needed to take a lot more care here. It's cool that the villian is someone unexpected, but the foreshadowing NEEDS to be dropped appropriately. Never was. And much of the story had unexplained holes, seemingly there just for suspense's sake without any basis (obvious once the reader has finished the book): why did Caleb try to run the kids in the truck off the road? Why the little situation in the woods between Penny and Caleb? Why did Penny keep her resulting action a secret? (The one put forth by Penny makes no sense.) What about Caleb's friend? How come he's never mentioned but that one time in the woods, or developed in any way so he can become one of Penny's suspects? Better question: why is he there at all? Why does Penny continue to swim in the creek alone or venture into the woods solo after all those traumatic incidents she's experienced? Why does she learn to shoot a BB gun? That's never developed, either. And why the little romantic interlude between Penny and Benji -- it sort of fizzles with no explanation. The kid who turns out to be the bad guy -- we get no inkling it's him, there's nothing there to even hint at it. There's no evidence that he had an opportunity to perform all the horros that occur. ...

This is possibly one of the most dreadful books I've recently read. I have not read Ms. Holm's Newbery Honor Book Our Only May Amelia, and, while I recognize that the book under discussion here represents a different genre for the author (horror rather than historical)I was expecting good writerly skills at least. As a teacher librarian, I am always on the look-out for scary titles for kids; however, as "scary" as some kids might find this, I would not want to put it on my school library's bookshelf. First of all, it is not clear who the intended audience is. Penny, the protagonist, is 12 (but in certain regards seems much younger than the twelve-year-olds I know), making it seem as though the book is intended for 10 to 12 year olds. The gore, however, as well as the sexual innuendo--Penny is attracted to neighborhood bad-boy and purported murderer Caleb--make the book more a young adult title. I found Penny and her friends problematic in more ways than this, however. The ongoing suggestion and, in some cases, description of animal suffering and torture were alarming. Frankly, I found it hard to believe that a 12-year-old should be so detached about the disappearance of her cat. The way the cat "re-appears" is not at all reassuring. Several times through the book, kids sit around burning ants (and, in one instance, worms) with magnifying glasses. Overall, I found Penny to be an unsympathetic and amoral creation. I didn't like her one bit, and I don't think many of the students I know would either.
I have had a chance to read one of Ms. Holm's Boston Jane books, which, though not a favorite, had its merits. This book, however, was disappointing, and frankly not something I like seeing kids waste their time on.

The Creek was a great read. I was completely terrified by Caleb Devlin, the alleged criminal. I kept my mom updated with everything he did, and then continuously posted her on character complexities, and plot progression.

However, I was a little disappointed by the ending, it seemed weak and hurried and certainly didn't leave the reader either wondering or wanting more. I was a little disgusted, I have to say.

I actually read this book just because I pulled it randomly from a shelf in the teen section at my neighborhood library branch. I couldn't stop reading it or thinking about the book, and it kept me up pretty darn late one night.

Jennifer L. Holmes has some other books, namely the Boston Jane trilogy, which I absolutely loved, but they are much, much better than The Creek. I would recommend The Creek, but I would recommend Boston Jane MUCH more highly.

Nevertheless, this is an excellent read with just a weak ending. It certainly has many surprises and I always suspected the wrong person, and was very surprised to find out the real criminal.

On the subject of the real criminal: I never really understood WHY the killer did it (I'll avoid saying who it is for the purpose of a prospective reader) and it happened so quickly that I was sort of baffled when the book was over, because it seemed like the author had a big deadline to finish her book and so had to race through the last scene. I understand that the killer did all the unspeakable things he did because he wanted attention, but it's unclear why he wasn't satified with all the attention he got from his mother and new friends, and Penny, the main character.

Still, this is a deliciously terrifying read, and I would without a doubt recommend it.

THE CREEK by Jennifer L. Holm encompasses many things. It is a psychological thriller, but it is also a coming of age story. It is the story of a sleepy suburban town, but it is also the story of a young girl named Penny. Most of all, THE CREEK shows that not everything is strictly black or white. Instead, there are shades of gray. Even the most well-meaning person can do something horrific. Sometimes, the loss of innocence is horrifying in itself.

Penny and her family moved to a new town a few years ago. Her father, a doctor, and her mother, young and well-liked by her kids and neighbors, are really good parents. Her brothers are younger than she is, Teddy being only a few years her junior and Sam being a baby. Before they moved there, a kid named Caleb terrorized the town. He was rumored to have killed animals as well as other kids and rigged accidents in which people were severely if not mortally wounded. He was sent away for years.

The story starts with Penny and her friends on a summer afternoon. Everything seems well and normal. That is, until Penny spots Caleb, who has returned to town.

As various pets go missing, the tension rises and the accusations begin to fly. In spite of their parents' instance that they not go into the woods and not go to the creek, Penny, Teddy and their friends continue to hang out in their fort. The neighborhood's traditional softball games and block parties which used to be so safe and happy become shattered by tragedies. The routines that they used to have are now plagued by loss and fear.

What is wrong? What is right? WHO is right? Penny struggles with these moral questions while simply trying to stay a kid and the only girl in a group of boys. She fights the changes that are happening to her, to her friends, and to her town. This is the summer that Penny turns thirteen. This is the summer that she is forced to grow up.

THE CREEK has a very interesting take on gossip gone wrong. It incorporates growing up with childhood fears - which, perhaps, aren't so childish after all. Each character had a distinct personality, especially Penny, the heart of the story. The point is never about redemption. Holm does not make Caleb have an emotional breakdown. He never begs and pleads to be forgiven. The point is, shall we say, much sharper than that.

One of the best things about this novel is that it can take place in Anytown, USA and in nearly any of the past five decades. More and more teen books make too many references to show how hip they are, but by the time the book is published, what was hot a few months ago is now cold, and the mentions make the work feel dated.

I highly recommend this novel. I look forward to reading other books by Holm. If you enjoyed THE CREEK, try Friction by E.R. Frank and The Crucible by Arthur Miller, both of which deal with hysteria within a community.

This book is about a girl named Penny who is 12 years old. Her friends Oren,Mac,Benji,Zachary and her brother Teddy all want to build a tree fort. But the spot where they want to build it is right where Caleb Devlin's tree fort used to be. They say that Caleb used to kill people in the woods and then he got sent to jail. Well now he has returned to see his mother! But from then on all of these bad things start to happen,and some of the kids get very hurt. One person even gets murdered.So it is up to Penny to find out who is the murderer. But some bad things happen to Penny also. Read this book. It may scare you.

I loved this book it was full of suspence and twists the killer around so your so set on one person but it wil turn out a surpise. this book was a fun read and leaves you wanting more.

Yikes! How could this YA novel come from the same author as the one who wrote the May Amelia books and the Boston Jane series? Although the adventure is fun, the violence and murder were too much for me. Even in an adult novel, I would not enjoy reading about a child murder. It was creepy when they were burning ants and killing cats, but the weird sexual attraction and over-the-top assumptions about who was dangerous and who was not became creepy to me.
Pass on this one.

I read this book in high school and thought it was sooo scary! I wanted to read it again to see if I thought it was really scary! Can't wait to finish readying it because it is a thriller:)

I would really suggest reading the mystery by Jennifer L. Holm, The Creek. The Creek is an astonishing book that would really catch a reader's eye. The book starts out peaceful until Penny sees the old town terrorist, Caleb Devlin, driving by in his red Trans Am. Then he pulls out a cigarette case that had appeared stolen and slides a cigarette out of it and that's when she saw it, the spider tattoo on the back of his hand .At this point she knew it was him for sure. Later that day she had gone down to the fort with her friends and that's when she breaks the news to them. It seemed to her that no one was worried but her. Penny with her friends knew that they were building they're fort on Caleb's old "stomping grounds". Only Penny thought he would come back there because sometimes in the dream it's a faceless boy who chases her through the woods dogging her heels like a loping predator. She's running down the trail that leads to the creek there he'll be right on her tail his sinewy arm reaching for her. I would suggest that the person who chooses to read this book has a good mind and knows how to expect the unexpected.