REVIEW : Cryptids by Lauren Evers

 Cryptids - Lauren Evers
 Publisher : Pronoun
 Release Date : September 4th 2016
 Genres : Young Adult, Contemporary
 Pages : 254
 Rating : ★★½☆☆

 Ell Weyanoke, the daughter of a multi-billionaire, does bad things for bad reasons; she doesn’t know why. No one does. Eventually, her schemes get her sent away to a prestigious academy where her father hopes for her to finally settle down.

It’s at this academy that Ell meets Percy, her seemingly perfect dream-boy. With Ell’s judgment clouded by Percy’s kindness, Ell forgets that dreams can be nightmares, too.

In this coming of age story, which analyzes complex social issues, Ell learns what it means to truly suffer. She learns what life is: making friends just to lose them.

 "I didn’t know when I grew up, but it happened like this: I was so very young, and then suddenly, I was old."

Going into this book, I knew the main character was a rich brat so I wasn't surprised when she was acting this way. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how much I could relate to her despite of her social status. I like how down to earth she is. She isn't the kind of teenager who pretends to know everything. She's aware of her flaws and she genuinely wants to be liked.

I was angry at everyone around her : Her father, her bodyguards, her sister. This book is the proof that money can't buy happiness. The author tackles other important subjects like feminism, religion and racism among others.

During, the first part of the book, the narrator prepares us for a huge event to come. And when that happened, oh man I don't even know how to describe my reaction.
I was a little disappointed by the fact that the author didn't go in-depths about this. I wanted to know why and more importantly how Ell was going to deal with all of this. But then, something else happens and before I realized it, the story was over. So my main issue with this book is its length. 254 is way too short for a story this rich. The ending was rushed but don't get me wrong, I still felt a lot of things reading it.

The meaningful writing makes you think and the message behind the story is beautiful. It's not a typical YA. There isn't any heart-warming romance or any love triangle or whatever things there are in most YA. The story is raw and the author doesn't try to beautify anything. She just tells the story as it is. Simply but efficiently.

I can't review this book without mentionning Cidar or the boy who doesn't want to be labeled. He was my favourite character in this book, he's the kind of guy I'd love to have as a friend. I loved his brutal honesty and his way of perceiving life. He's the gem of this book.

Overall, this book is more than it seems but less than it could have been. Lauren Evers has a great writing and I'm looking forward to reading her next books !