I expected it to be scarier and creepier than it was. The end seemed a bit rushed and anticlimactic. ( )

**spoiler alert**

Overall, I would give the book a 3 out of 5 stars. I liked the premise of the book, but not the way the author told the story. For one, the author didn't use pronouns for a lot of sentences. For instance, instead of saying, "I went to the store" she would say, "Went to the store..." This was a little distracting and along with many very short sentences, it made it feel like I was reading something written by a child. At the very least, the writing definitely took some getting used to.
Additionally, there was very little suspense buildup throughout the book. I never felt super-compelled to keep reading in order to find out the answer to some mystery, and reading of the synopsis of this book, that's what I had expected. I also disliked that the whole book mentioned the Mumbler, but when the reader finally finds out who the Mumbler is, there are maybe 10 pages left in the book. And, the suspense from when the protagonist is taken by Mr. Mac is extremely brief.
Lastly, I'm not sure what the reading level for this book was, but I definitely think it seemed very young, even for a YA book. Now, I'll admit that maybe I felt this way because I'm 22, but I read YA often, and I truly felt like this book is more fitting for a younger audience (middle school maybe?). That being said, since the protagonist is in high school it would be a little awkward for a middle school-aged child to read. I also thought the protagonist's relationship with her friends, Bree and Sage, and her love interest, Kincaid, made her seem very young and immature.
Despite the negatives of this book, I did keep reading because I wanted to find out what was happening to the kids in Pender. However, I was not dying to find out, and I think I would have been if the book had been written better. ( )