Those Who Went Remain There Still by Cherie Priest

Name: Caitlin

Grade: 12+

Book: Those Who Went Remain There Still

Author: Cherie Priest

When I picked up a copy of this little-known, 120 page long book by Cherie Priest, I was expecting a western about a small town fighting off zombies. However, the book had nothing to do with zombies-- instead it's a tale told from the points of view of three main characters, one of which being Daniel Boone, and the other two being the sons of two feuding southern families. The story hooks you at the very beginning with Boone's point of view; apparently there was more to his journey than everyone originally anticipated. Daniel and his crew of men are working their way through Kentucky when strange things start to happen. The animals they kill for food are being found dragged away from their camp and torn apart; to top off that, whatever animal is stealing their food has also started stalking them. Almost a hundred years after Boone left Kentucky cleared, two men from different sides of feuding families have managed to escape their home town and build lives for themselves elsewhere. The death of the distant and rich relative brings them back to their home town and sends them on a horrible mission.
Three men from each of the feuding families are sent into a large cave at the back of their relative's property to retrieve the will; if that wasn't strange enough, the cave seems to be filled with some viciously mean monsters that want to make sure none of them get out alive...
I wasn't expecting this book to be at all as good as it was. I thought it would just be a short story with mediocre plot, but it actually turned out to be a really fast-paced page turner that I couldn't put down. The different points of view, switching between people that can be hundreds of years apart really pushes the story faster. It was also mysterious enough and scary enough to make the story really, really great. The ending was blunt and leaves the reader questioning so many things, which kind of made me say "wait...what?" at some points , but it also really left the story where it needed to be because you're left questioning as much as the characters are.

Why I Picked Up This book: I just grabbed it on a whim.

Why I finished it: I hated putting it down.

I'd give this book to: Anyone looking for a fast-paced, one or two day read. Especially if they like sci-fi and crazy monsters.

My Rating for this book: ****