The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek Review

Get your scooter leg ready because this book is a trip!

The Lost Causes of Bleak Creek is the debut novel by the Youtuber’s Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal and boy, was it a way start. Out of the 10 novels I have already finished this year, Lost Causes has by far been my favorite! The story takes place back in 1992 in a tiny, highly religious, southern town called Bleak Creek. Its the kind of place where everyone knows each other and has for generations. The kind of place where the biggest scandal the town has ever had was when the 2nd Baptist Church opened. But every small town has their dark side and Bleak Creek’s comes in the form of the Whitewood Reform School; a place where kids either come back obedient and a shell of their former selves or they don’t come back at all.

Rex, Leif, and Alicia are 3 normal teenagers just trying to have some fun in their little podunk town. This fun comes in the way of filming a handy cam horror film called “Polterdog”. But when a scene goes horribly wrong in front of the entire town and Mr. Whitewood himself gets injured, the trio finds themselves of a terrifying adventure that will change their lives forever. Alicia is sent away to be reformed of her troublemaking ways and it’s up to Rex and Leif to save her, exposing the town’s dark underbelly along the way.

Alright, Im going to try to keep this as spoiler free as possible but be warned that I may slip up a bit.

I was skeptical going in to this book. I’ve read a few other books written by popular Youtubers and internet personalities and was sorely disappointed in the majority of them. I absolutely was not expecting the twisted and dark story that I got, especially not knowing the kind of content that the authors make normally.

People always tell you to write what you know, and Rhett and Link definitely took that to heart. If you are familiar with them, it’s very clear that the two main male leads are caricatures of themselves as children. I had no problem with this and really enjoyed Rex and Leif, but I know that might be a turn off for readers so I figured I’d mention it.

~Pros~

The characters are all super interesting and have personalities that really made me care about them. Rex and Leif were both portrayed as awkward, dorky teens that are still getting the hang of puberty and it’s done extremely well. From Rex forgetting deodorant and having mini mental meltdown because he can smell himself to the budding feelings for Alicia that both boys develop, the cast is just very realistic. It’s been a while since I’ve been that young but that is absolutely the kinds of things that I remember going through and thinking about.

Jeanine and Donna’s relationship was huge highlight for me. It really showcased how quickly familial bonds can dissolve and how hard it is to watch someone you love change for the worse. I felt so connected with Jeanine as she watched her cousin change and pull away from her for seemingly no reason and having no idea how to repair the damage.

There was no girl hate! I despise when two female characters hate each other and get catty for seemingly no reason and this book had none of that. Actually, all of the female leads were likable, lifelike, and good representations of strong independent young women. Alicia was an exceptionally intelligent and witty girl that relied on her friends but also did everything in her power to save herself. Jeanine was a struggling new adult trying to pick up the pieces and find her place in the world after giving everything to a guy who just abandoned her. Even Donna is a positive example of growth and finding your own strength.

I definitely did not see the twist coming! Anyone who is familiar with my reading habits and reviews knows I hate figuring out the twist early in the book. It ruins the entire novel for me. This one, though. Oh no! Couldn’t have spotted that twist a mile away with a telescope.
By the end of the book I honestly felt bad for Whitewood. I can’t go into it much but learning his reasoning and backstory really helped cement him as more than just a chaotic evil man who hates unruly children.

~Cons~

There has to be a bit of suspension of disbelief. The way the kids are taken to the school is extremely unrealistic and makes the parent’s seem abusive and uncaring. That is fixed later in the book and explained to point, but he way Alicia’s parents reacted when she was being taken away turned me off. The guy who owned the restaurant was also a big negative for me. He was honestly well written but I hated the character more than the actual antagonist and I don’t think that was the intention.

The ending isn’t exactly what I was expecting and things didn’t exactly get resolved. Hoping there is a sequel to finish tying up the loose ends.

Hornhat was such an odd character. He was only really there to be the reject kid trope. Because there has to be someone in school weirder and more annoying than the protags I guess? I don’t know. I just didn’t understand why he was even needed. He had a vital part at the end but even that sort of came out of nowhere. It also felt like the only identity the kid had was his New Kids on the Block obsession. In a book full of highly in depth characters, he just fell really flat.

All in all, I think this is a fantastic debut novel and deserves far more love than its getting. It had its flaws as every book does but I think it stands on its own as a great spooky paranormal mystery.