Creepy & Maud (Dianne Touchell, Fremantle Press)

Creepy & Maud is the story of an unusual romance conducted through glass. Creepy, the eloquent boy next door, leaves notes stuck to his window for Maud, the girl whose bedroom window faces his. As misfits go, Creepy and Maud tick all the boxes—they don’t fit the expectations of their parents, their school or their society. Maud copes with her abusive parents by plucking out hair all over her body until she bleeds. Creepy does nothing but read and silently judge his parents for their loveless marriage. This is an often quite touching book about being trapped within expectations, and learning how damaging they can be. The more Maud tries to fit in, the more her personality disappears, and the more disturbed she gets. Creepy is her only champion. The writing in this book sparkles with originality and intelligence, its troubling subject matter lightened by Creepy’s honest, sardonic voice. My only frustration was that the details of Maud’s background and family were a bit sketchy, and that the characters call each other by pseudonyms through the entire book. Creepy & Maud is written for a mature young-adult audience, as it can be quite confronting, and will appeal to readers of realism.

Kate Sunners is a creative writing graduate and an ex-bookseller

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Category: Reviews