Creatures by Crissy Van Meter

Creatures by Crissy Van Meter

Published by Algonquin Paperbacks ISBN 9781643750835

Trade paperback, $15.95, 241 pages

One of the best reviewed books of early 2020, Crissy Van Meter's Creatures, is out in paperback this week. I missed it earlier this year, so I'm glad it came to my attention this week.

Creatures takes place on Winter Island, a feral island off the coast of Southern California. It is a hot spot with tourists during the summer, and the rest of the year it has small residential population. Evie is getting married tomorrow, and she is worried that the fishing boat her husband-to-be Liam is on hasn't returned to the island yet.

She also has to deal with a dead whale that has beached itself, leaving an overpowering smell. It bothers her mother, who surprisingly turned up for the wedding. Her mother was not really in Evie life, having spent most of her time on the mainland, leaving Evie as a young child to be raised by Evie's father. 

Evie's father never had a real job, other than growing and selling pot. They were frequently homeless, bouncing from staying in someone's garage or boat until he could scrape up enough money to buy his own small boat. He loved Evie, but it wasn't an easy life for a young girl.

The story moves back and forth in time, like the tides that come in and out of the island. We see Evie's life as a young girl who has to grow up too soon, helping her dad sell his pot. She makes one friend, Rook, a girl from a wealthy family who often leave Rook on her own.

We see Evie and Liam's relationship through the years. They are both from dysfunctional families, and while that is part of what draws them together, it also creates problems as they don't know how to communicate with each other. Liam's frequent physical absences crash into Evie's emotional absences.

The writing is emotionally powerful, I frequently had to stop and reread sentences that I found so deeply moving, like this paragraph:

"Sometimes he wants to crack me open. I can tell by the desperation in his eyes during the days that are short and too-soon dark, and he wants me to just say it. Say anything. Say how hurt I am, how I'm not sure if I can move on, how I'm not sure I know how to love, if I'm sure of anything. He tries to bring it up: he tells me he loves me, he hides love notes all over the house, he does house chores, even some of mine. We have mastered this torture."

Evie works at the Sea Institute, studying sea creatures, especially whales. Her observations about whales echo the things going on in her own life. Winter Island is essentially another important character in the story.

Creatures touched me profoundly, especially Evie and Liam's evolving relationship. Even though I'm not from a background like Evie's, I felt a kinship with her, something I attribute to Crissy Van Meter's empathetic writing. I highly recommend it.

Thanks to Algonquin Books for putting me on Crissy Van Meter's tour.