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swim559's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
pagingmrsvarnum's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I did not expect to like this book as much as I did! Horror is a tough genre for Middle Grade. Kids LOVE scary books, but it can be tough to strike the right balance between being age appropriate and just being hokey. This book finds that sweet spot while also telling a great story with a focus on family and overcoming limits set by yourself and others.
Celeste is spending a week at her grandparents’ lake house with her brother and cousins, and of course creepy things start happening to her and then to her cousins. While Celeste is genuinely freaked out by everything, her family thinks she is just playing pranks on them and won’t take her seriously. As the week goes on, these incidents become more and more common as well as more and more extreme. The kids learn about a great aunt who passed away as a child and looked exactly like Celeste and begin to worry that she is haunting the family.
This book is more than just a good ghost story. It explores family dynamics, the ripple effects of historical racism and segregation, and being honest with yourself and others about your fears. In fact, fear is a main theme of this book, but not just fear of the ghost. Each cousin has something they’re afraid of, and these details will make the book relatable to young readers. Kiddos who get scared easily should probably avoid this title (it is legitimately creepy!), but readers ready for some frights will love it. Grade 4+
jargabright's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Racism
bethany_will123's review
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
bookishrealm's review
3.0
I was so excited to pick up The Girl in the Lake after hearing so much about The Forgotten Girl. While this wasn't what I was expecting in terms of horror, I did enjoy some of the historical aspects that Brown included in the story. 3.5 Stars
The Girl in the Lake focuses on Celeste who is spending a couple of weeks at her grandparents house with her brother and cousins. Before heading to the lake, Celeste takes swimming lessons with the hope that she will learn how to swim. Unfortunately, due to a bad relationship with her instructor, Celeste never learns how to swim. When they arrive at the lake house, Celeste, Owen, and their cousins learn more about their family including an aunt who passed away at a young age. The same aunt is eerily identical to Celeste. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen and the kids try to figure out if their aunt is haunting the house. This book definitely excelled in the providing some historical context of what it was like for the Black community to do even the most basic things like go to the swimming pool. By incorporating family history into the narrative, the historical aspects of the book feel more personal. The pacing of the novel also worked really well. The fact that the grandparents continuously attempted to convince the children that the house wasn't haunted made the stakes of the novel even higher.
One thing that I struggled with is that while this book appears to be a horror. And while the haunting elements of the book were interesting, this book wasn't spooky at all. I'm not making that assessment just as an adult reader. I truly believe that middle grade readers won't find it spooky either so it may end up being a disappointment after looking at the cover. This doesn't mean that the novel itself isn't well written or that the story isn't good, but I do believe that cover doesn't particularly match the contents of the book. Overall, it was an interesting read and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up The Forgotten Girl.
The Girl in the Lake focuses on Celeste who is spending a couple of weeks at her grandparents house with her brother and cousins. Before heading to the lake, Celeste takes swimming lessons with the hope that she will learn how to swim. Unfortunately, due to a bad relationship with her instructor, Celeste never learns how to swim. When they arrive at the lake house, Celeste, Owen, and their cousins learn more about their family including an aunt who passed away at a young age. The same aunt is eerily identical to Celeste. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen and the kids try to figure out if their aunt is haunting the house. This book definitely excelled in the providing some historical context of what it was like for the Black community to do even the most basic things like go to the swimming pool. By incorporating family history into the narrative, the historical aspects of the book feel more personal. The pacing of the novel also worked really well. The fact that the grandparents continuously attempted to convince the children that the house wasn't haunted made the stakes of the novel even higher.
One thing that I struggled with is that while this book appears to be a horror. And while the haunting elements of the book were interesting, this book wasn't spooky at all. I'm not making that assessment just as an adult reader. I truly believe that middle grade readers won't find it spooky either so it may end up being a disappointment after looking at the cover. This doesn't mean that the novel itself isn't well written or that the story isn't good, but I do believe that cover doesn't particularly match the contents of the book. Overall, it was an interesting read and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up The Forgotten Girl.
modernhobbitvibes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Injury/Injury detail
Drowning comes up as a plot point.mrsginthelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
bookladykd's review
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Good themes, but the ending felt rushed and the character development was rather shallow. Not a terribly scary story (nor is it meant to be.)
jencunn2024's review
3.0
This middle grade mystery was a fun read. My daughter asked me to read it because she thought I would like it and she was right. It is a story about family, ancestry, and overcoming fears. It is set in a 1960s North Carolina lake community where four cousins visit their grandparents over summer vacation and strange things begin to happen. Full of cousin love! Celeste, Owen, Daisy and Capri learn about each other and about conquering their fears. One fear is the fear of swimming, and India Brown does a wonderful job of braiding in a historical backdrop dealing with the prejudice, discrimination and racism associated with swimming and the use of pools, as well as the effects of that battlefront upon later generations. She does a wonderful job of presenting the entire ordeal and explaining it in relatable, understandable terms.