 |
Reviewed by: Heather Maneiro, High School Librarian Title: A Misfortune of Lake Monsters
Author: Nicole M. Wolverton
Publisher: CamCat Books
Year: 2024 Good for Grades: 8-12 Genre/Type of Book: Horror
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: violent deaths
Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Cybils Speculative Fiction Review List
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
What if your family secret could cost you your life?
|
Review:
Abstract and Mini-Review Lemon is at a crossroads. She has just been told the family secret – Old Lucy (the lake monster of Lake Lokakoma) is a hoax and it is her family that has been perpetuating it for the sake of commerce and tourism. The truth has been revealed to Lemon as it is her turn to take over. With the weight of this secret, Lemon realizes her life-long dream of moving on and becoming a vet is probably no longer in the cards. Then, everything changes. Lemon witnesses the monster herself when it leaps out and gobbles up her grandmother’s dog. Lemon realizes she can no longer bear the burden alone. Lemon reveals the family secret to her best friends and enlists their help in finding out what is going on now. These three teens must use all of their environmental and local knowledge to take on the monster and the government while ensuring that they do not destroy the legacy of their hometown.
Verdict Unfortunately my copy had significant typos. Luckily I was reading on the kindle, so I was able to report all of them. I am not sure if this could have been a synch issue as I had originally downloaded this as a NetGalley. Hopefully the typos are fixed in the final build. From an editing standpoint though, the story and flow were great and this will be a definite buy and recommend! Everyone loves a good Nessie story.
Recommendation Justification This title is on the Cybils Speculative Fiction review list and will definitely have appeal to high school students wanting horror but not quite ready for horror levels of King or Hill.
Uses in the Library/Classroom A great choice for sustained silent reading. I also love comparing stories new and old – what is the same, what is different? I loved this take on Nessie from a young-adult point of view.
Appropriateness of Artwork The cover is appealing and will draw students in – probably even more so than if the monster were to be highlighted – I think it will draw in a wider audience.
Number of party hats:
Find resources for A Misfortune of Lake Monsters on TeachingBooks.
For more information about this book, see the publisher's website.