Monday, April 16, 2012

QUICK REVIEW: "Peachwood Lake" - by Susan Berliner


PEACHWOOD LAKE
by Susan Berliner

REVIEWED BY: Books4Tomorrow

OVERVIEW

On a quiet summer day, 13-year-old Kady Gonzalez sees an armored silver fish leap high in Peachwood Lake. She thinks it's an awesome sight - until, a few minutes later, Kady watches in horror as the same jumping fish savagely attacks a neighbor in his rowboat. That's the start of the malevolent fish's war on the pristine Connecticut lake. As the casualties mount, Kady, an aspiring writer, is befriended by Monique, a sassy young newspaper reporter. In addition to covering the fish story, Monique counsels the motherless girl on the frightening problems of growing up, especially how to deal with the hurtful taunts of Hannah, a popular classmate.While the mysterious fish continues to attack anyone venturing into the water, town officials desperately attempt to destroy the demonic creature. Will they succeed without having to sacrifice Peachwood Lake - and will "Fraidy Kady" succeed in conquering her own personal demons?

REVIEW

I had a hard time figuring out how I was going to go about this. How do you write a review for a book that didn’t hold your interest from start to finish? I read the blurb for this book and I liked the cover. The idea of a silver armor-plated fish terrorizing a community seemed like something I would love to read. Being a fan of the horror genre, this sounded like it was right up my alley. I happily accepted the book for review, but half-way through the first chapter I realized that I was going to be disappointed. Still, I persevered, but by chapter four I wanted to pull out my hair.

I then decided to change tactics. The book comes across as though it was written with the pre-teen market in mind. The main character is thirteen years old after all, so obviously she would think and act like one. In that frame of mind, I found the book much easier to digest. I enjoyed that the chapters were short and to the point and I finished the book in a short time.

Kady’s character is not unique, but she is still very different from the usual drama-queen high school teen. It was refreshing to see a protagonist with flaws and insecurities, experiencing life with all the realities we ourselves have to face daily. The relationship between Kady and her father is a very close one, and also one that touched my heart deeply. The friendship she develops with Monique was fun to read and brought a light-hearted tone to the book.

An easy read with a good plot and well-defined characters, I warmly recommend “Peachwood Lake” for young adult readers of the horror genre.

 


READ more REVIEWS

“Peachwood Lake” by Susan Berliner has 2 reviews on GoodReads. Read it here.

PURCHASE LINKS


AUTHOR LINK

Websitewww.susanberliner.com

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