Lake Thirteen by Greg Herren

Lake Thirteen by Greg Herren

Published by Bold Strokes Books
264 Pages

Blurb: It seemed like a good idea at the time…...

Every summer three families take a trip together—this year it’s to a remote resort in the mountains of upstate New York. Scotty, a teenager who’s just come out, is nervous about how his friends will react to him. A late night visit to an old nearby cemetery seems like a great idea to the bored teens, but the old cemetery holds dark secrets hidden for almost a century—secrets that might have been better left undisturbed.

And what originally seemed like a boring week in the mountains gradually becomes a nightmare of terror for the teens and their families...

Review: Yet another great young adult book by Greg Herren. This mystery follows Scotty and his friends on a vacation to a mountain lodge that's more popular in the winter. As such, they are the only guests there. After visiting a cemetery on the road, the five teens start to experience paranormal activities around the lodge. And Scotty can't help but feel a connection to deceased Albert Tyler, whose grave he found.

The story that follows brings the kids on a frightening journey, which might put them and their loved ones in danger.

I was in bed, but the room was different. My eyes were open and it was bright, moonlight was shining in through the windows, so I could see the cabin I was in was nothing more than just a big room, really. There was a rough-hewn door that closed and bolted, but the windows were open, and I could see the trees and the night sky. I was underneath a beautiful red and green quilt, but even though I was warm underneath the quilt I could see my breath, and it seemed like the air was getting colder with every breath I was taking. When I'd opened my eyes I had felt safe and warm, but not anymore--there was danger, I was in danger, something was coming for me, and I needed to get out of the bed and get away from there, but I couldn't, I was frozen in place, and I could heart it, outside of the cabin, it was coming for me and it wanted me, it was evil and dangerous and was going to kill me--

The book does has its scary moments, especially when the author moves into the stream-of-consciousness style. With the lack of punctuation, you can't help but read it faster and faster, which puts you on the edge of your seat wondering what is going to happen next. The scenes also shift from present to the past very rapidly. For the reader it can be disorienting, which is exactly how Scotty feels when it happens to him.

Despite it being a mystery and horror, there are some tender, romantic moments, and also some rather heavy sadness concerning Albert. I felt what Scotty felt, both the terror, the heartbreak, and the joy.

The only gripe I had was how abrupt it ended. I really wanted Scotty to get home to Marc and see the two of them interact outside of Scotty's mind. But at the same time, the final line was perfect, and any more may have taken away from the bittersweet ending. I just wish Scotty and Marc got a moment together like the other two lovers in the story.

Review by Jennifer