The Haunting of Lake Lucy is a ghostly novel of mystery set against the backdrop of a seemingly quiet, lake resort–a peaceful vista suitable for a creepy tale in the style of many classic horror stories. The juxtaposition of the sinister with the serene serves to emphasize the story’s menacing scenes. The protagonists of the story are children on vacation with their parents and are therefore very relatable for the book’s target audience. They have the usual struggles with parents, fitting in, and making friends, as well as the added perils of the supernatural ghostly resident of the house next door.

The story is written in a verse format, so it seems like a quick read since the pages have fewer words than novels laid out in the traditional paragraph style. This may be appealing to young readers, as the sense of accomplishment of seeing the pages fly by at a quick pace is one that every middle grade reader loves. However, the verse itself is sometimes hard to follow, since the punctuation is very stylized and in some places is very sparse, and sentences may run for several lines before moving to the next thought, with or without some intervening punctuation to distinguish the two. Young readers who are just finding their feet in the land of literature may find this confusing.

The narrative itself is solid, presenting the mystery of the lake interspersed with interactions between the main characters and their family members and peers at the lake, with a bit of danger sprinkled in to keep the excitement going. Even minor characters have traits that make them memorable, and everyone in the narrative feels like they belong and enhance the story. The story leans more heavily on the mysterious and less on the terror of traditional horror stories and ghost tales, so readers who are looking for a scare, even a mild middle-grade scare, may be disappointed. Even so, the story is engaging, and such disappointment would dissipate as the story winds to its action-packed conclusion.

Review of an Advance Reading Copy from the Publisher

Content Analysis:

Profanity/Language: None

Violence/Gore: A character suffers a minor injury in a fall, with blood mentioned; a few creepy scenes with a ghost; a vehicle is destroyed in a crash; report of an accidental death; a character tries to drown another.

Sex/Nudity: None

Mature Subject Matter:

Theft; child running away from home; paranormal (ghosts).

Alcohol/Drug Use:

None