The Lake by Natasha Preston #bookreview #YA #thriller #horror

Title: The Lake

Author: Natasha Preston

Publisher:  Delacorte Press

Publication Date: March 2, 2021

Page Count:  378

My rating: 3 stars

About the book:

Hot on the heels of The Twin, the undisputed queen of YA thrillers is back with a scary and suspenseful read about a summer camp filled with dark secrets.

Esme and Kayla once were campers at Camp Pine Lake. They’re excited to be back this year as CITs (counselors in training). Esme loves the little girls in her cabin and thinks it’s funny how scared they are of everything–spiders, the surly head counselor, the dark, boys . . . even swimming in the lake! It reminds her a little of how she and Kayla used to be, once. Before . . . it happened.

Because Esme and Kayla did something bad when they were campers. Afterwards, the girls agreed to keep it secret. They’ve moved on–or so they say–and this summer is going to be great. Two months of sun, s’mores, and flirting with the cute boy counselors. But then they get a note. THE LAKE NEVER FORGETS. And the secret they’ve kept buried for so many years is about to resurface.

The Lake by Natasha Preston is a young adult thriller with perhaps a touch of horror. Seeing that this was set at a summer camp and being a horror fan I had images of Jason stalking Crystal Lake and was excited to pick this up to see just what this one was about.

Off we go to Camp Pine Lake where Esme and Kayla are now, at seventeen, returning to the camp to train to become counselors. The girls once attended Camp Pine Lake themselves but those are days they prefer to not think about as they promised one another to never speak of what happened the last time they were there. The fun in the sun at camp however comes crashing to a halt when Esme and Kayla find a note that reads “THE LAKE NEVER FORGETS” and they know they need to find out if someone knows their secret.

I have to say that this is one of those books that while reading I couldn’t decide if I was liking it or not, if that makes sense. Perhaps my love of this type of setting was what was more engaging to me than the actual story because at times it felt fast then at others it felt as if it was dragging a bit. When finished I wasn’t overly sold on the entire wrap up either so my thought was I suppose it passed the time but I wouldn’t return to it or brag either.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

Find this book online: 

Goodreads  /   Amazon **

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About the author: