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Tuesday, July 26, 2016

A quick read:

Dead River by Cyn Balog is part mystery, part ghost story, and part fairy tale. When Kiandra Levesque was seven, her mother walked into the Delaware River and drowned.  That's when Ki started hearing the river's voice whispering to her and seeing visions of the dead. Fearing that she might share her mother's fate, Ki's father packs them up and moves to Wayview, Maine, far away from any water.

Now Ki is a high school senior, and instead of going to prom, she and her boyfriend, Justin, are going white water rafting on the Dead River. She's sure everything will be fine. But once she's near the river, the voices and the visions return. Along with a handsome ghost named Jack, who wants something from her, and another ghost named Trey, who claims he's there to protect her. And when they both tell her that her mother is Mistress of the Waters and is just on the other side of the river, she doesn't know what or who to believe.

This is a very readable, if slightly superficial Ya novel. I liked the fairy tale aspect of Ki becoming Mistress of the Waters like her mother, but I kept wishing that particular part of the story had been a little more well-developed. I had questions about their respective roles and responsibilities that never quite got answered. And the way everything got wrapped up at the end, especially with the ghosts, felt just a little too convenient. But it's still a fun read. And a quick one, too. I just wish it was a book with a little more depth.

Happy Reading!

8 comments:

  1. Sometimes I think authors get in a hurry to get their ideas down! I've recently read a novel that that had similar elements--a fun story, but not quite enough depth.

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    1. That's how this one felt. It's funny, I also don't enjoy the books where the author writes way too much and needs to be edited by about 100 pages. Too bad you can't put the two types of authors together; you'd end up with the perfect book. :)

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  2. Ugh! I read another book by Cyn Balog and was not impressed at all for a lot of the reasons you didn't like this one. The cover is cool, though.

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    1. So you know what I mean when I say this book felt a little shallow? It's not that it was awful, it just wasn't enough. And since you read another book by her that disappointed, I don't think I'll try her again.

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  3. This one sounds like a fun read, and the premise sounds intriguing too. It's a pity some parts are not what we've expected.

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    1. It's a good read...it just could have been SO much better, you know?

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  4. I'd rather go white water rafting than to the prom myself, to be honest. This does sound fun, even if not perfect.

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    1. :D There's a lot to like about it...I just wanted more of it. And the rafting on the river does get a little intense.

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