YA Novel Delves Into Summer After Graduation...With A Dash of Mystery and Horror...

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"Hey, the news is on! Maybe they will talk about
the Lighthouse killer...he was a tour guide, showing
people around the lighthouses in the area...This
doesn't say much more about him. The bodies were
found in his bedroom, under the bed! Gross! The
guy had about five bodies in his room. They were
still searching for other missing persons..."

Summer Shack:
  A Killer Vacation


By Kelli Sue Landon


Author of Nightmare at Camp Forrestwood
 Check out my review!




Landon's latest novel, Summer Shack, is lighter on mystery and more into friendship. Kimberly Foster and Deborah Walker had been childhood best friends, but when they moved on into high school, Deborah had moved on to a different crowd--kids from richer families who dressed the part and who were socially involved.

 

Kimberly's mother had left her family when Kim was young, so that she had grown close to her remaining family and soon had taken over care of the household, including cooking which she had loved. Her plans were to go to culinary school and continue this love, making it her career.

Deb had also had an early love and Kim had always been part of those activities. She enjoyed film making, narrating her many stories while Kim learned how to be behind the camera, taping Deb. Now Deborah was looking seriously at this early hobby for her career choice and had decided to film a documentary of the area where her parents had a summer cottage. With her parents blessing and as a graduation gift, they had given her a credit card and privacy for that summer vacation.


Kim didn't know whether she had been her last choice for a friend to accompany Deb--but she didn't care! She was going on the very first real vacation she had ever had! But she soon realized that during the many years when they hadn't been close, Deborah had changed and had been into things far outside of Kim's experience...especially when she started meeting her friends there from previous summers! 


And as they started touring the little town, they started hearing about the serial killer that had just been arrested, after bodies of his victims had been found in his beach cabin...and that cabin was very close to where the girls were staying! Deb immediately decided that her documentary should cover the life of that killer and that they should start by touring the place where he'd lived...


But when they got there, the first thing that happened was that the door was slammed and they were locked in...and it got worse from there...


While this story wasn't as exciting as Landon's Nightmare, young adults may find that there is much more to ponder as friendships are re-established and issues such as drinking, drugs, and relationships are explored. Adding the suspenseful mystery with a surprising {scary!} ending just adds more enjoyment, as each of the teen characters face past and present mistakes,  while looking forward to their futures! Heavy on teen character development is, in my opinion, what drives this book--what better way to help children learn than through peer experiences? Highly recommended especially for those in high school...


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