The Haunting of Lake Lucy by Sandy Deutscher Green

Book Summary

With his fear of dark, enclosed places, 13-year-old Jayce is the last person to check out the dilapidated lake house next door. Instead, he opts to write a note to the ghost he’s convinced is haunting the house, as well as his dreams. Getting his twin sister to deliver it to the mailbox is draining his snack supply, but so worth it because: THE GHOST WRITES HIM BACK. Now Jayce must uncover the dark secret of a cursed lake—or remain haunted forever.

Jayce is the quieter of the twins but he still has an adventurous spirit and when he dreams of the ghost next door he gets his sister to help with the investigation. What he finds is both more mundane and more spooky than he imagined! With the letters from the ghost, Jayce's dreams and the creepy mist appearing, you never know what is real or what is imagination.

This is a great option if you want to try out a poetry style novel. Even though I'm not used to reading poetry, the writing flowed really easily. I also enjoyed the clever use of different formats, like highlighted words telling a different story. I would have liked more of those as I expected a bit more variety in the book.

To make the Lucy cocktail, add 15ml lemon thyme syrup, 15ml lemon juice and 3 raspberries into a tall glass and muddle the fruit. Fill the glass with ice, add 45ml of raspberry vodka then stir to mix and chill. Top with sparkling water.