A MISFORTUNE OF LAKE MONSTERS

The town of Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania, has its very own Loch Ness monster type of creature called Old Lucy.

The legend of Old Lucy and the ongoing sightings are what have kept tourists visiting and the town thriving while neighboring towns have fallen onto hard times. Lemon’s family has been secretly responsible for keeping the legend alive by impersonating Old Lucy for generations, and now it’s her turn to take over the family business. Like any high school senior, Lemon has her plans, and sticking around to keep being a fake lake monster is not one of them. But everything Lemon thought she knew about monsters changes when Devil’s Elbow experiences a freak earthquake. The following day, Lemon and her dogs have a terrifying encounter with a real-life monster in the lake. Unfortunately, unlike Old Lucy, this is no cute purple serpent. This behemoth is hungry and ready to eat its way through the population of Devil’s Elbow. The first-person narration alternates between Lemon, who’s coded white, and Troy Ramirez, her best friend and love interest, who’s cued Latine. Though the setup is original and intriguing, the book doesn’t hit its mark: The author juggles too much in too short a space. Some of the plot twists and secrets are easily identifiable, while others come completely out of left field. None of the characters feel fully complete, and the sense of urgency in the story arrives too late.

An interesting premise that fails to deliver.