Summer at Forsaken Lake

by Michael D. Beil, Maggie Kneen (Illustrator)

With their father en route to Africa for Doctors Without Borders, city-kids Nicholas and younger twin sisters Haley and Hetty are off to spend the summer with their Great-Uncle Nick at his house on Forsaken Lake. Despite some initial doubts, Nicholas is right at home in the he learns to sail, learns about his father as a boy, and makes fast friends with a local-girl, the tomboy Charlie.The summer takes a turn toward the mysterious, though, when Nicholas discovers an old movie that his father made as a it tells the story of the local legend, The Seaweed Strangler, but was never finished. Before long Nicholas wants answers both about the legend, and about the movie. Together, he and Charlie work to uncover the truth and discover some long-buried family secrets along the way.In this lovely middle-grade novel, Michael D. Beil has invoked one of his own favorites, We Didn't Mean to Go to Sea, as well as other great summer books of years-past.

Genres: Mystery, Middle Grade, Adventure, Realistic Fiction, Childrens, Audiobook, Fiction

338 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 12, 2012

About the author

In a time not long after the fifth extinction event, Edgar Award-nominated author Michael D. Beil came of age on the shores of Pymatuning Lake, where the ducks walk on the fish. (Look it up. Seriously.) For reasons that can’t be disclosed until September 28, 2041, he now lives somewhere in Portugal with his wife and their two white cats, Bruno and Maisie. He still gets carsick if he has to ride in the back seat for long and feels a little guilty that he doesn’t keep a journal.

Reviews

[Belles Middle Grade Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

LOVVVVVED this! After being so in love with The Swallowtail Legacy by this author, I wanted to pick up one of his older books. It didn’t disappoint. This was so good! This author does mysteries, families, friendships, setting, & just amazing characters so well! Living in PA & having been to Lake Erie(the book setting is on the OH side)I always love seeing that. This is like the perfect summer in my opinion. Nicholas & his twin sisters get to go stay with their AMAZING uncle in this AWESOME cozy town, right on the lake..there’s new friends, sailing, a dog(!:)), many dinners(on & off boat lol)ate together, diners & ice cream shops, bike riding(pretty much stayed on my bike as a kid), a little baseball, family secrets, lost love, mysteries, & learning so many new things. The twin sisters were so entertaining, & I could definitely believe they were going to be broadway stars one day lol. When Nicholas finds the notebook, film, letter, etc in the beginning I got very excited. There are layers to his dads mystery. I absolutely LOVED Charlie, & she & Nicholas had the best friendship dynamic. I love all the connections made to the mystery as well, & all the little puzzle pieces when they came together. I learned SO MUCH about sailing with this as well haha, & I loved it. From being on the boats, biking around, Uncle Nicks house, or just the town itself-it’s all so atmospheric because of the authors writing. I also loved the inclusion of some of the postcards Nicholas sends to his dad over the course of the summer. It felt like Nicholas accomplished so much that summer..everything he learned, did, discovered, tried for the first time, etc. So great. LOVED the ending & how it was done. I wish there was more, but this was published in 2012 I believe, so probably will stay a stand alone. This was amazing, & he is well on his way to becoming a favorite author of he keeps this up. A great mystery, with family & friendship at its core, & those summers we had as kids that stood out, & are never forgotten. Highly recommend. BEAUTIFUL cover by Greg Call, & inside illustrations sprinkled throughout by Maggie Kneen too.💜

[David · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh. About a third of the way into this novel I completely lost interest. I debated at first whether this was because the book is geared toward a younger audience than many of the other books I've read this summer, and if that was why the stakes seemed so low in the plot. But then I remembered that I had just finished "Diamond Willow" by Helen Frost, and how much I love Jeanne Birdsall's Penderwicks novels, and that made me change my tune.

The big problem seems to be what I'm experiencing in another novel I'm trying to finish ("The Strain" by Guillermo Del Toro and Chuck Hogan, alas) that I'm debating how much I actually care to finish- a character(s) is introduced who seems interesting. But then the author(s) doesn't seem able to sustain what is interesting about that character. In this case, Nicholas and Charlie seem interesting at first, but then there was page after page after page of totally stock dialogue to make me lose interest in them almost completely. Add to that the fact that the 10-year old twin sisters sometimes seem 10 and sometimes seem 5 or 6, and my final verdict is still...meh.

Also, the stakes seem really, really low as far as the mystery in the novel in concerned. I know that if I keep reading that is almost assuredly going to change and broaden, but I don't want to. There is a fine line between writing really effective, charming, "retro" children's novels, and for a good example of this, read the Penderwick novels, and writing something vanilla and bland. This just seems too blah for me at this point.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer At Forsaken Lake
by
Michael D. Beil

My" in a nutshell" summary...

Nicholas and his twin sisters are sent to live with their great Uncle Nick for the summer in his house on a lake. Adventure and mystery are par for the course!

My thoughts after reading the book...

This is such a lovely wholesome book...the opportunity to spend the summer with a really wonderful uncle on a lake with access to sailboats and bikes and diners and new friends and animals and ice cream parlors and onion rings! Big baskets of them! Yum!

It's my belief that the heart of the story is when Nicholas finds a notebook, an old film reel and some other cool clues that set off his own island adventure. He finds Charlie...the daughter of his father's island love...and together they set about solving this mystery.

What I loved about this book...

I grew up in Ohio and I think this takes place around Lake Erie so I loved that part of it. I also loved the various relationships...they were sweet and inspiring and felt very true.

What I did not love...

Absolutely nothing...I loved this book!

Final thoughts...

I am not revealing much of this book...on purpose...it's a delightful family story...a friend story and an adventure story. I recommend it to all families!

[Katy Colwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Where was this book when I was in middle school? I would have loved it when I was 12! I decided to read it for my younger self, and it did not disappoint! It had all of my favorite elements: a summer adventure, funny and heartwarming characters, a forgotten mystery, old secrets, new friendships, and the importance of family. I enjoyed it so much that I plan to read more middle school aged books by this author!

[Jeremy Etress · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook on road trip to the Great Lakes w/ family of 5. Borrowed from local library!

[Brevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoke my love language. Sailing and Filming, plus some mystery and adventure!

[Matt Peterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book! It has the right amount of mystery, action, character development, friendship, and family relationships. I really like the setting, which is a small lake town in Ohio -- makes me want to go somewhere like that right now. It is also a great introduction to sailing, as the author uses many terms to teach us about sailing in a way that doesn't alienate us "land-lubbers." Again, makes me want to go buy a sailboat. I thought the relationship between the main character and his friend (who happens to be a girl) was perfect for the age range. Nothing was forced and it was very believable. The dialogue between those two was spectacular. You'll love this book, it's the perfect summer read!

[Susan Dunn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a sweet mystery, perfect for those kids who parents don't want them to read anything with controversial topics. 12-year-old Nicholas and his younger sisters go to spend the summer with their great uncle at Forsaken Lake - something their father did for many years when he was a boy. During their stay they make new friends, learn how to sail, and discover and solve a mystery surrounding their father and a controversial incident that happened during his last summer at the lake.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a perfectly charming book, enjoyed during a short road trip by teen, preteen and mother alike. While my son pretended to prefer listening to his iPod, several times I noticed he removed the earbuds so he could hear the story.

[Di · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love to read summer books, fish out of water books, mysteries—add an old lake house with a turret bedroom filled with secret compartments and I’m hooked. Three city siblings, older brother Nicholas, and his younger twin sisters, Haley and Hetty spend a summer with their Great Uncle Nick at his lake house. This was a sweet return to the days before all of our so called “connectedness.” Where the characters days were filled with curve balls, exploring, sailing, and the mysterious unfinished movie of the Seaweed Strangler. Uncle Nick is a wonderful character, who takes on the challenge of parenting the kids for the summer, with an old relic of a TV, weekly visits to the library were on the schedule: nautical tales and classics were recommended. Reminded me of my summer days with the bi-weekly visits of the bookmobile in the neighborhood IGA parking lot. Another reviewer listed to the audio with her grandson on a family vacation. I’m stealing this idea, and this will be the first book on my new Goodreads Shelf: Audio’s with Nana.

[Rebecca · Rating 3 out of 5]

An exciting sailing and movie-making adventure, this 2012 novel contains many of the things I dislike in modern children's stories. Most of the adults are divorced. In one scene, the protagonist is very disrespectful to an adult (because the adult is mean and saying unkind things about his dad) and there are no consequences, in fact, the protagonist's friend admires the way he "stood up" for his family. Other examples of bed behavior include a lot of sarcasm directed at siblings, and playing little "tricks" on them to scare them, or just saying "Gotcha!" and laughing at the look on their faces. Despite all of this, it could inspire an interest in sailing or movie making or even baseball. Not for everyone, though.

[Amanda Ramos · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is about 3 siblings Nicholas and his twins sisters Haley and Hetty who have to spend the summer at their uncle's house near the lake. While there and enjoying the outdoors nicholas learns many things within those he learns about his father as a boy. He finds a movie named the seaweed strangler in which the ending was not shown. Nicholas want to know more about this and his father. I honestly thought the book would be a little more interesting. When I saw the cover I thought something tragic would happen but given that its a children's book I can see why this level of mystery. Overall it was a good read.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

When 12-year-old Nicholas and his 10-year-old twin sisters, Hayley and Hetty are told they will be spending their Summer at Forsaken Lake with Great Uncle Nick, they are not quite sure they'll like it. But, with their parents divorced and dad going to Africa to help with Doctors Without Borders and their mom too busy, it is the only option.

Once there and as time goes on, the summer boating life is ideal. Nicholas makes a good friend in Charlie and together they find secrets from the past, learn how to sail, and make a movie that was once abandoned into a treasure.

Lots of boating terms for the sailing enthusiast.

[Brandi Nyborg · Rating 3 out of 5]

Once in a while I love to grab a middle grade mystery or fantasy book for a relaxing and enjoyable read. This book certainly fit the bill. I really enjoyed all of characters. The author is great at developing them. The setting and other descriptions were wonderful. My only complain would be is the mystery is a little too easy and drawn out. I would definitely like to see this book turned into a mystery series! The ending definitely left me wanting to see more.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story about city kids exploring the country and solving a mystery. My children enjoyed the sailing lessons and are clamoring for boat-building lessons. Pet peeve: I hated the kids in the story being rude to each other and the mild expletives. Glad the other book we are reading right now does not try to normalize the idea of sibling rivalry. Right now we’ve read too many books about divorced parents and this is another. The pacing of the mystery was good but the end got too long.

[Jennifer Thelen-Chapman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked up this book on a summer visit when my grandson (age 11) came to stay. We read it every evening before bed and was hard for us to put down. We were always so pulled into the story and interested in what was going to happen next! We almost read the entire story before he had to leave, and I had to finish it, grandson or no! It was a great story and even as an adult I enjoyed the story of the kids summer at the lake. We did end up being able to finish it together later!

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

When 12 year old Nick and his twin sisters are sent to spend the summer with their great uncle Nick at Forsaken Lake he isn’t thrilled about it. No television and none of the excitement of living in New York. What he doesn’t know is that he will meet his new best friend, learn to sail, make a movie, and get a chance to solve a mystery.

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a mediocre book in my opinion. I got bored a few times and had to force myself to come back to it. It was also a bit confusing because there were two separate characters with similar names. (Nick and Nicholas)

Things I liked:
— The friendship between Charolette and Nicholas
— The mystery of hidden pasts and the uncovering of them
— Nick’s character

[Lynn Zoia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Yeah, it's a kid's book, but it's not too kiddish, more for older kids. And it reminded me of all the summers my brothers and I spent up at the lake or visiting my aunt at her farm. The adventures these kids have are way better than the ones we had, though! Good storyline, and kept me turning the pages.

[Brynn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book isn’t very well known. There’s only 500-600 reviews and has a 3.65 star average. I loved it. This book made me feel so cozy and at home. The sailing- the lake - the biking around- the library- the ice cream and summer dinners. The mystery in this book wasn’t even the most compelling part of it, mostly i just felt at home. I loved it.

[Melissa Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little Sandlot, a little Dawson’s Creek (the earliest episodes) and fun summer adventures for some 12 year old kids. I love stories that remind me of my carefree childhood summer days with neighborhood friends.

[Beth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good lightweight summer read. Coming of age story set on a lake during summer vacation.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

nice story
quick easy read
kept me interested from the beginning

[Aidan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book. I liked how suddenly the events happened in the story-- it was fast-paced.

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lovely young adult geared book. Just a good story. Makes me remember the fun of being young and the amazing potential of summer.

[aem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice story.

[Hadlie · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is absolutely incredible. I have loved it since I found it in the library years ago.

[Lillie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Enjoyable read for preteens and older. It has some mildly suspenseful action but not the nail-biting type. The characters are appealing and believable. A fun book.

[Autumn Nester · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a cute story that was so reminiscent of the types of books I would used to read when I was younger. It also reminded me a lot of my favorite book series of all time.

[Evelyn Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is just one of those books that I will always remember from my childhood :)