December

by Linda Oatman High

~Editor's Pick~

Lake Millay has goals, hopes, and dreams...until she moves to Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and becomes ensnared in a vortex of violence.

Bullying and stalking become Lake’s life, and ultimately the destroyer of her dreams. A cautionary tale based on the true story of Laurie Show, murdered by three teens in 1991.

Genres: Young Adult

208 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 23, 2015

Reviews

[Lisa Dess · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOAH!! Shut the front door! This is a disturbingly, dark, awesome book. It's like the movie Thirteen on steroids with some horror added the the mix.

My heart really went out to Lake. I felt terrible for her and what she had went through. It's really easy to get caught up with the wrong people just so you have someone. I was rooting for her to make the right choices before things went really downhill.

Seth and Brit are both just psychologically messed up. Brit probably more so just because she has the ability to be manipulative. Whereas, Seth was just not a good guy and didn't try to hide it.

Poor Holly. Such a wonderful person and to have went through what she did due to jealousy was sad.

This book held me in my seat right from page 1. I couldn't read it fast enough. The characters were developed well.

I could talk a lot about the mental health issues of these characters but I think that'd take away from figuring it all out on your own.

Due to the Author's Dedication in the book, I was curious and had to google who Laurie Show was. After reading about what happened to that young girl my heart broke.

I recommend this book to those who like psychological horror.

[TPC]

December is the story of a young girl, named Lake, that is moved to a new school in a new town for her senior year of high school. At school, she is treated as an outcast and does not fit in. However, she manages to make friends with one girl, Brit, whom happens to live close to her. This girl is a hot mess as far as teenagers go. She is pregnant and living with her boyfriend, Seth, in a trailer. However, this relationship is abusive and toxic. Soon Brit and Seth's toxic relationship begins to take over Lake as she longs to have friends, a normal high school experience and fit in. Lake is now largely being neglected by her parents. Her mom has abandonded the family to pursue her passions and refuses to make the time or effort to be a mom toward Lake. Her dad is a pastor and tries to support Lake and push her to communicate with him more. Yet, he remains closed minded to her feelings about his brother, their scary past and her feelings to him allowing the brother to live with them. These three broken people are constantly making major mistakes that are progressively getting more violent and reckless until they finally commit a murder. A senseless murder out of jealousy, lies, manipulation and friendship. The worst part is this book is based on a true story. I looked up information on the real story behind the book. Laurie Show was a teenage girl that was raped by a guy then harassed by him and his pregnant girlfriend. She was abused, physically and emotionally by this trio of friends. Rules and laws failed to protect her as she lost her life in 1991 at the age of 16. In my research, there seems to be lots of info behind the couple behind this crime but not so much on the third person, the friend, that helped. This story by High takes on the perspective of that third friend. I know this is a fictionalized account of the murder of Laurie Show, but I wonder how much of it is real. Could this murder have been prevented if more adults involved had taken accountability for their children? In the book, the majority of parents behind the trio, Lake, Brit & Seth are not present or active in their lives. We do not know the extent of it for their real life counterparts. However, there are too many stories like this. I enjoyed the book as a book but I did not enjoy how it made me feel or the thoughts thatit gave me. It is a hard, sad book, about a most unfortunate truth. This could definitely be a book for teens to talk about actions and consequences. You can and should always stop yourself before you go too far because you cannot come back from those actions.

[Boundless Book Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first time I saw this book on Evernight, I couldn't stop looking at the cover. I had to read it! Then I got a message, like it was meant to be.

December, starts out with Lake Millay moving to another state, her senior year. She doesn't like it and honestly I don't think I would either. Her dad got a new job, so she has no choice but to follow along with him.

The day she moves in she meets Brit. A girl who is just not right. Lake is unsure of her and her boyfriend. But she really doesn't have any friends. Brit doesn't like one of their fellow students, for reasons she's assuming. You should never assume. I learned that in 7th grade.

This book is so mind numbing. Knowing that there's really people out there, who don't care about consequences. Lake could of made better choices. She could of stopped hanging out with them. It's a real tragedy what happens.

This book is based on a true story. I felt really sad for the family, that had to deal with this. I couldn't even imagine how it would be to lose my daughter.

It was a crazy but good read....Lissa


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[Peggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very intrigued with this book! Wasn't sure if I would like it when I took it on for review, but the cover was what caught me! Once I started reading, I really found myself enjoying the book! I could relate to several areas of the book. Great job Linda!


*Reviewed for an honest review*

[Lissa Rice]

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