Hannah is excited to spend some time at her best friend Jacob's lake house this summer. The catch? Hannah's annoying new stepsister, Katie, is tagging along. Katie is wild and pretty and seems to have a THING for Jacob. Hannah's not jealous...or is she? To make matters worse, the town they're staying in is sort of...creepy. And as Hannah gets to know some kids in the town, she learns there are all kinds of rumors swirling about the lake. Rumors about mysterious deaths and drownings.
Kieran Scott is the author of domestic suspense and mystery novels including WISH YOU WERE GONE, REGRETS ONLY and PEOPLE WILL TALK. She has also written several young adult novels, both under her own name and for Alloy Entertainment under the pseudonym Kate Brian. These include the New York Times best-selling PRIVATE and PRIVILEGE series, as well as MEGAN MEADE'S GUIDE TO THE MCGOWAN BOYS and many others. She grew up in Bergen County, New Jersey, attended Rutgers University, and now lives in New Jersey with her husband, two sons and one goofy dog.
I think this book was really good. There was a lot of mystery and a little bit of horror (not like bad horror) If you like mystery then you would want to read this book.
"She considered asking Alessandra about it, but then Hannah would have to admit she'd stolen the journal-and that she'd read it-which was not going to happen."
WHAT? I'm pretty damn sure Alessandra would not care if you stole her friend's journal that she PURPOSELY left in the woods and her friend could be in a dire situation if she left in there in a box along with other belongings AND she was talking about a sea monster which is the whole plot's situation so why not tell Alessandra? Who cares if she gets mad? Hell, she probably would not even care! It could help a lot if you tell her but yet you don't have the balls to now you have to go through all this unnecessary investigation all because you could not ask a simple question and I AM DONE. Lost my effin' patience, the story was actually getting good but that whole quote ruined EVERYTHING. No, just no.
I really enjoy ya thrillers anyway, so I was excited to pick this one up.
As always, Kieran Scott’s writing is fabulous. She’s great at writing gripping page turners that are difficult to put down. I also liked Hannah as a character. She’s relatable and wants to do the right thing, but doesn’t come across as a goody goody. I liked that both she and Katie showed character growth.
The mystery was pretty good, though I did guess the identity of the culprit. It was still fun to watch everything unfold. I also enjoyed journal entries interspersed between chapters - so the reader and Hannah can connect the dots together.
I could not put this book down!!! When Hannah is invited to stay with her friend Jacob and his family the tales are turned when Hannah and her step sister arrive and Jacobs parents aren't even there. Jacob convinces Hannah to stay. But Anna doesn't like the feeling that the lake gives her, is something hiding beneath the surface? Find out! Love this book so much!
I bought this at my school's book fair. I have a huge stack of TBR books, but what the hell, what's two more?
Actually, this book was captivating and I read the whole thing in about 48 hours. While the story was predictable in the sense that it was teens on a lake unsupervised and all hell breaks lose...there were several plot twists that I was not expecting and I couldn't wait to find out more!
The only reason I'm not giving five stars is that I would have liked the villain to be a bit more fleshed out. His reasoning for some of the things he did could have been explained in more detail, but hey that's my opinion!
All in all, I thought it was a great book and I would recommend it to both teens and adults that want an exciting page turner!
I really enjoy YA thrillers and Kieran Scott’s writing style. I remember reading “What waits in the woods” in middle/high school so when I saw this book I was so intrigued.
The end was predictable but in a good sorta way. I really enjoyed the read and it did keep me on the edge of my seat for the majority of the book. It was creepy and eerie and i really enjoyed the setting of the book. How it took place on a lakeside cabin and the lake itself had some gruesome history. This was a perfect book that if I had the time I could probably read in one sitting. Perfect book to take to the lake or camping lol.
OMG! I am almost completely speechless. This book has so many plot twists it is unbelievable. I had to close the book multiple times to take all of it in. All of the murders, all of the action etc. I love this book and definitely recommend for ages 11+. This book is a lot on the dark side with all the death. It is a little frightening. Otherwise I rate this and 4,000 out of 5. I can't wait to read what waits in the woods. I believe it is a sequel or a part of some kind of series. The fact that they make it so relatable in some ways with Katie crushing on Jacob and Hannah being mad at her step-sister for kind of stealing her crush. I almost cried thinking if that happened to me how mad I would be. I love her writing!
I love when a student who reads irregularly comes to me and says, "Here, you need to read this. I loved it!" When this happens, I drop everything and read the book.
This was a tension-filled, mysterious, and quick read. I can see why my student loved it so. Now I need to work hard at finding other titles for her so that we don't lose momentum.
What I loved: I loved how polar opposite the girls were and the rivalry between them. I loved that Jacobs Island was super secluded which added to the eerieness. I loved the mystery island, especially how half of it was burned and half was lush and the story surrounding it. And I loved the idea of something "waiting in the water" and the monster mystery. Also how the author had the story move quickly was nice.
What I didn't love I hated that that this was all an elaborate hoax. There is no monster. Period. Ugh. I felt cat fished. The fact that the group of friends had scuba divers pull on peoples ankles like there was a sea creature lurking below and hold up monster type props really bugged me. The author had this really neat opportunity to live up to the lake monster story she was implying but chose to cop out and make it about people playing a silly joke. Not a fan of that. Disappointed actually.
The logistics of that alone didn't really add up to me. Jacob would drive a boat with an engine through waters where he knew friends would be just feet below the surface, risking tangling them in a running motor? Not likely, no one would be that dangerous. And then once the boat stops a few scuba divers could tip a boat with a heavy engine and three people inside all while treading water?Again not likely. AND you would tip the boat knowing one girl aboard cannot swim at all? Is anyone that reckless? And then you would hold her under as a mock attempt to drown her as a scare, knowing she doesn't even have the ability to try to swim to the surface to help herself? These things don't add up to me.
Other things that didn't add up to me is the fact that you believe a sea monster tried to drown you and then you would choose to continue to swim in the same water. Sometimes even completely alone in the early morning hours. Okay. And the fact that she could look out the window, sometimes even at night and see the creature surface and disappear. A scuba diver would not sit there all day, waiting for your unexpected 30 second glace from a window. Kinda cheesy and unbelievable.
Last, the fact that Vicki, Claudia and Hannah all look strikingly alike? And one guy manages to find and date them all? Again, really?
Overall the pro's don't outweigh the cons for me. Really wishing there was a lake monster. A wasted opportunity for the writer to present a cool concept and then water it down to nothing. Wish I could have loved this but it was just okay overall.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I would definitely rate this book 5/5 stars! The book was so amazing and mind-feeding to read. I love the romance plus dark and mysterious parts in the book. It left me not wanting to put it down. Some parts I had to put it down because it got really intense/scary. The author was very good at describing the story in her words. I could seriously picture every fun, intense, scary, sad, and happy moment. And plus, the book is not that long! Quick summary: A girl named Hannah is super excited to spend time at her best friend Jacob's lake house in the summer. She, being a very good champion swimmer, is excited to spend some time swimming in the lake and hanging with Jacob. However, Hannah's step sister, Katie, is coming along. She doesn't like Katie at all. She thinks she is annoying and too much to handle. She doesn’t want her to ruin her trip. Along the way, Katie seems to have a deeper connection with Jacob and it makes Hannah upset and Jealous. Also, the creepy lake town is covered with all kinds of creepy vibes. And as Hannah gets to know some of the kids in the town, she discovers that there are all kinds of rumors about all these deaths and drownings because of the lake. She later discovers the reality of the “monster” in the lake and the actual monster behind all the darkness. Her discovery is unexpected but leads to the so-called “monster” (boy that Hannah liked for a bit) to get caught by police. Katie and Jacob stay together and Katie finds new love somewhere else. All in all, I believe that everyone who is in the teenage years should read this book. It was an amazing book and well written so I definitely recommend reading it!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Hannah and her new step-sister are total opposites. Hannah is a swimmer and loves the water. Katie can't swim and plays softball. When Hannah is invited to her best friend Jacob's lake house she is excited. She and Jacob have been best friends since they were very young. She had heard so much about their lake house. Hannah had not planned on her new step-sister tagging along. On the way down to where they will meet Jacob, Hannah realizes there is something between Jacob and Katie. It isn't bad enough she has to spend the weekend with her step-sister there. She learn there are no parents and Jacob has invited two other friends.
Strange things happen. Hannah is racing Jacob when she is suddenly pulled under water. Later she sees something she identifies as a monster. The new friend Colin seems attracted to her. He is the one who tells the story of the drownings in the lake. When Hannah, Katie and Jacob visit the burned island across the lake Hannah finds a box with a diary. It is the diary of a girl who has gone missing. Was she a victim of the lake? Hannah and Katie watch as their new friend Alessandra is pulled under the water. She surfaces and screams for help before she disappears. All Hannah and Katie want is off the island.
This was definitely a very creepy, edge of your seat book. I read it in a little over two hours. I have spent a lot of time talking about it to my students. That is how good this book is. Now I must read the other book "What Waits in the Woods". I am sure it will be just as good.
What a great book to kick off Memorial Day weekend! The weather is perfect, it's my first Saturday off in a month, and I'm a hundred percent ready to transport myself to summer in a tourist town with a group of carefree teenagers, soaking up all the fun and amenities of a lake house with none of the parental supervision. Sure hope nothing supernatural and/or generally evil shows up to ruin the party!
I didn't think I would like this one quite as much as What Waits in the Woods, because woods are way spookier than the idea of a ~lake monster~, but I was wrong. I mean, it helped that there was a Spooky Wooded Island on the lake, half burnt from an illicit campfire gone wrong, but I actually thought these characters were more interesting, and I enjoyed their brief forays into town as much as I did the alternately fun and terrifying events at their semi-isolated house.
Definitely for the younger end of YA, as it's relatively easy to figure out who's mentioned in the journal -- a fantastic discovery on its own, I might add -- but there were still reveals at the end that I hadn't seen coming. (my favorite:
"What Waits in the Water" is the story about a girl named Hannah going out to a lake with her friends and stepsister for the weekend. Nagging in the back of Hannah’s mind are the rumors that the lake is haunted by the spirit of a girl who committed suicide there. The feeling that someone is constantly watching her and the incident where she felt like someone was trying to drown her is connected to more than she could ever possibly know. I absolutely loved the book! The plot twists and suspenseful scenes in this story were really good and well thought out. I loved the fact that it's a mystery because I absolutely love reading this type of genre. I was super annoyed with Hannah’s stepsister at the beginning of the book, but her character development by the end had been one of the coolest ones I've read. I think the thing that really bothered me the most was the fact that the killer had been someone so close to Hannah and had manipulated her into believing they were everything she could ever dream of. Either way, the fact that there had been so many suspenseful things in the book made it so much better than I thought it was going to be. I recommend this to anyone who likes plot twists, a solid 4/5 stars.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
I enjoyed reading the book What Waits in the Water. Hannah is excited to spend some time at her best friend Jacob's lake house this summer. A champion swimmer, Hannah is looking forward to swimming and hanging out with Jacob and having parental supervision. Of course, Hannah is forced to bring her younger sister Katie that already likes Jacob. After getting their Hannah learns a lot about the lake and the mysterious drownings and deaths, so what does really wait in the water? I really liked this book because after every chapter kept you on a cliffhanger and you wanted to read more. Their always was something wrong after every chapter which made you not want to stop. Fans of horror, suspense or mystery would most likely like this young adult book. Some other books by the author Kieran Scott are, What Waits in the Woods, The Book of Spells and Sweet 16. The difficulty level or the lexile is 700.
Kieran Scott’s book What Waits In The Water is a horror and romance novel geared towards anyone looking for a story of teenage love with a dark twist. The book consists of 30 short chapters with a total of 251 pages. Within these chapters, a suspenseful tale plays out: teenagers are stuck at a lake house with a lake monster. Like Scott’s previous book What Waits In The Woods, a suspenseful romantic encounter bases the story line and carries on throughout the novel.
Hannah has always had the perfect life, that is...until her father marries a new women. Hannah hasn’t quite come to terms with her new situation, plus to make it worse, she also has a new stepsister. Hannah resents her because she is jealous of Katie’s beauty. This is why it’s even more infuriating when Hannah’s father makes Katie tag along with Hannah to her friend Jacob’s lake house. After all, it was Hannah’s crush, and Katie hadn’t even known him very long. Not even the first day at the lake house, Hannah gets eerie vibes. When friends at the lake house start going missing, Hannah must struggle to get help and figure out her emotions in the process.
If you like falling in love with relationships that seem to be storybook romance quality, this book is for you. This book is also for you if you like when things don’t go as planned, and that once perfect story romance turns deadly. This book is not for you if you don’t like mysteries, and being on the edge of your seat in suspense. What Waits In The Water, is truly a suspenseful mystery that awaits for you.
Set in a backdrop of the mysterious lake that seems to have a reputation of taking the lives of those in the community, this book speaks to the middle school reader. Its incorporation of teen angst, some romance and the lack of parental guidance for the weekend seems to pull the reader in. While there are some aspects of the story that seem unbelievable; for example, the characters' immediate response to a friend's untimely demise...the overall plot twists, suspense and unlikely resolution keep the reader engaged. Using this in my classroom, I may draw upon the diary entries as a tool for foreshadowing, critically thinking about the clues to the mystery of the murders, red herrings and recall with a plot diagram. This is a good book to show students how to build suspense in a story and to create character development.
This book is very good. It's mysterious and interesting. This book is about a girl named Hannah, her brother and step sister going on a weekend getaway. Hannah is very jealous of her step sister so she's not looking forward to this trip. Once they get there they end up going for a swim which Hannah loves to do but once she gets in the lake she feels hands pulling her. So now she's really interested in figuring out what's going on in the lake.
I really like how she's trying to figure out and solve the problem or rumors. I like how she is very mysterious. I also like how she is very adventurous and doesn't care what her family says because she's very persistent on finding out what's going on.
This book is similar to Took: A Ghost Story Also similar to Deep and Dark and Dangerous: A Ghost Story
I recommend this book to readers who like mystery and thriller genres.
I stole this from my brother when i was 9 and read it over and over and over again, it was the book that got me into reading, the plot twist was so shocking to little me and I’d be lying if I said it isnt still my comfort book, I get so nostalgic when I read it. I’ve seen people who get Deja vu from smelling a certain perfume or cologne but for me its books, anytime I read this book I get a sense of familiarity of when I was just a little baby. So I might be a little biased on this but I genuinely thought that the other was excellent in using distractions in the book to pull you astray to who or what it was in the book. I’m a little salty that she didn’t get together with anyone at the end because I was rooting for her and her bestie the entire time and no matter how many times I read it I always hated the stepsister. Sorry not sorry.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
When Hannah accepts and invitation from her best friend Jacob to join him at his lake house, she is annoyed to find her new snobby stepsister, Katie, wants to tag along. Even more annoying is that Katie seems to have a crush on Jacob. When they arrive at the lake house, that can only by accessed by boat, they learn that Jacob has invited some of his other friends for a fun-filled, adult free, weekend. But something is not right. The lake has a sorted history of taking people and when Hannah learns of a young girl who went missing, she's not sure who or what she should believe. This was definitely a fun, creepy horror/thriller even if it had some predictable teen horror moves. In fact, that was probably what made it fun. I highly recommend.
This book is about Hannah who goes to spend the weekend with her best friend Jacob and his friends at his family beach house. Her annoying sister Katie has to tag along (she has a crush on Jacob). Hannah maybe jealous but jealousy gets the best of her. The lake they are staying on is really creepy drownings happen and supposed creatures live in the lake. Thhen one night Hannah watches a girl get sucked in what happened.
I thought this book was amazing. It has a mystery type of writing yet it is still creepy. This book is based around jealousy it gets the best of Hannah and Connor. Why it takes control in Connor is he goes absolutely insane for Hannah. This book is just down right amazing also be sure to read what waits in the woods.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
The title of my book is called What Waits in The Water by Kieran Scott the setting takes place in the summer during school vacation. The main character of the story is a girl named Hannah and she lives with her father and step sister Katie. Hannah is always great in school and is on the swim team while Katie slacks and is a party girl. During the summer Hannah gets a text from her best friend Jacob who she has a deep crush on also Katie and he wants her to come and stay at his parents summer house for the weekend but her sister has to come. The catch? there has been mysterious drownings that have happened at the lake. Will they make it out alive?
Hannah goes to spend the weekend with her best friend, Jacob, and her annoying stepsister, Katie, at Jacob's family's lake house. What starts as a fun, lighthearted trip, soon goes to chaos, and no one has any idea what's causing it. Rumors of drownings, creatures, and a curse goes around about the lake, and they seem to be less and less like rumors as the book continues, and more like the truth. This book is very good for anyone that is interested in a horror book. There are multiple plot twists that never fail to surprise me. This book is a thrilling page turner that I couldn't seem to set down. I highly recommend this book to anyone that likes horror and thriller books.
Teen horror with a whole lot of romance. I didn’t love the writing. A few issues: Hannah finds a box of stuff hidden on a deserted island and doesn’t think that’s fishy? Especially after learning of a girl who disappeared? Also, Jacob says they never use the canoes because “they’re so old my dad doesn’t trust them.” What’s to trust? Either they leak or they don’t, and it’s not that hard to figure out which. Last, when Hannah opens her eyes underwater, her retinas burn. Really? Her *retinas*??
Oh, and so many stupid decisions by the characters, but I guess you wouldn’t have a horror book if nobody made dumb choices.
2.5 This was interesting because the main characters personality was relatable to. She wasn’t a “goody-goody” just liked to follow the rules. Unfortunately some of the choices she makes later on we’re stupid, unrealistic and completely un-relatable. Why would you go into a lake before anyone else is even awake when there is something in there that tried to drown you yesterday! I did like the sister dynamic the growth in them definitely showed. Also did Jacob know the whole sea monster thing was a hoax cause if so they should really find some new friends. That part was just way past unrealistic, I know that Colin was the sociopath but Raj, Pradya and Alessandra are the psychopaths!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
My students recommended this book to me as they found it frightening. It was a quick read about a teenage girl and her stepsister going to stay at a lake house with friends. Apparently there is a monster at the lake who has taken the lives of many. However, the true evil is the humans among them. While this was an enjoyable read, the real mystery is whether David Levithan ever sleeps and whether he is the true MVP of Scholastic. Whether he is personally assisting in book distributions or mentoring other writers, I consistently see his name in the acknowledgements of other books. He is an extremely nice person as I have met him numerous times but it is amazing how much he inspires others.
I've read the other book that's similar to this author, and I thought the books were kinda the same. I liked both, but the main character has the same personality in both. The least suspecting person was the killer in both. The person who seems the most like the killer is really not. In the beginning there's this haunting story, and a person later says that they were doing a harmless prank, but then the killer keeps going on with the prank by KILLING PEOPLE! So, the plots are pretty similar, but in general they are both good books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.