Summer's End

by Joel A. Sutherland

One terrifying summer can stay with you forever.

It's the summer before high school and Jacob and his friends are determined to make it a memorable one. This may be the last couple of months they have together; once school starts, they'll be going their separate ways. Ichiro's family is moving to Japan. And while Jacob and the twins, Hayden and Hannah, are staying behind in Valeton, they'll be going to different high schools. When they discover an old abandoned home on a remote island of their Muskoka community, things suddenly take an unexpected turn. The kids find themselves inexplicably drawn to the house that had once been a sanatorium for children with tuberculosis and learn that it has some haunting secrets to hide.

Genres: Mystery, Horror, Paranormal, Young Adult, Fiction, Thriller, France

195 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 31, 2017

About the author

Joel A. Sutherland is the Silver Birch and Hackmatack Award-winning author of Be a Writing Superstar, numerous books in the Haunted Canada series, and Summer's End. His new series, Haunted, including The House Next Door, Kill Screen, Night of the Living Dolls and Field of Screams, has been praised by Goosebumps author R.L. Stine. Joel's short fiction has appeared in many anthologies and magazines, including Blood Lite II & III (Pocket Books) and Cemetery Dance Magazine, alongside the likes of Stephen King and Neil Gaiman.

He is a two-time juror for the Bram Stoker Award, the John Spray Mystery Award, and the Monica Hughes Award for Science Fiction & Fantasy. He is also the founder of the DarkLit Fest, a literary event that has welcomed Guests of Honour Kelley Armstrong and Joy Fielding.

Joel appeared as "The Barbarian Librarian" on the Canadian edition of the hit television show Wipeout, making it all the way to the third round and proving that librarians can be just as tough and crazy as anyone else. He has a Masters of Information and Library Studies from Aberystwyth University in Wales and lives in southeastern Ontario with his family, where he is always on the lookout for ghosts.

Reviews

[Shakeel Jivraj · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Summer's End" is a marvelously written and unpredictable horror story. Sutherland grabbed my attention as I joined Jacob, Ichiro, Hannah and Hayden on their mission to uncover the terrifying horrors of an abandoned mansion. I gasped and anxiously held my breath as each new clue about the secrets of the mansion was discovered. At the end, I was relieved, but also shocked to find out the truth. If the exciting plot isn't enough to keep you glued to this book, Sutherland fuels the storyline with intense themes such as friendship, determination, courage, cherishing every moment of life and letting go of the past. You will love this book from beginning to end and it will remind you why you still read.

[Vikki VanSickle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic ghost story with a generations-old mystery and a slightly newer mystery dovetailing nicely in a surprise twist. All the hallmarks of classic kids' horror are here: an abandoned house, a mysterious necklace, a major discovery made thanks to the help of the library, and an overnight trip with terrifying consequences. Kids will love the chills and thrills of the novel, but I also loved how Summer's End took me right back to summer, with long bike rides, trips to the corner store for candy, and dying of heatstroke during baseball games. For fans of the author's award-winning Haunted Canada, The Night Gardener by Jonathan Auxier and Marina Cohen's Inn Between or Doll's Eye.

[Karen Upper · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Supernatural horror writer, Joel Sutherland has created a story that is
equal parts suspense, the paranormal, and adrenaline rush in Summers End!
Students have mot been able to keep hands off when reading this new story!
I and students, highly recommend this spooky thriller, to who dare push back the vale of the unknown!

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I began Summer's End I wasn't expecting much more than a slightly spooky haunted house story but my expectations were blown to smithereens by Sutherland's fast-paced and gripping story. At several points throughout I was eagerly curious and genuinely scared - so much so that goose-bumps covered my flesh and I turned so as to be facing my bedroom doorway.

Perhaps the book's biggest twist is one that I anticipated - and yet that twist was still impressively effective when it arrived because the twist was delayed in such a way that I began to doubt my earlier predictions.

A fantastic book for those children obsessed with scary stories.

[Amends · Rating 4 out of 5]

Envie d'un peu de frissons..😊
💙💙💙
Un petit roman (ados) d’épouvante avec une histoire et ambiance intéressante ^^ Pas de frissons mais étant adepte du genre littéraire, il m'en faut beaucoup :p

[Ishmul · Rating 5 out of 5]

I met the author, great guy and great book

[Jeanette Graves · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is calling all teenagers! It was well written, had some history mixed in and was scary for a 13 year old…BUT not too scary!
Loved it!

[Kinsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

a really fun and creepy tween summer adventure!

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Right now I’m a student teacher in a grade 7/8 class that’s just finished reading this book (about 80 students in the school are reading this book actually). It’s a good book for that age group in a classroom setting. The kids enjoy the horror elements, and we’re analyzing tropes you often find in the horror genre (specifically foreshadowing and symbolism).
But I don’t think the book quite sticks the landing, despite its twists, and it seems a good number of students would agree with that assessment.
Of course, this book doesn’t have much to offer adults, but it’s a fine book for its intended audience.

[Isabelle Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, Summer’s End by Joel A. Sutherland was enjoyable. I liked the beginning and how it started with an interesting scene that captured my attention, and I also liked how the author introduced the characters in a way that made sense. This book had the right amount of characters, not too scarce, and not so many that you can’t remember half of them. Many books have main characters with perfect personalities and physical attributes, and what set the characters from this book apart from the rest was that Sutherland included some characteristic flaws as well. For example, I noticed that Hannah was loyal and strong-minded, but also a bit arrogant. I also liked how the main characters didn’t stay on the island overnight just for fun, and they had a justification to do it for the greater good. The plot was realistic and unpredictable for a horror story, and I enjoyed how it was enough to make you feel unsettled, but not so terrifying as to keep you awake with nightmares. The foreshadowing was great, and none of the events in the story were boring or unnecessary, because they all tied together nicely for the conclusion. The pace the story was moving at slightly confused me, because one chapter would abruptly end in a cliffhanger, and then the next would begin a few days later, so I had to pay attention to the dates below each chapter’s heading. An example of this happening would be chapter 4’s transition to 5. I thought the author’s usage of descriptive words were excellent, because there were enough to visualize everything, but not so much as to be revolting to the reader, such as describing the disembowelment. The ending was pretty good, but I think I would’ve better enjoyed it if there was an epilogue, to see what happened to each of the main characters once they disembarked for high school. Did they ever see each other again? Did Ichiro ever come back to visit?
Despite these drawbacks, this book was exciting to read, and I would recommend it to anyone who likes mysteries.

[Ly-Lan · Rating 4 out of 5]

J'ai été très agréablement surprise par ce roman d'horreur. En me lançant, j'avais peur que le livre soit trop enfantin et que la partie horreur ne soit pas assez poussée, mais finalement ça n'a pas été le cas. Les personnages, ayant 14 ans, ne se comportent pas comme des gamins et j'ai retrouvé le frisson que j'aime dans un roman d'horreur, donc c'était très cool. L'auteur a réussi à créer une ambiance sombre et angoissante autour de cette maison, à de nombreux passages j'avais le petit stress de me dire "mais qu'est-ce qui se passe ?" Ou "va-t-il leur arriver quelque chose ?". En plus, l'histoire de déroule pendant les grandes vacances donc j'étais bien dans le mood.
Ensuite, je n'ai pas détesté les personnages mais je ne les ai pas non plus appréciés plus que ça. Jacob m'énervait un peu, des fois quand il se prenait pour le chef qui dit à ses amis de le laisser seul pour qu'il ne leur arrive rien. Hannah, j'ai bien aimé son côté badass, qu'elle ait plus de courage que les garçons, mais des fois c'était un peu trop poussé et je la trouvais vexante avec ses amis dans sa manière de leur parler quand ils ne veulent pas aller dans la maison.Et enfin, le plot twist était absolument prévisible, il n'y avait pas vraiment de mystère à la fin.

[middle_schoolers_read Lindsay P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Four and a half stars

Jacob, Ichiro, Hannah, and Hayden want to make the summer before Grade 9 the best one yet. During one of their canoe rides, Ichiro and Jacob find an abandoned island named Summer’s End and decide to explore it. What they find leaves them with more questions than answers, so they begin to research the island’s history in an attempt to figure out what really happened there. As they learn more and continue to visit the island with their friends, they begin to worry that the island is haunted by more than just the past. Will they be able to solve the mystery of the island and survive until the end of the summer, or will this be the end for them all?

True to other @joelasutherland books this one was filled with paranormal scares and creepy twists to keep you guessing what was going to happen.

Will my students enjoy this #scarystory ? Absolutely. Will some of them never want to visit islands in Muskoka? One hundred percent.

Who will like it?

✅ Fans of scary stories
✅ Fans of paranormal scares
✅ Fans of mysteries

[Kitty · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up because I didn't realize that the Author (who writes the awesome Haunted Canada books) had written novels as well. I really loved it, especially as a Canadian, it was nice to read something that's clearly from a Canadian author and set there, you can see all the little references and things in it. Most spooky/suspenseful stories you can kind of guess the twist and where it's going, but this one kept me guessing right till the end. (I won't spoil it, go read it yourself!)

It was a great story about summer and those wonderful times when you were young and just went off exploring, though I think if I got up to half these things the kids did my mother would have a heart attack! I loved how realistic their friendships were, and everyone's life wasn't perfect and cookie cutter. I loved reading the descriptions of the things and People who inhabited Summer's End, since I'm a big history buff.

Extra kudos for liberal use of the library for research, I approve! :)

[Caroline Desnoyers · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that frightens us. It isn't a genre I am used to read but I enjoyed it !

[Orpheus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. I originally bought it because it was a Canadian author, but it quickly pulled me in. The author creates intriguing characters that I connected with quickly. He also creates a very effective atmosphere. I kept wanted to yell at the characters to stay away as I sat on the edge of my seat. I liked how the author also justified their need to return to the house, because quick often with a horror story, the reader is left thinking "so just don't go!"

[Cooper Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite book I have ever read for many reasons. One of the reasons is because I like horror movies and the acting in this is was amazing. I felt like they were actually talking to me when they were talking about the child because I was once a child myself. It really made me feel at home.
Amen

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty darn scary, kids book or not. As a librarian, I'll have to be careful about who reads this. It could cause nightmare but, for the right audience, it's a great book. Now I just hope it doesn't give me nightmares!!

[Ruth Elliott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is by the author of many of the Haunted Canada series. This was a creepy adventure-filled ghost story. It was almost as good as The Dogs by Allan Stratton. It had a surprising conclusion. It is nominated for a Snow Willow Award in 2018 in Saskatchewan, Canada.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book during a reading challenge for a book you think will be a new favorite and I am glad I did because I was right, this book is a new favorite. I love everything about this book from the plot to the characters to the writing style, it's all amazing.

[lyna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is definitely going to be one of my favorite books of the year. I loved everything about it. The plot, the characters, the ambiance… I had chills from beginning to end. I 100% recommend it.

[Elsie Dickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so good my new second favourite book there are so many twists and turns and crazy things I would never expect definitely recommend this book (but not if you do not like scary books or dead people)

[Elly · Rating 5 out of 5]

:):):)

[Mallory · Rating 5 out of 5]

THIS. WAS. AMAZINGGG. If you like horror, you will fall in LOVE with this book!!!!!!!!!

[Paraskevi · Rating 4 out of 5]

CREEPY

[Ishani · Rating 5 out of 5]

AMAZING BOOK. It’s been years since I read it but it is just amazing and so suspenseful. Love it!

[Rachel Graveline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bonne intrigue, ambiance bien amenée.

[Jasmine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an amazing horror book. I recommend reading it if you like a little scare. The end was so unexpected.

[Taya Raine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it! So spooky with plot twists out of the blue :D

[mikah · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book is awesome! I loved it so much and I couldn’t put it down. It’s suspenseful and chilling and a great read. I highly recommend.

[Kiera · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book to be amazing as it took you on a ride of the four friends Hannah, Hayden, Jacob and Ichiro. I would have never seen the ending coming and was very overall pleased with the book!!!