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The Girl in the Lake
For fans of Small Spaces, Doll Bones, and Mary Downing Hahn, a truly chilling (and historically inspired) ghost story from the award-winning author of The Forgotten Girl.
Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not.
Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake... no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water-it's terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation at public pools. Without the opportunity to learn, Grandma's sister drowned when they were kids.
But soon strange things start happening, like Celeste's cousins accusing her of waking them up in the middle of the night. But Celeste hasn't been awake during the night-she knows she's been fast asleep because she's been having terrible nightmares about drowning!
Things at the old house only get spookier until one evening when Celeste looks in the steamy mirror after a shower and sees her face, but twisted, different...
Who is the girl in the mirror? And what does she want?
Past and present mingle in this spine-tingling ghost story by India Hill Brown.
Celeste knows she should be excited to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house with her brother, Owen, and their cousins Capri and Daisy, but she's not.
Bugs, bad cell reception, and the dark waters of the lake... no thanks. On top of that, she just failed her swim test and hates being in the water-it's terrifying. But her grandparents are strong believers in their family knowing how to swim, especially having grown up during a time of segregation at public pools. Without the opportunity to learn, Grandma's sister drowned when they were kids.
But soon strange things start happening, like Celeste's cousins accusing her of waking them up in the middle of the night. But Celeste hasn't been awake during the night-she knows she's been fast asleep because she's been having terrible nightmares about drowning!
Things at the old house only get spookier until one evening when Celeste looks in the steamy mirror after a shower and sees her face, but twisted, different...
Who is the girl in the mirror? And what does she want?
Past and present mingle in this spine-tingling ghost story by India Hill Brown.
224 pages, Hardcover
First published January 4, 2022
175 people are currently reading
3718 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 374 reviews
January 21, 2022
I was so excited to pick up The Girl in the Lake after hearing so much about The Forgotten Girl. While this wasn't what I was expecting in terms of horror, I did enjoy some of the historical aspects that Brown included in the story. 3.5 Stars
The Girl in the Lake focuses on Celeste who is spending a couple of weeks at her grandparents house with her brother and cousins. Before heading to the lake, Celeste takes swimming lessons with the hope that she will learn how to swim. Unfortunately, due to a bad relationship with her instructor, Celeste never learns how to swim. When they arrive at the lake house, Celeste, Owen, and their cousins learn more about their family including an aunt who passed away at a young age. The same aunt is eerily identical to Celeste. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen and the kids try to figure out if their aunt is haunting the house. This book definitely excelled in the providing some historical context of what it was like for the Black community to do even the most basic things like go to the swimming pool. By incorporating family history into the narrative, the historical aspects of the book feel more personal. The pacing of the novel also worked really well. The fact that the grandparents continuously attempted to convince the children that the house wasn't haunted made the stakes of the novel even higher.
One thing that I struggled with is that while this book appears to be a horror. And while the haunting elements of the book were interesting, this book wasn't spooky at all. I'm not making that assessment just as an adult reader. I truly believe that middle grade readers won't find it spooky either so it may end up being a disappointment after looking at the cover. This doesn't mean that the novel itself isn't well written or that the story isn't good, but I do believe that cover doesn't particularly match the contents of the book. Overall, it was an interesting read and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up The Forgotten Girl.
The Girl in the Lake focuses on Celeste who is spending a couple of weeks at her grandparents house with her brother and cousins. Before heading to the lake, Celeste takes swimming lessons with the hope that she will learn how to swim. Unfortunately, due to a bad relationship with her instructor, Celeste never learns how to swim. When they arrive at the lake house, Celeste, Owen, and their cousins learn more about their family including an aunt who passed away at a young age. The same aunt is eerily identical to Celeste. Suddenly, strange things begin to happen and the kids try to figure out if their aunt is haunting the house. This book definitely excelled in the providing some historical context of what it was like for the Black community to do even the most basic things like go to the swimming pool. By incorporating family history into the narrative, the historical aspects of the book feel more personal. The pacing of the novel also worked really well. The fact that the grandparents continuously attempted to convince the children that the house wasn't haunted made the stakes of the novel even higher.
One thing that I struggled with is that while this book appears to be a horror. And while the haunting elements of the book were interesting, this book wasn't spooky at all. I'm not making that assessment just as an adult reader. I truly believe that middle grade readers won't find it spooky either so it may end up being a disappointment after looking at the cover. This doesn't mean that the novel itself isn't well written or that the story isn't good, but I do believe that cover doesn't particularly match the contents of the book. Overall, it was an interesting read and I'm definitely looking forward to picking up The Forgotten Girl.
May 26, 2022
➸ Trigger warnings for .
▷ Representation: Black cast.
ATY 2022 #29 • A book set on or near a body of water
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram
▷ Representation: Black cast.
ATY 2022 #29 • A book set on or near a body of water
Blog • Trigger Warning Database • Twitter • Instagram
June 3, 2022
For a children's horror book, it was really good. I loved that the book set out to teach as well as entertain. Lots of historical information during the time of segregation is told in a way that keeps the reader interested but also from the point of view of those that were suffering the most at the time. It also has a great message about facing and overcoming your fears. The ghost story aspect had some creepy moments as well.
January 22, 2022
THE GIRL IN THE LAKE
India Hill Brown
The book jacket introduces this middle school read about Celeste, her brother Owen and the cousins Capri and Daisy who all go to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house. In the story, none of the children are exactly happy to be out of their element and beyond cell service. Each of these current-day kids has a fear of something. For Celeste it is swimming, Owen is hiking, Capri is failing at anything and driving and Daisy is afraid to lose power and get hurt.
What none of the children mention being afraid of is ghosts. Their grandparents' house is haunted by their Grandmother's sister who happens to look just like Celeste. Eventually, all of the children are aware of the ghost, but none of the adults will admit that there is a problem.
The story touches on racism and explains segregation and how it impacted Black Americans and their ability to swim. The house is old and the story has some spooky aspects to it. If I was 9 to 12 I would have probably LOVED it, but I am not so I deeply admired the work. I liked the ghost and her message, sort of like being haunted by your Great Aunt... oh wait it was being haunted by the Great Aunt. The end was a bit contrived, but over all, I completely enjoyed the read.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
India Hill Brown
The book jacket introduces this middle school read about Celeste, her brother Owen and the cousins Capri and Daisy who all go to spend two weeks at her grandparents' lake house. In the story, none of the children are exactly happy to be out of their element and beyond cell service. Each of these current-day kids has a fear of something. For Celeste it is swimming, Owen is hiking, Capri is failing at anything and driving and Daisy is afraid to lose power and get hurt.
What none of the children mention being afraid of is ghosts. Their grandparents' house is haunted by their Grandmother's sister who happens to look just like Celeste. Eventually, all of the children are aware of the ghost, but none of the adults will admit that there is a problem.
The story touches on racism and explains segregation and how it impacted Black Americans and their ability to swim. The house is old and the story has some spooky aspects to it. If I was 9 to 12 I would have probably LOVED it, but I am not so I deeply admired the work. I liked the ghost and her message, sort of like being haunted by your Great Aunt... oh wait it was being haunted by the Great Aunt. The end was a bit contrived, but over all, I completely enjoyed the read.
4 stars
Happy Reading!
August 19, 2024
Spooky at times with a touch of humor. Some lessons learned. Touching, to wrap it up. Kept my interest all the way through.
June 15, 2024
I really liked The Forgotten Girl but this was much different. A houseful of grandkids are sharing a lake house - they don't exactly like each other and seem to have other worries that keep them distant from one another.
They don't realize that they have a lot more in common until the very end (almost) and the a lot happens that is not actually scary.....like earlier in the book and in her other novel.
They don't realize that they have a lot more in common until the very end (almost) and the a lot happens that is not actually scary.....like earlier in the book and in her other novel.
February 4, 2022
A book about family, conquering fears, and summer. Sadly, it was absolutely not scary + I had some other things that didn’t work for me.
First up, sorry for the chaotic review. Haha, I just have some feels/opinions about this one and I am not getting them sorted, so this will have to do. XD
One of my anticipate books of 2022. Sadly, not as scary as I had hoped and it had me rolling my eyes a few times. Meet Celeste, a 12-year old girl about to go on vacation to her grandparents where she will also meet her cousins. One of her goals of that summer is swimming as she wasn’t able to learn swimming from lessons. I quite liked Celeste though at times she kind of frustrated me. She sometimes had thoughts and I would have rather see her go to people and talk instead of just doing what she did.
On a horror scale.. well maybe just hitting the 1 out of 5 for me. It was just NOT scary. Yeah, there were a few spooky moments, but nothing truly frightening. I know that this is MG, but come on, I have read some terrifying MG. Like Goosebumps or What Lives in the Woods or the fab series of You’re Invited to a Creepover. And given the blurb and the cover I had expected something SUPER scary.
I wanted to yeet that lady at the community pool so hard when she said all she did when Celeste and her grandpa went there. WTF. We are in 2022 and you still say that shit? Excuse my language, but I was just so pissed at this woman. I was proud of Celeste for speaking up, but seriously, can that lady just f off. 😐
My heart also broke for the grandparents and reading about segregation and how they wanted to swim but couldn’t, not until much later.
Who the ghost was? Knew it very early on. Still a fun idea, though I was a bit confused on why the ghost would do all these mean things to the family. I mean, why? Even later when we learn the why I was still scratching my head. There are better ways to get them over that… not doing all this stuff, making them cry and hurting them.
I had such a laugh at Owen. I am sorry Owen, do you really think that Celeste has all the time to rig up a system? Hide in your closet without you knowing? And then magically disappear without you seeing her go? That part just had me so confused.
Also I found it hilarious that Celeste was all about that Capri was being mean and I was so confused by it. Because I just didn’t see why. And then later she lists some things and I am like, wait so if someone eye rolls you? That is mean? Or if someone doesn’t want to constantly drive you to a pool? That is mean? OK… Good luck in the world with real mean people then.
All in all, there were elements I liked, like seeing Celeste learn to swim, see the family get together and do fun things, I found myself wishing for a lake house, I loved that at times it was a tad spooky. But because there were things I just didn’t enjoy + I was expecting a scary read I just cannot give it more than
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
First up, sorry for the chaotic review. Haha, I just have some feels/opinions about this one and I am not getting them sorted, so this will have to do. XD
One of my anticipate books of 2022. Sadly, not as scary as I had hoped and it had me rolling my eyes a few times. Meet Celeste, a 12-year old girl about to go on vacation to her grandparents where she will also meet her cousins. One of her goals of that summer is swimming as she wasn’t able to learn swimming from lessons. I quite liked Celeste though at times she kind of frustrated me. She sometimes had thoughts and I would have rather see her go to people and talk instead of just doing what she did.
On a horror scale.. well maybe just hitting the 1 out of 5 for me. It was just NOT scary. Yeah, there were a few spooky moments, but nothing truly frightening. I know that this is MG, but come on, I have read some terrifying MG. Like Goosebumps or What Lives in the Woods or the fab series of You’re Invited to a Creepover. And given the blurb and the cover I had expected something SUPER scary.
I wanted to yeet that lady at the community pool so hard when she said all she did when Celeste and her grandpa went there. WTF. We are in 2022 and you still say that shit? Excuse my language, but I was just so pissed at this woman. I was proud of Celeste for speaking up, but seriously, can that lady just f off. 😐
My heart also broke for the grandparents and reading about segregation and how they wanted to swim but couldn’t, not until much later.
Who the ghost was? Knew it very early on. Still a fun idea, though I was a bit confused on why the ghost would do all these mean things to the family. I mean, why? Even later when we learn the why I was still scratching my head. There are better ways to get them over that… not doing all this stuff, making them cry and hurting them.
I had such a laugh at Owen. I am sorry Owen, do you really think that Celeste has all the time to rig up a system? Hide in your closet without you knowing? And then magically disappear without you seeing her go? That part just had me so confused.
Also I found it hilarious that Celeste was all about that Capri was being mean and I was so confused by it. Because I just didn’t see why. And then later she lists some things and I am like, wait so if someone eye rolls you? That is mean? Or if someone doesn’t want to constantly drive you to a pool? That is mean? OK… Good luck in the world with real mean people then.
All in all, there were elements I liked, like seeing Celeste learn to swim, see the family get together and do fun things, I found myself wishing for a lake house, I loved that at times it was a tad spooky. But because there were things I just didn’t enjoy + I was expecting a scary read I just cannot give it more than
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
June 29, 2022
This book is so good!
I will say I kinda wished the description was a little more vague because it gives away a family secret that’s still a mystery to the children until about half way through the book.
I will say I kinda wished the description was a little more vague because it gives away a family secret that’s still a mystery to the children until about half way through the book.
May 20, 2022
I liked the setup of the story — a Black girl who is afraid to swim is not happy to be at her grandparents’ lake house for a week-long vacation with her cousins. She starts hearing and seeing things and someone is playing mean pranks on her family, so she’s sure the house is haunted.
I bought this at the Scholastic Book Fair at the school where I work after seeing the book trailer a bunch of times in the library. The trailer made it seem MUCH scarier than it actually was, which was a real disappointment, especially after Brown’s earlier book, The Forgotten Girl, which had excellent age-appropriate creepy bits. This one was just not scary at all & I think the middle grade scary book loving kids who would seek this book out are going to be super bored reading it.
That said, I did appreciate the information Brown shared about segregation preventing Black families from being able to learn to swim, which had a generational effect. This is the second middle grade book I’ve read recently that addressed this topic (the other was the graphic novel called Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas, which I really enjoyed).
This one was a miss for me, but I’ll definitely give another book by Brown a try.
I bought this at the Scholastic Book Fair at the school where I work after seeing the book trailer a bunch of times in the library. The trailer made it seem MUCH scarier than it actually was, which was a real disappointment, especially after Brown’s earlier book, The Forgotten Girl, which had excellent age-appropriate creepy bits. This one was just not scary at all & I think the middle grade scary book loving kids who would seek this book out are going to be super bored reading it.
That said, I did appreciate the information Brown shared about segregation preventing Black families from being able to learn to swim, which had a generational effect. This is the second middle grade book I’ve read recently that addressed this topic (the other was the graphic novel called Swim Team by Johnnie Christmas, which I really enjoyed).
This one was a miss for me, but I’ll definitely give another book by Brown a try.
April 3, 2022
What I love about Brown's work is the same thing I admired in Ophie's Ghosts: the ability to use a ghost story to make a very real, very important statement about racism. It doesn't overwhelm the story, but it does support it, like a foundation on a building, and the topic is handled in a way that isn't too heavy for its audience to understand and process. This is supported as well by Brown's afterword, where she speaks directly to her Black readers, something I love because it's nothing I've ever seen in books about my own ethnicity/culture; books about anti-semitism tend to assume an educational tone for outsiders, which isn't bad, but Brown's method is much more affirming and allows readers to take charge of their own history.
I can't wait to see what she writes next.
I can't wait to see what she writes next.
January 18, 2022
Scary haunted house tale
February 8, 2022
It pains me to say it, but my daughter doesn't like to read. However, she is a big fan of Ms. Brown's debut novel, The Forgotten Girl. She's read it several times, and has been waiting rather impatiently for this book to come out. I put a hold on it at our local library, but then her school had a book fair, and my daughter told me she could buy it there, so she did. Then the library hold came in, so I thought I'd read it so I could see what the big deal is. lol
Anyway, I can see why my daughter likes her books. They are real page turners. I just wanted to say thank you to India Hill Brown for writing books that my daughter likes to read. I also like that she talks about the discrimination that POC faced in the past and continue to face today, and how systemic racism has created an uneven playing field in many ways. I hope that in addition to entertaining children, Ms. Brown's book also educate them, and my daughter and I will look forward to her third book.
Anyway, I can see why my daughter likes her books. They are real page turners. I just wanted to say thank you to India Hill Brown for writing books that my daughter likes to read. I also like that she talks about the discrimination that POC faced in the past and continue to face today, and how systemic racism has created an uneven playing field in many ways. I hope that in addition to entertaining children, Ms. Brown's book also educate them, and my daughter and I will look forward to her third book.
February 29, 2024
dnf’d at 18% — i had high hopes for this book ever since i saw one of the comps was Small Spaces. unfortunately the writing style was not what i expected. i know this is labeled as middle grade but it seems more appropriate to elementary.
January 24, 2024
It was gonna be 2 stars but I actually got a little scared 😳
January 18, 2023
I haven’t ever thought a lot about the impact of having segregated pools would have of people of color so the story was interesting in that regard. Brown’s other book, The Forgotten Girl, was more scary than this one. I will say I liked the characters maybe a smidge more than the ones in The Forgotten Girl. The plot of The Girl in the Lake has some tense moments but it’s not really scary which might disappoint some students who read it. Cute story about facing your fears. I always feel that Brown has a really heavy hand in driving home the themes in her books though.
April 3, 2022
The Girl in the Lake! A charming horror story, one that’s deserves 5 stars! I really liked this book and it reminded me of my own writing. (which was a little creepy since it was very similar) I also love the historical touch to it! I loved the scary lake house vibes! The was a quick book but was still great and every chapter left me wanting more. Hope you like my review! Have a great day/night! ✨👻💦
January 1, 2023
Audiobook: 5 stars
Story itself: 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars
I think i wish this was a little longer?
This was a cute story. I know it was meant to he a horror but it wasn't all that horrific for me. But i can Def see it being scary for a younger audience (as its intended for that) and anyone who just doesn't like the idea of ghosts.
This had good historical facts and the ending scene was so very beautiful. I'm glad i read this one.
Story itself: 3.75 stars rounded up to 4 stars
I think i wish this was a little longer?
This was a cute story. I know it was meant to he a horror but it wasn't all that horrific for me. But i can Def see it being scary for a younger audience (as its intended for that) and anyone who just doesn't like the idea of ghosts.
This had good historical facts and the ending scene was so very beautiful. I'm glad i read this one.
February 9, 2022
I thought it was a good read. My little sister bought this book for me because she knows I like to read now and she knows I also like horror. It’s not my type of horror but this is also a middle grade book so I can’t really compare. There were some spooky parts in it as well that I must include. I would have really loved this book when I was little but I still think it’s a good book.
June 12, 2022
WOW! I don't know what to say about this book. It was SO good. The book isn't that scary because it's a book. You don't get the same horror feel if it's a book. It really has a summer vibe because Celeste, Owen, Daisy and Capri are on a summer trip. They are really scared because their Great-Aunt Ellie is haunting their grandparents' house. I think this might be one of my new favorite books. I think this is a great horror book. Anyway, this is a great book that you should read!
September 26, 2024
I thought this one was a little underwhelming - maybe because it was a much different vibe than I assumed it would be based on the cover and the synopsis, or maybe because I felt like the conflict was resolved too easily in the end. That being said, I do think it's a good one to recommend to kids who are looking for something that's scary-lite, or kind of similar to Mary Downing Hahn (who is my go-to recommendation for spooky middle grade books).
May 22, 2022
*
Hi - can you all please stop saying a book "isn't horror"?
Review to come. Not sure I'd say this is for fans of Small Spaces and Doll Bones. More like Mary Downing Hahn and Lindsey Duga.
Teetering between 3.5 and 4.
Hi - can you all please stop saying a book "isn't horror"?
Review to come. Not sure I'd say this is for fans of Small Spaces and Doll Bones. More like Mary Downing Hahn and Lindsey Duga.
Teetering between 3.5 and 4.
July 27, 2023
This book was really good!! The storyline was really entertaining. The book only had a few plots, but the plots that were there, were very good! This book is a little horror, but it’s not that scary. Overall it was really good!!
November 12, 2023
This book was scary! The main theme is overcoming one’s fears and…there’s a ghost-maybe. Four cousins are staying with their grandparents by the lake. The grandparents are great except when they leave the kids home alone so they can have a date on a Friday night knowing the kids are worried about a ghost and freaking out. It seems rather irresponsible! 🙄👻
June 23, 2024
It was really slow at first took me a while to get into it. But once I did it became a really great story. I won’t lie it was suspenseful and creeped me out a little bit but all in all it was an amazing story for life lessons.
September 8, 2024
A very meaningful read, showing the lasting affects of segregation, both positive and negative, in a very respectful way. Filled with twists and turns, family ties, and a young girl's quest to face her fears. This book is an inspiring read for all ages.
May 4, 2022
More of a 3.5. Not a horror but more of a thriller.
May 21, 2022
Stars: 4
Cawpile: 7.43
Cawpile: 7.43
October 9, 2022
This is not a scary story. Much more relevant in teaching a piece of African-American history.
February 17, 2023
It was really thrilling and it's really good for reading at night.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 374 reviews