By Edward Hogan
Hardcover, 224 pages
Published September 11th 2012 by Candlewick Press (first published February 2nd 2012)
ISBN 0763659134 (ISBN13: 9780763659134)


Blurb

Daniel’s expectations for his forced vacation with his father at the Leisure World Holiday Complex are low. He hates sports, and his father is mostly lost in drink and depression. But then he sees a strange girl swimming in the fake lake, and everything changes. Lexi has a smart mouth and a killer swim stroke, but dark secrets swirl around her. She’s got bruises and cuts that seem to be getting worse instead of better. She’s always alone. And her watch is ticking backwards. When a dark figure begins to stalk Lexi and Daniel, the truth must come out. This gripping ghost story will raise goose bumps and questions: does a traumatic past mean the future is a foregone conclusion?

The Good

  1. The pace.  At no point while reading did I feel like the story was dragging. The plot was intense and suspenseful without feeling rushed.

  2. Daniel’s Dad.  While Daniel’s dad did have a lot of personal problems, I really thought he was hilarious and had some of the best lines in the book.

  3. The loop.  The time travel/ghost rules introduced in this book were really unique and interesting. I really liked (and was horrified by) the idea of a time-looped ghost, very creative.

  4. The ending.  As I came to the end of the story, I was really worried the author was going to pull a fast one and there would be some ridiculous plot twist magically “fixing” all the blatantly unresolvable problems the main characters faced. Luckily, that was not the case. The ending wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, but it wasn’t horribly sad either. Perfect mix of both—very bittersweet.


The Bad

  1. The tomato plant.  I have a feeling the tomato plant was meant to be a symbol or a metaphor or something, but I just didn’t get it. In the context of the story, the way the plant changes doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense.

  2. The family conflict.  I can see the importance of the conflicts going on in Dan’s family—they’re the whole reason they end up at the resort in the first place—but the level of details given about the conflict seemed almost overkill sometimes. I guess it gave more depth to Dan and made his dad seem less of a two-dimensional character, but I would have liked more focus on Lexi and the time traveling.


Favorite Quote

"We needed to get away from things," he said. "At home"
“Oh,” said Chrissy. “I see.”
“It’s for the tomatoes, really,” I said. “They haven’t had a holiday in ages.”


Overall Rating