3 out of 4 stars
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Magic, dragons, pyromaniacs, bandits, and an ice queen are but a few of the dangers Johnny Ellis faces in Kayla Swanson’s Legend of the Burning Lake.
Johnny and his family have live in the community all of their lives. Under the leadership of Mr. McCutcheon, the community lives a way of life based off the most basic elements of survival. They value loyalty, duty, and telling the truth. They are, however, against anything to do with magic, stories of the past, and imagination. Anyone who disobeys this strict law risks getting thrown out of the community.
One fateful night Johnny, Ellie, and their friends head out in search of a legendary burning lake. When Ellie ends up in the lake, Johnny dives in to save her and sees something glowing beneath the surface. When the group returns to the community, the Ellis house is ablaze and Johnny’s dad is dead. Kicked out of the community, Johnny, Ellie, and his mother try to survive. As life outside unfolds, Johnny digs into the dark past of his family and the community as well as the lake. But, there are powerful people who will stop at nothing to keep the past buried. As he starts to develop powers of his own and his mom starts to develop a mysterious illness, Johnny knows his only hope is to follow the trail of an old legend that may hold the key. Will he be able to save his family? What is the community hiding?
Swanson’s main characters are engaging, entertaining, and delightfully flawed. Some of the bad guys are hard to keep straight, but add to the mystery of the town and who Johnny can trust. The dynamics between Johnny and his friends is realistic and captures the personalities of teenagers. I enjoy how the author mixes in humor with the darker parts of the story.
The plot is complex and easily draws readers into Johnny’s world. Despite the slower beginning, the action soon picks up and turns into a wonderful page turner. The imagery the author uses to describe the different people and creatures Johnny encounters is vivid and detailed. I particularly like how she describes the ice queen as being seven feet tall with blue lips and black eyes, “that sparkled with contempt and an unspoken amusement.” (Kindle Edition, Location 3123).
The parts where points of view jump between characters, however, can be a little confusing. Since some jumps don’t have clear demarcations between the points of view, this made me have to go back a paragraph or two to figure out who was talking in order to pick back up on what was happening in the book.
Overall, I’d give this book 3 out of 4 stars. The plot is engaging and fun to read. The characters are enjoyable and I think readers will enjoy following their journeys. The book does have a few places in that could use some polishing (i.e. pacing and points of view), but these small issues don’t keep the reader from enjoying the book. If you like fantasy adventures and/or books with magic and dragons, you’ll enjoy reading this book.
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Legend of the Burning Lake
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