DIG INTO ‘THE HAUNTING OF LAKE LUCY’ A SPOOKY NOVEL IN VERSE

Introduction

Ghost stories aren’t normally the books I pull off a library shelf. However, reading Sandy Deutscher Green’s novel-in-verse, The Haunting of Lake Lucy, has given me a new perspective in this genre. Published by Monarch Educational Press in 2024, it is a middle-grade spooky page-turner with a touch of fantasy.

Publisher’s Blurb

Your new pen pal has a grave secret.

With his fear of dark, enclosed places, 13-year-old Jayce is the last person to check out the dilapidated lake house next door. Instead, he opts to write a note to the ghost he’s convinced is  haunting it and his dreams. Getting his twin sister to deliver it to the mailbox is draining his snack supply, but so worth it because: THE GHOST WRITES HIM BACK. Now Jayce must uncover the dark secret of a cursed lake—or remain haunted forever.

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Review

I am always impressed with authors who can tell an entire story through sparse, yet poignant poetry. For example, this poem, “Bribe” describes how Evie, Jayce’s twin, starts the haunted house investigation:

On the driveway/facing the tumble-townhouse/with my baseball glove and ball/the scent of ripe fish/blows across the front yards.

feel a tug on my legs/like my fishing line caught a boot/like the house wants me

a cold slime ball/snuffles my fingers

“Help!”/break the house’s draw on me/throw my baseball glove in the air/bolt toward our house

my glove thuds on the driveway/spin around at Evie’s laugh/wipe my dog nose-smeared hand on my shorts

Evie winds Popcorn’s leash in her left hand/sticks out her right hand/nods at the house:/”Candy.”

“Gum?”/dig in my pocket for my last piece/of Spear-O Mint

Evie examines the wrapper/slides it in her pocket:/”Come on, boy.”

she and Popcorn disappear/into the tall grass/as she leads him next door. (pp.31-32)

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Evie is the brave one and Jayce hangs back. Despite his fears, they start investigating. I love how this poem moves the story along, shows a spooky setting, as well as Jayce’s worries:

I settle into a dreamless sleep/until five o’clock slides into home plate/jolting me awake/take my post on the hard seat /by the window

grayish mist lifts from the lake/crawls over the beat-up dock/fingers the weeds, blue tarp slung over saw horses, splintered bench facing the lake

a pair of lights sparks/in one window of the house/moves to the other

lose my balance/slide off the stool/ Come on, Jayce. Your chances/of proving a ghost is next door/are slipping away.

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However, Jayce confronts his fears in this poem:

After I don’t eat much/take my rocket launcher/to the front yard/as an excuse to watch/the haunted mailbox

….

the red flag droops/no mist drifts from it/the tree in the front yard/eats all my rockets

go to my room/reread the letters/scribble in my notebook/ Afraid I missed something in her answers/afraid I can’t get her what she wants/afraid I’ll spend the rest of my life/afraid. pp. 149-150

*****

Jayce and Evie use clues and their active imaginations to determine who is haunting the vacant house. As a result, they sometimes misinterpret events.  Ultimately, Jayce has a great character arc, and the book has a satisfying ending.

Giveaway

Later this month, Rebecca Wheeler and I will publish the fall issue of Talking Story on “Slightly Scary Stories”. Sandy Green is our expert and shares her reasons for writing spooky stories. I’ll be giving away my copy of The Haunting of Lake Lucy at that time. Leave a comment now for one chance to win the book; sign up for Talking Story and enter the giveaway and I’ll give you another chance then. U.S. addresses only. Giveaway ends October 23.

Next Up from Sandy Green

If you’re interested in a horror-in-verse middle grade series, the second book in the Ghost Writers series, The Curse of Old Crittlecronks,  will be out in early 2027. Friend Sandy Green on Facebook and you’ll get the news there.

Make sure you check out Greg Pattridge’s MMGM blog for more great middle grade books.