Karen Inglis’s The Secret Lake
Description
Discovering a rowboat’s buried hull in a garden, two siblings embark on an adventure they still hardly believe.
Recently moved from Japan to London, Stella and Tom haven’t quite settled in comfortably – Stella misses her best friend, and Tom keeps getting into trouble with the Gardener. In the communal garden behind their new home, Tom digs for moles, and the gardener angrily chastises him. But when they follow the neighbor’s runaway dog to a different part of the garden, Tom’s digging turns up a whole rowboat, and they stumble upon a tunnel that takes them back in time to the very same garden.
They are quickly thrown headlong into a journey of discovery rife with excitement, mystery, and surprise.
Disclosure
I acquired this book for free, through a library box that provides free books to anyone for personal use (essentially a Little Free Library). There was no agreement with the author, publisher, or any third party that I would publish a review. The following review is unsolicited, unbiased, and all opinions are my own.
Review – Spoiler Free
I had heard a podcast interview with Inglis some time ago and was interested in how she had built a following by leveraging the book’s back matter to encourage young readers to submit reviews on her website. I was pleasantly surprised to stumble upon the very book in a Little Free Library style book box, and I brought it home to read with our kids.
It is a good read that – despite having to explain a few British terms – the kids and I were able to easily follow, and enjoy through to the end. Inglis writes in a relaxed style that helps the story flow easily, chapters are short with endings that have just enough suspense to keep you reading, while not leaving you devastated and hanging.
There is a mystery that Stella and Tom drop into when they go back in time, and it is explained well within the story, not pausing for an info drop. Characters are fun and relatable, but also not heavily fleshed out.
I came across a few parts that needed a side bar explanation with our kids – situations where a character we are meant to trust lies, or when someone is blindly trusting of a stranger. These can easily be glossed over or brushed by, but they definitely caused us to pause.
Overall, The Secret Lake was a good read, we all enjoyed the story, and I will be happy to keep the copy we have to read again.
Quote
Tom had made his mind up, and there would be no stopping him.
The Secret Lake, Karen Inglis
Ratings
- Quality of Writing – 4
- Plot – 4
- World Building – 3
- Characters – 3
- Ease of Reading – 4
- Appropriate for Intended Age (Middle Grade, ages 6-12; could be read to Kindergarten age) – 5
- Overall Enjoyment – 3
- Final Rating – 4 (Actual: 3.7) – Really Liked It
Want to learn more about the numbers I use for rating, and the qualities I’m thinking about when writing a book review? Check out my post How I Rate and Review.