Kieran Scott (1)

I’m rating this on scale for what it is— a Gossip Girl-esque book that could be pure fun for the right audience (8th graders most likely).

I’m reading this because it is one of the first books I put on my to-read list when I joined Goodreads over a decade ago. So, I can successfully cross that one off, and even though I love Kate Brian/Kieran Scott books, I now realize I wasn’t missing out all these years by not picking this up. She has obviously grown as a writer since this because it was not her best.… (more)

Two years ago Ally Ryan and her parents left Orchard Hill in the dead of night because her dad lost all her friends’ parents’ money in a hedge fund gone bad. Now Ally and her mom have moved back for her junior year and she wonders if enough time has passed for her friends to have forgiven her. Very quickly Ally learns that they haven’t. There’s this hot guy, Jake Graydon, living in her old room and who has replaced her with her friends on the Crest, the wealthy part of town. Now that Ally and her mom live in the “normal” part of town and are no longer “Cresties,” Ally hangs out with the “norm.” Kieran Scott is the real name of Kate Brian, the author of the Private series and fans of those books will like this new series as well. This one ends on a gasp.… (more)

Oh, My Gosh! I thought the book, "What Waits in the Water" was good. This put a whole new spin on stalkers and mental illness. I truly didn't see what was coming straight at me. The story builds up in layers. All the way through I kept thinking, so ____ is the killer, only to find out I was wrong. The story starts very uniquely. You have someone in a mental facility telling you the doctor keeps asking them "why". They believe the answer is very obvious. So you don't know the gender of the person in the mental facility which is why I didn't see their identity coming at me. Everyone was suspect. You have three girls going on a camping trip. Callie is new to the group and trying to push herself out of her comfort zone. The other two, Lissa and Penelope have been best friends for a long time. Then you have Jeremy, Callie's boyfriend who has tagged along. This makes Lissa's boyfriend Zach upset. He decided to prank them and show up anyway. Then there is Ted, someone they just met who tells them he will lead them to his cabin where they can call their parents. Someone in this group is lying. When the first person is killed, the others must try to figure out who it is before they all lose their lives.… (more)

Hannah and her new step-sister are total opposites. Hannah is a swimmer and loves the water. Katie can't swim and plays softball. When Hannah is invited to her best friend Jacob's lake house she is excited. She and Jacob have been best friends since they were very young. She had heard so much about their lake house. Hannah had not planned on her new step-sister tagging along. On the way down to where they will meet Jacob, Hannah realizes there is something between Jacob and Katie. It isn't bad enough she has to spend the weekend with her step-sister there. She learn there are no parents and Jacob has invited two other friends.

Strange things happen. Hannah is racing Jacob when she is suddenly pulled under water. Later she sees something she identifies as a monster. The new friend Colin seems attracted to her. He is the one who tells the story of the drownings in the lake. When Hannah, Katie and Jacob visit the burned island across the lake Hannah finds a box with a diary. It is the diary of a girl who has gone missing. Was she a victim of the lake? Hannah and Katie watch as their new friend Alessandra is pulled under the water. She surfaces and screams for help before she disappears. All Hannah and Katie want is off the island.

This was definitely a very creepy, edge of your seat book. I read it in a little over two hours. I have spent a lot of time talking about it to my students. That is how good this book is. Now I must read the other book "What Waits in the Woods". I am sure it will be just as good.… (more)