Friday, September 23, 2016

Journey's End by Rachel Hawkins

Her parents are getting divorced, so she goes to stay with her father in Scotland for the summer.  She can't believe he lives in a town that only has a few over four hundred people in it.  It's like it's lost.  Maybe that's why it's named Journey's End.  There's no place to go once you get there...

G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers and Edelweiss gave me the opportunity to read this book for review (thank you).  It will be published October 25th.

The first thing Nolie notices is a young boy walking on the beach by the sea.  When she mentions it to her dad, he tells her people walk the beach all the time.  They fish, do boat tours and visit the caves as everyday activities.

When she visits the gift shop, she comes upon a display of photos.  When she asks the girl about them, she tells her they are the ones the fog claimed.  It sounds crazy to her but Bea tells her that if you went into the fog, you didn't return.  The fog is what her scientist father is studying so there may be something to it but it's odd.  It's even odder when she sees the boy on the beach in one of the photos.  It couldn't be him, he disappeared a hundred years ago.  But she's sure it is.

When she and Bea search the beach, all they find is a rowboat.  They do see some footprints, but they decide it must have been local kids.  It wasn't...

Mysterious fog, a witch, a curse and a ghost make this story interesting.  No one talks about the fog or the missing people but they also don't mess with the fog.  The problem starts when the fog moves closer and closer.  Suddenly more people are missing.  And the boy from the past and the two girls from present time decide to act on it.  When they set out, they don't know if they'll be able to return.  But both their fathers and Bea's brother were some of the ones taken, so they're going to try even if it means they are stuck forever in the fog.

There's mystery, imagination and a pretty good story here.  It's suspenseful all the way through with some silly spots.  Wait'll the boy from the past meets ice cream!

I enjoyed this read.  Why don't you give it a try?

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