The Light in the Lake

by Sarah R. Baughman Narrated by Caitlin Kelly

Overview

Go on a journey of discovery, magic, science, and hope with this remarkable debut novel about a girl's powerful connection to a mysterious lake.

Twelve-year-old Addie should stay away from Maple Lake. After all, her twin brother, Amos, drowned there only a few months ago. But its crisp, clear water runs in Addie's veins, and the notebook Amos left behind -- filled with clues about a mysterious creature that lives in the lake's inky-blue depths -- keeps calling her back.

So despite her parents' fears, Addie accepts a Young Scientist position studying the lake for the summer, promising she'll stick to her job of measuring water pollution levels under adult supervision. Still, Addie can't resist the secrets of Maple Lake. She enlists the lead researcher's son, Tai, to help her investigate Amos's clues. As they collect evidence, they also learn that Maple Lake is in trouble -- and the source of the pollution might be close to home. Addie finds herself caught between the science she has always prized and the magic that brings her closer to her brother, and the choice she makes will change everything.

Editorial Reviews

OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile

Caitlin Kelly gives a compassionate, heartrending performance in this audiobook about a 12-year-old girl who is grieving her twin brother’s death. Kelly’s clear voice draws listeners in as Addie is invited to join a group of scientists studying pollution in the beloved Vermont lake where her brother drowned four months earlier, while searching for a mysterious, possibly magical, lake creature. Addie is compelled to continue her brother’s quest but in the process discovers that her own family’s farm may be contributing to the destruction of the lake. Addie’s sincere attempts to balance honoring her brother, saving the lake, and protecting her family are convincingly conveyed. Kelly is at her best when portraying Addie’s choking grief and emptiness at the loss of her brother. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Publishers Weekly

★ 09/02/2019

Three months before the start of this debut novel, 12-year-old Addie’s twin brother, Amos, fell through the ice into Maple Lake, the deepest lake in Vermont and their favorite place. Addie is still grieving when she earns the opportunity to join a local Young Scientist summer program, assisting a university’s biological station in its investigation of Maple Lake’s pollution. It’s Addie’s dream to become an aquatic biologist, and although she feels that the lake remains “a part of me that hurts to look at,” she feels deeply connected to it. Amos took meticulous notes about a creature he believed lived in its waters, “something ancient and huge and shining,” and after Addie is given a tooth too large to be a whale’s, she interprets it as her first clue. With a new friend, Tai, at her side, she sets out to solve Amos’s mystery, as well as the source of the lake’s pollution. In Baughman’s skillful handling, Addie’s memories of her brother and her first-person voice are both heartbreaking and hopeful. The novel offers a gentle, introspective exploration of grief and the wonder and fragility of nature, creating a beautiful and dynamic world in which the scientific method and magic coexist. Ages 8–12. (Sept.)

From the Publisher

Praise for The Light in the Lake:

* "Baughman convincingly portrays the varied reactions to the findings as well as everybody's desire for the lake to thrive...Compassionately told, this compelling debut brings to life conservation issues and choices young readers will confront as adults."—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

* "In Baughman's skillful handling, Addie's memories of her brother and her first-person voice are both heartbreaking and hopeful. The novel offers a gentle, introspective exploration of grief and the wonder and fragility of nature, creating a beautiful and dynamic world in which the scientific method and magic coexist."—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Haunting, memorable and full of mystery, The Light in the Lake is a brilliant combination of beautiful, lyrical prose and a compelling, exciting story. Baughman has created complex characters with real, deep emotions and a picturesque setting that will make readers feel as if they are at Maple Lake with Addie."—BookPage

"A complex take on science, magic, grief, and family for fans of thoughtful realistic fiction in the vein of Kathi Appelt's, Erin Entrada Kelly's, and Ali Benjamin's novels.—School Library Journal

"The Light in the Lake is a moving novel that skillfully balances magic and science, and loss and hope. Sarah Baughman has created a brave, smart protagonist readers are sure to connect with and root for in her compelling debut."—Supriya Kelkar, award-winning author of Ahimsa and American as Paneer Pie

"Told in prose as luminous as the mysterious creature Addie searches for, The Light in the Lake shines with heart, hope, and just a touch of magic."—Cindy Baldwin, author of Where the Watermelons Grow

"The Light in the Lake radiates with heart and hope. As Addie's tender memories of her brother intertwine with the magic she uncovers in her town's beloved lake, we're led on a moving exploration of science, grief, and self-discovery. A poignant, lyrical story that tugs at the heartstrings."—Mae Respicio, award-winning author of The House That Lou Built

"Drawing on the wonder of science and the power of magic, Baughman has crafted a story that plunges readers into the deep places of the heart. In The Light in the Lake she reminds us that not even the depths of loss can prevent the rise of light and discovery. A poignant story, filled to the brim with hope."—Beth Hautala, author of Waiting for Unicorns and The Ostrich and Other Lost Things

School Library Journal

08/01/2019

Gr 4–7—Just a few months after her twin brother drowns in Maple Lake, 12-year-old Addie accepts a summer position as a Young Scientist researching the source of the lake's pollution. While taking water samples with her new friend Tai, Addie also investigates the mysterious creature rumored to live deep in the lake—the creature her brother was looking for the night he drowned. The well-developed Vermont setting shines as the book explores the fraught conflict between struggling family farms and the expensive changes required to comply with environmental laws. However, it is the nuanced depiction of grief within a small community, a family, and Addie herself that sets this story apart. VERDICT A complex take on science, magic, grief, and family for fans of thoughtful realistic fiction in the vein of Kathi Appelt's, Erin Entrada Kelly's, and Ali Benjamin's novels.—Molly Saunders, Homewood Public Library, AL

OCTOBER 2019 - AudioFile

Caitlin Kelly gives a compassionate, heartrending performance in this audiobook about a 12-year-old girl who is grieving her twin brother’s death. Kelly’s clear voice draws listeners in as Addie is invited to join a group of scientists studying pollution in the beloved Vermont lake where her brother drowned four months earlier, while searching for a mysterious, possibly magical, lake creature. Addie is compelled to continue her brother’s quest but in the process discovers that her own family’s farm may be contributing to the destruction of the lake. Addie’s sincere attempts to balance honoring her brother, saving the lake, and protecting her family are convincingly conveyed. Kelly is at her best when portraying Addie’s choking grief and emptiness at the loss of her brother. S.C. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Kirkus Reviews

★ 2019-05-22
While Addie's close-knit family and rural Vermont community grieve her twin's accidental drowning in Maple Lake last winter, only Addie knows why Amos ventured onto the ice that night.

Addie, a future aquatic biologist, scoffed when Amos insisted a large creature lived in the lake. Joining a scientific team investigating Maple Lake for the summer allows her to revisit what she regrets dismissing. Her parents and extended family cherish the pristine lake too, but Addie's eagerness to explore it troubles them and limits the time she can devote to raising a 4-H calf with her cousin, Liza. (Their fathers grew up on the dairy farm Liza's family runs). All are reluctant to believe Maple Lake's in trouble, but there's no denying the evidence Addie produces with the Chinese American lead scientist's son, Tai. Also 12, Tai's a likable city kid who reminds her of Amos. Addie shares her brother's theory with Tai, and this—with the water samples they've collected—points to an unexpected source for the lake's problems. Tai shares her concern; he's seen pollution's impact when in China. Addie's close-knit, homogenous (presumably white) community wants to blame superstore construction and overdevelopment for the pollution, but not all problems come from outside. Baughman convincingly portrays the varied reactions to the findings as well as everybody's desire for the lake to thrive. Without a villain to blame or superhero offering easy solutions, the book offers appealing characters whose opposing interests embody what's at stake.

Compassionately told, this compelling debut brings to life conservation issues and choices young readers will confront as adults. (Fiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940170001958
Publisher:	Hachette Audio
Publication date:	09/03/2019
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

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