Elliot Stone's Summer is ruined! Not only will he be away from his best friend Jake, but he'll have to miss Cassie's graduation party of the century while he spends an entire month in a Vermont cabin on Lake Bomoseen. After Elliot's dad shares the legend of the Loch Ness Monster, a month at the lake suddenly doesn't seem so boring. The situation quickly escalates as Elliot encounters a strange sighting in the lake. But when he meets Marley, the totally cute girl next door, they embark on a mission he hadn't quite planned on.
Who wouldn't want to see a sea monster, like Nessie, while on vacation? I know I would! In fact, I tried! While in Canada, we drove past Lake Okanagan, which is famed for being home to Ogopogo (a monster similiar to Nessie). Unfortunately, we didn't see him/her.
However, Elliot was a little luckier than I. While on vacation, he thinks he sees a monster in Lake Bomoseen. Along with his friends, Jake and Marley, they hatch a plan to use the monster to save both Marley's and Elliot's father's jobs.
I really enjoyed this book. I thought the vocabulary and usage was right on for an upper elementary (3-5) reader---it didn't feel like an adult pretending to be a kid with over and above vocabulary, nor did it sound like an adult pretending to be a kid and using way too much slang and whatever they think kids are saying.
I also thought that the characters interacted like normal kids and families. The mom got exasperated while getting ready for vacation, the sister was bratty, but in the end, they all got along.
This book is part of a series (Elliot Stone books by LP Chase), but it can stand alone. You don't need to read the others to understand this book.
This is another that I just can't wait to add to my shelves. Part of me feels like holding on to it until May, to get the summer/beach/vacation theme, but I don't want to hold it back for that long!
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