Book Talk…4/28/17

Traci Kenworth

Will o’ Wisp by C.S. Boyack. 2015. Indie. KU.

There is something evil up Bergamot Holler, and it’s been targeting the Hall family for generations.

Patty Hall is fifteen years old. She loves stargazing, science fiction, and all things related to space exploration. This leaves her perfectly prepared for the wrong problem.

Patty is afraid her mother will send her to a care facility if she tells her what she’s seen. If she doesn’t figure things out soon, she’s going to join her father in the Hall family cemetery plot.

Patty has to come to grips with her own physical handicap, survive the wilderness, and face an ancient evil all alone if she’s going to survive.

Will O’ the Wisp is suitable for young adults. It involves strong elements of suspense, and is set in the mid-1970s.

Review:

When strange lights appear up in Bergamont Holler, Patty Hall and her friends don’t know whether to think it’s aliens or something more sinister. Both her father and uncle were killed in mysterious accidents up there and Patty fears she may be next. First a drifter and then a lady in town begin to follow Patty and try to attack her, gurgling up water and choking like they’ve come down with some horrible illness. As the attacks become more frequent, Patty learns there may be some information on what’s happening in the big city museum. She sneaks a ride there and discovers that her family may be under a curse. Can she and her friends survive? Will Patty become the next casualty of the will o’ wisps?

I found the book to be very suspenseful. It’s sometimes hard to write young adults but I think the author did a bang-up job with Patty! I really LOVE the ending! The book has handicapped and diverse characters too and I think that’s a big plus. I liked getting to know Patty and rooted for her to win. I wouldn’t count this character out on anything!