Review: You're not supposed to swim in the lake
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 17, 2011
Abbie, thirty-six and divorced, moves from Boston to Graceville, FL, seeking a fresh start in life. She's ready for a new beginning with a new teaching job in a new town. And she buys an old house right on the lake. Although she has never really been a water person, prefering to wade rather than swim or snorkel, something about the lake calls to her. Everyday Abbie wades a bit deeper into the water, straying from walking along the lake's sandy edge to skinny-dipping in its murky depths.Unfortunately, people in town forgot to tell her that "one must never, ever swim in Graceville's lakes in summer without clothing, when crevices and weaknesses were most exposed." Abbie soon becomes fixated on the lake, having dreams about being deep within it, breathing the lake, and being at home in the dark water. The author mentions tiny creatures in the water that Abbie recognizes yet cannot name. I don't know if they cause Abbie's change, but something in the water is definitely changing her, altering her appearance, making her stronger, and making her want to feed on raw, fresh meat.Combined with her Mary Kay Letourneau vibe, Abbie's new changes in body made her even more oddly disturbing to me. Alligators fear her, and when a large predator fears you, something is very wrong. This story is well-written and paced just right, maintaining my interest and pulling me deeper in with Abbie and what she was becoming. Even with an idea of what was going to happen at the end, I still couldn't turn away.