Book Review: Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin

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Missing Since Monday by Ann M. Martin follows Maggie and her older brother when their father and stepmother leave on a long-delayed honeymoon, trusting the siblings to care for their four-year-old half sister, Courtenay. When Courtenay fails to come home from daycare one Monday afternoon, Maggie and her brother are thrust into a frightening mystery. With no adults around to help, they must piece together what happened and find a way to alert their parents before it’s too late. This standalone novel for readers ages eight to twelve was one I completely missed as a kid, but as an adult and a longtime fan of Ann M. Martin’s The Baby-Sitters Club  series, I couldn’t resist picking it up. The first chapter or two felt a bit choppy to me at first, but once the story found its footing, everything began to come together nicely . Because this is a short children’s book, the characters aren’t deeply developed, which is to be expected. That said, Martin does an excellent job conveying Maggie’...
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Book Review: The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick

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book review the lifeguard richie tankersley cusick point horror young adult

The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick opens with Kelsey and her mom taking a ferry over to Beverly Island to vacation with her mom's boyfriend and his three children. However, Kelsey's beach vacation isn't the paradise it should be. There's a note under her pillow from Beth, who's missing, and Issac, the local drunk, won't stop bothering her. On top of that, there have been several drownings on the island. Little does Kelsey know that lifeguards don't always save people. 

I am in the process of rereading my way through my childhood. When scrolling through Instagram, I saw a post from the user talespointhorrorbookclub where they were voting between two books for their book club, one of which was The Lifeguard by Richie Tankersley Cusick. I decided that this should be the next book for me to reread.

Not remembering much about the YA Novel, it was like reading it for the first time. However, as the book progressed, little tidbits starting coming back to me. I wasn't sure if I remembered everything correctly because there were quite a few red herrings. This was one of her best works in my opinion. Part horror, part suspense, this book was engrossing, and I wish it had been storming to give me that ambiance that would have made it creepier.

Five out of five stars is what I gave The Lifeguard because it was absolutely phenomenal, and I enjoyed it just as much as I did when I read it as a kid. Richie Tankersley Cusick is a fantastic storyteller, and this novel is the perfect book for children eleven and up wanting to read a horror book.

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