Rachel Ward became one of my favorite YA authors when I read
her Num8ers trilogy (Num8ers, The Cha0s, and 1nf1n1ty)
– a creepy paranormal story with an original, riveting premise. So, when
I saw she had a new stand-alone novel, The
Drowning, published in 2014, I got a copy. I finally found time to read
this spooky, suspenseful ghost story, just in time for Halloween!
The story opens as fifteen-year old Carl is lying in the
rain watching his older brother, Rob, being zipped into a body bag. Carl is
loaded into an ambulance, along with the girl who was with the brothers. All of
them were in the lake, but other than what he sees in front of him, Carl can’t
remember anything. He has no idea how his brother drowned, what they were all
doing at the lake, or even who the girl is. He doesn’t even remember who he is.
Carl is sent home from the hospital with his mum, but he
doesn’t remember her or his home, either. The doctors tell him he’d been hit on
the head and that his memory will come back, but right now, everything is very
confusing. Small bits of memory begin to come back to him in fragments, when he
sees the room he shared with his brother, when his mother slaps him in the
head, and when he has nightmares from the lake.
Besides pieces of memory slowing coming back, though, Carl
also hears his dead brother whispering in his head. At first he wants to
believe, as his mother suggests, that it’s the normal grieving process. Soon,
though, Rob is taunting him (as he often did in real life) and saying things
that make Carl very nervous. Then, Carl begins to actually see his brother – a
watery, transparent outline that won’t leave him alone.
Carl is being haunted by his brother, who wants him to do
terrible things. He feels desperate to remember exactly what happened at the
lake. He finds out who the girl is, but that only complicates things further.
Throughout the story, the sky is dark and cloudy and rain falls in
record-setting torrents. All that water just reminds Carl of the events at the
lake and his brother’s drowning. How will he ever get rid of his brother and
make these terrifying – and possibly dangerous – visitations end?
As with Ward’s earlier novels, I thoroughly enjoyed reading
this book (especially this past week!). The mysteries of the drowning and
Carl’s brother slowly come to light, as Carl’s memory returns and the tension
builds to an exciting climax. The dark, stormy atmosphere of the story mirror
its building suspense and add to the sinister tone. This gripping, thrilling
story kept me riveted, as I finished reading it in record time. I can’t wait to
see what Rachel Ward comes up with next!
266 pages, Chicken House (an imprint of Scholastic)
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