Still Waters, by Emma Carlson Berne

Title: Still Waters
Author: Emma Carlson Berne
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release: December 20, 2011
Source: Publisher
Purchase: (RJ Julia | Simon Pulse)

Hannah can't wait to sneak off for a romantic weekend with her boyfriend, Colin. He’s leaving for college soon, and Hannah wants their trip to the lake house to be one they’ll never forget. But once Hannah and Colin get there, things start to seem a bit...off. They can't find the town on any map. The house they are staying in looks as if someone's been living there, even though it's been deserted for years. And Colin doesn’t seem quite himself. As he grows more unstable, Hannah worries about Colin’s dark side, and her own safety. Nothing is as perfect as it seems, and what lies beneath may haunt her forever.

I knew when I first read the description of Still Waters that I wanted to read it. Those few paragraphs on the back of the book let me know that Still Waters would be one creepy book, and wow was I right.

Still Waters takes a while to actually get scary, and for the majority of the book is a descriptive story of two teenagers on a getaway to a cryptic old cabin. But eventually, the pace of Still Waters crescendos and is from there on out un-put-down-able. I haven’t read many thrillers or horror books in the young adult realm, but after reading Still Waters I would definitely like to see more.

Emma Carlson Berne’s writing style doesn’t particularly stand out to me, though I did quite enjoy it. It’s descriptive without being overly so, and really makes me feel like I’m living in the story. Berne’s writing definitely made Still Waters that much more enjoyable, even if it didn’t stand out much to me.

The characters featured in Still Waters were definitely my least favorite part of the book. I didn’t agree with most of their choices, and really had a hard time connecting to them. Hannah is a little too innocent, and isn’t strong when I wish she would be. Oh, let me just say the way she reacted at the very end of the book was just… let’s just say, I don’t see how anyone could make that choice. Colin I just flat-out disliked. Even when we first meet him, I didn’t find anything likable about him, and of course from there on out he just gets worse. Of course, Hannah and Colin being the way that they are made Still Waters what it is, and it definitely would not be the same book with a stronger heroine and a more charming love interest.

Still Waters was a thrilling, creepy book that was enjoyable and might even be giving me nightmares. Even though I didn’t like all aspects of it, I am glad I read it, especially since it was something very different than the books I usually read.