The Lake Effect by Erin McCahan Published by Dial Books on July 11th 2017
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 400
Source: The Publisher
My content rating: YA (Nothing more than kissing, Themes of death and dying)
My rating:
lake effect | n.
The effect of any lake, especially the Great Lakes, in modifying the weather in nearby areasIt’s the summer after his senior year, and driven, focused Briggs Henry is ready to leave behind his ex-girlfriend, his comically aggressive grandmother, and his parents’ money troubles for Lake Michigan and its miles of sandy beaches. He’s lined up a summer job working as a personal assistant and living in a gorgeous Victorian on the water—exactly the kind of house Briggs plans to buy his parents once he’s a multi-millionaire. But when he arrives, his boss, the eccentric Mrs. Bosic, tells him to get dressed for her funeral. Uh . . . It’s the first of many funerals they’ll attend this summer—to hilarious and eye-opening effect. Add to this a new set of friends-cum-enemies-cum-friends-again, and Abigail, the mysterious girl next door on whom Briggs’s charms repeatedly fail, and “the lake effect” is beginning to take on a whole new meaning.
This is one of those perfect summer reads—the type of book you can read all in one sitting on a sunny morning (which is exactly what I did!).
What Fed My Addiction:
- Good balance of light tone and heavy topics. This book covers some serious topics like death, chronic illness, class differences and family pressures, but Briggs’ voice is light and funny enough to make the read enjoyable rather than plodding. Plus, there are some really funny circumstances and secondary characters in this book. I found myself laughing out loud several times while reading this book, and chuckling for much of the rest of the time. Somehow this made the serious parts of the book that much more effective—I also found myself tearing up a few times.
- Briggs. Briggs isn’t a typical snarky teenage YA voice; he’s more sardonic and self-deprecating, which makes him very relatable. It was hard not to be on his side, even when he was messing things up (which he sometimes was). When things got bad for him, I felt his pain, and I laughed with him—a lot.
- Mrs. B. I ADORED every moment of Mrs. B in this story. She is hilarious with her quirky personality, “interesting” activities, and Serbian accent (and occasional funny mispronunciations).
- Friendships! Briggs has lots of friendships, old and new, in this story. I loved the interactions between him and his friends because they felt very real—the joking between them was really natural and fun. This book really highlights friendship in a positive way.
- Fantastic ending. To me, this book ended in the perfect way (some people might be a little disappointed in some aspects, but I thought it was the ideal ending for this book). The very last page left me smiling!
What Left Me Hungry for More:
- Not super attached to the romance. Weirdly (for me), the romance in this book was possibly the least interesting part to me. I’m typically most connected to the romance in a book like this, but that wasn’t the case here. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Briggs and Abigail together, and I was intrigued by Abigail’s mysterious disappearances (I pretty much guessed the issue, but I have a sister-in-law who has similar circumstances, so that helped). But I just wasn’t any more invested in the romance than I was in any other aspect of the book, and possibly less so—which is odd for me, but fitting for this story.
Funny and poignant, The Lake Effect is the type of book you can easily get lost in. I give it an easy 4/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
About the Author
Erin lives in Columbus, OH, with her husband of over 14 years, Tim, and is a member of Sons and Daughters in Touch, SCBWI, Intertel and Mensa. She is also a certified Peer Mentor for an organization called TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors).
When she is not writing or taking walks with her husband, she can be found in any number of local coffee shops having chai and long conversations with friends.
For a more fun bio, check out this list on her website!
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12 responses to “The Lake Effect by Erin McCahan: Review of a Perfect Summer Read!”
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The Lake Effect sound so good and cute! The title is really cute too! What really interests me about reading it is that it’s a YA contemporary from a male’s POV which is kind of rare. Your review definitely makes me want to read The Lake Effect this summer. Maybe it will be my next purchase! Great post!
Crystal Book Snob
I totally agree! It’s rare that we get a male MC (sometimes we see a dual, but almost never a guy by himself). Plus, this guy isn’t brooding or damaged, which seems even more rare.
I love that this book is set on the shores of Lake Michigan–my favorite Great Lake to visit. This has a plot line that I haven’t read before and I do enjoy quirky characters. Thanks for the review!
Since I live in the Chicago area, I always get excited at the mention of Lake Michigan too. 🙂
Oh, this does sound like the perfect summer read. And look at that adorable cover! Thanks for sharing:)
I love books that I can zip through and feel all light and happy after I read them!
This sounds so fun! I really like the sound of Briggs. And I love that kind of snarky/self-deprecating character. Interesting that is way the romance aspect, of all things, that you didn’t connect with.
Yeah, it wasn’t that I wasn’t a fan of the romance, but it just wasn’t my favorite part of the book.
This book sounds so adorable! And I love when I can easily visualize an area from already being there….I spent a good portion of my few summers back there on the beaches of Lake Michigan in Chicago and Muskegon. ? Wonderful review, Nicole, I’m so happy you enjoyed this book!
Since I’m from the Chicago area, I love the setting too!
This looks like a book I would really enjoy. I like what you said about Briggs’ voice: that he’s “sardonic and self-deprecating.” I just read a book that was narrated by a 16-year-old boy and it just didn’t click for me. So I like the idea of the main character’s voice (in this book) being deep enough to avoid being a “typical” teenage boy voice. I just added this to my TBR!
Yeah, I really liked Briggs’ voice and I could relate to him (even though he’s obviously not much like me). 🙂