ARC: The Lake Effect

The Lake Effect is by Erin McCahan.

lake effect | n.
The effect of any lake, especially the Great Lakes, in modifying the weather in nearby areas

It’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.

The Breakdown:
1.  A friend of mine picked up this ARC at a book festival and gave it to me.  It is good coming of age story set on Lake Michigan in the summer.  McCahan writes an interesting story with a quirky cast of characters.  Plus, it is has quick pace to it but it does not feel rushed.

2.  I kind of loved Briggs. He has some super awkward moments, which who has not had that occasionally.  His interactions with Mrs. B are the best.  They are funny and charming.  Briggs goes  through some big changes in this book, and while I liked him in the beginning, I loved him by the end watching him change and deal with the issues in his like.

3. I liked Abigail as a character.  She had strange food taste, and that made her all the more charming.  I did however figure out her secret that Briggs spends so much of the book guessing.

4. While Briggs and Abigail were great, it was Mrs. B that stole the book.  She was funny and sweet.  I loved that she dragged Briggs to all these funerals, and made notes for her what she wanted at her own funeral one day.  Plus, she drops some great wisdom on Briggs throughout the book.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read