Loch

By Paul Zindel

Review by TJ

The opening paragraph grabs the reader’s attention.

·Put reader right into the action

·Make reader imagine the unimaginable (ie. It’s not everyday that a 13 year old girl is accused of murder…)

·Don’t start with “the book I read was…” That’s way too BORING! Hook us into the plot!

Loch Perkins along with his sister, Zaidee are with their dad on an expedition to find, and hopefully capture a lake monster. Anthony Cavenger, their dad’s boss, is a vicious man, always trying to prove plesiosaurs still exist. Until recently, their futile attempts proved nothing. But now, after tracking large, underwater, moving objects with sonar for days, a young, eager photographer is ripped up by a monstrous creature. Now no one doubts their existence and Anthony Cavenger will stop at nothing to capture one, dead or alive.

The title and author are worked in naturally

·Don’t say, “My book was The Giver” when you can say, “Jonas, a twelve year old boy and the main character of Lois Lowry’s Newbery Award winning novel The Giver, must make decisions that impact his entire society.”

Paul Zindel creates a dangerous adventure where Loch risks his life to try and save prehistoric monsters, in this fast and furious novel. Loch is a masterful cliffhanger story where excitement, harpoons, and gleaming fangs are around every corner.

The overall idea and plot are discussed, without giving away the ending

·Keep it short and sweet, even if it’s a long book

·Just give the reader the gist of the book. Be clear, make sense, don’t give away the ending

The Perkins are on an expedition to hopefully find and prove the prehistoric plesiosaurs really exist and thrive. These monsters terrorize the small lake community and Loch doesn’t know whether to be afraid of the marine animals or to be excited about their existence. At least until he finds a youthful plesiosaur. Then, he knows the species are an amazing group of prehistoric creatures, threatened by Cavenger.

Describe one exciting incident in detail

·Again, don’t give away the ending

·Be clear enough so that someone who HAS NOT read the book can follow

The sonar showed a large, submerged object moving in front of the fleet of ships equipped with nets. Cavenger was hunting the mysterious creatures once more. The photographer, Erdon, and Cavenger’s daughter, Sarah were on a catamaran, unaware of the sudden appearance of an enormous, moving object. The catamaran began to turn and a ring of bony spines rose from the water around Sarah and Erdon. With horror Erdon realized the monster had found them and was slowly inspecting the catamaran. At last the motion stopped and the dark form moved away. Erdon regained his breath and tried to look brave by pointing the lens of his camera of the side of the boat. There was no need to look afraid on his first day of the expedition. Suddenly, a force that felt like a battering ram directed on Erdon’s chest lifted the junior photographer up and out of the water. Pain shot through his body as he realized he was being chewed in half.

End the review with your opinion and recommendation

·Who might like this type of book? (Sports fans? People that love to laugh? History buffs? Late night readers that like to be freaked out?

·What did you think? Is it worth reading? If it won an award, is it worth the hype?

This novel is a great pick for anyone who has an interest in the legend of the Loch Ness monster or another type of fantasy. I think this is a creative masterpiece; you will be sucked into this swirling adventure of danger and excitement and won’t come out until the last page.