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acrigger's review against another edition
3.0
I won this book in a blog giveaway late last summer.
Eden Lake is a dramatic book about siblings Abe, Jude, and Eric who come back to run their family's summer camp after the untimely death of their father. Each adult child is at different points in their life, but all seem to be stuck in their own rut going nowhere. The interactions at the camp help them all to eventually find their way to something new.
What I liked- The setting. I've never been to summer camp myself. I enjoyed the descriptions of camp and the way students and camp councilors interacted. A few of the character relationships were interesting. Abe's relationship with Aura was unexpected as was his mother's relationship with a long lost beau.
What I didn't like- I put this book down after reading about 100 pages because I couldn't get into it. The build up of each character and the setting took too long. I recently picked the book back up. It took another 100 pages for the characters to really develop. Under normal circumstances, I would not give a book 200 pages to get my attention. I'm still left feeling as if there was something missing. Just as I started to feel a small connection to the characters the book ended. I personally enjoy strong women characters. I didn't feel any of the women in this book fit that description.
Overall, I felt the book was ok. I'm glad I finished. Just not enough that I will be recommending this book to others or rereading it.
Eden Lake is a dramatic book about siblings Abe, Jude, and Eric who come back to run their family's summer camp after the untimely death of their father. Each adult child is at different points in their life, but all seem to be stuck in their own rut going nowhere. The interactions at the camp help them all to eventually find their way to something new.
What I liked- The setting. I've never been to summer camp myself. I enjoyed the descriptions of camp and the way students and camp councilors interacted. A few of the character relationships were interesting. Abe's relationship with Aura was unexpected as was his mother's relationship with a long lost beau.
What I didn't like- I put this book down after reading about 100 pages because I couldn't get into it. The build up of each character and the setting took too long. I recently picked the book back up. It took another 100 pages for the characters to really develop. Under normal circumstances, I would not give a book 200 pages to get my attention. I'm still left feeling as if there was something missing. Just as I started to feel a small connection to the characters the book ended. I personally enjoy strong women characters. I didn't feel any of the women in this book fit that description.
Overall, I felt the book was ok. I'm glad I finished. Just not enough that I will be recommending this book to others or rereading it.
rosereads7's review against another edition
4.0
When I first heard of Eden Lake I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. I admit at first I was a skeptic. Did I really want to read about a summer camp “that has become a pricey playground for entitled suburbanites”? Not really. However, Roper’s novel goes beyond the clichés of grief and tragedy and challenges the hypocrisy of idealism for the elite and the elite only. How can one hope to change the world through the youth, if that youth is from one socio-economic class? The novel attempts to deal with these questions as well as ideas about truth and communication with children and what is and isn’t appropriate. Abe sums it up nicely when he says, “Truth was such a tricky thing when it came to children. When was it good medicine and when was it poison?” (Roper 321). This question plagues all adults in their search to teach, guide, and help children as they reach maturation and suffice it to say, there is no right answer.
This novel explores the complexities of the human soul and the relationships between family members. It shows how secrets can destroy and alter one’s entire worldview in the blink of an eye. More importantly it shows us that we are human and though we may embrace idealism, we remain flawed. A great debut novel that shows the complexities of the human heart and its struggle for understanding.
This novel explores the complexities of the human soul and the relationships between family members. It shows how secrets can destroy and alter one’s entire worldview in the blink of an eye. More importantly it shows us that we are human and though we may embrace idealism, we remain flawed. A great debut novel that shows the complexities of the human heart and its struggle for understanding.
crystallyn's review
5.0
What a fun summer read (although a winter read would certainly give you a touch of summer!). This book took me back to the nostalgia of camp although with a touch of good adult drama. I felt very connected to the characters and the story and stayed up late reading on more than one night!
paolina's review
Throwing in the towel on this one. Not sure if I couldn't get into because I tried to read it in ebook format, or if it was just boring in any form.
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