A review by booksandbesitos
Lakelore by Anna-Marie McLemore

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I tried reading this but had trouble getting into it. So I switched to an audiobook. I didn’t know Avi Roque was narrating part of it so it was a nice surprise. (I had just finished listening to Cemetery Boys two days prior and had listened to the Julian books earlier that day!)
The audio definitely helped bring the story to life. The writing is really beautiful and almost musical so I liked having it read to me. 

The way that Bastian and Lore meet at first connects them to the lake, and it almost feels like the lake is the third main character. 
When they meet again it is less of meeting and more finding each other. Their friendship formed very quickly and the dialogue between them feels kinda awkward but in a way that complements one another. And when it starts
bec a relationship it didn’t feel forced at all.
the dynamic between the characters was just so good. 

Like I said, I had trouble understanding it at first but The further I got into the book, the easier it was to understand how the lake  and magic exists in the story. And it made me want to keep going and see what would happen between the characters and the lake. I can’t really explain it but it didn’t feel like there was much of a plot, but not in a negative way, more in a way where the characters lead the story. They don’t have a major goal, or a thing they are trying to accomplish. They are just existing in a world with lake magic and each other. 

The characters are both neurodivergent and I liked the representation but I did feel like a lot of their inner thoughts turned into explaining their brains to the reader. I wish that it would’ve been shown in a different way rather than just “saying” it to the reader. There’s a few times where it’s shown  in conversations between the characters, in things they do, or in experiences they have, and I liked those moments better.  The telling made it hard to pinpoint if this was a YA book or a Middle Grade book. I enjoyed it either way though.
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