Nice, creepy story about the things in the wilderness that you aren't aware can kill you. Armie is at a wilderness focused boarding school when he feels called to a pond nearby. He's lucky that a fox decides to break his trance before he falls into the water, but he feels the call intensify as the days go by. Great indigenous centered horror story from a master of storytelling.

Loved Armie's connection to animals and his grumpiness about their behavior. Heh. ( )

This book has been in my currently reading for like a year because I started it but then put it aside and by the time I got back to it it was getting into fall and the lakes started freezing early and the book was creeping me out too much so I put it aside again until spring. Its not actually that creepy I just have a thing about water monsters in general. The imagery of the footprints disappearing into the pond scared the crap out of me. Pretty good story and fast to read as long as you actually read it instead of hiding from it for 10 months. Also I like the illustrations. ( )

Armie has had a sixth sense with nature for as long as he can remember, he’s always been friends with the birds and other animals and has had a sense for when things aren’t quite right. Outside of his boarding school in the forest is a dark pond that keeps calling to Armie and pulling him in. To find out what it is, he uses his Shawnee and Armenian background.

The mystery of the dark pond made me not want to put this book down! The book kept pulling me in as the pond pulled Armie in.

Much of the story takes place in the forest around Armie’s boarding school, so studying forests would be a great classroom connection. Another classroom connection would be to learn about the Shawnee tribe or another local tribe and learn about their history and stories.

I found this book entertaining - I read it on the plane and literally began and finished it within a couple of hours. Because horror is one of my favorite genres, I enjoyed this book. It's the type of book that is like candy to me though - I only ever will want to read it once. It's easy reading. I might use this book to recommend to readers ages 10-12 who like scary stories... Not really a book I'd use in a school curriculum. I would use this more in a reader's advisory capacity. ( )

Armie goes to boarding school in the Appalachian mountains. His Shawnee mother has taught him to trust in the stories of their people, so after a mysterious force draws him to a dark pond and he hears strange cries, he begins researching in the legends to unravel what the mysterious creature could be. ( )