CRATER LAKE EVOLUTION
Firstly, if you haven’t read Crater Lake OG yet, do yourself a favour and go find yourself a copy! It’s such a great introduction for chn into the sci fi / horror genre. Then you will be ready to continue the adventure with Lance et al (thank GOD they’re all back together) when Evolution comes out later this year. I was so lucky to get my hands on a copy and was utterly gripped! Jen has such a great writing style where the characters’ voices are genuinely authentic and you can tell when an author loves her characters because they are developed over the course of the books and completely endearing. Lance and co. have now made the transition to secondary school, which has brought its own challenges for all. After surviving their nightmare residential at CL, the group need to work through their differences to solve the mystery of the explosion at the university and the escape of the mystery test subject. As always, Jen’s book is filled with humour, action, delightful gore and a sprinkling of science, which makes them
so great to read. All the way through, I kept thinking how much children will love this book and I think that’s all you really need to know! Crater Lake Evolution is a brilliant continuation of the CL story and is definitely one to pre-order! I am so excited to share this with my class when it is released.

I had high praise for Crater Lake and so did everyone else who read it. I may be alone but I felt this may have been even better. With moments of hilarity, and toilet humour thrown in, the Crater Lake survivors are back and adapting to life in highschool. Their friendships are strained now due to various arguments, changes and adapting to life as Y7 and it takes some time to work through their issues. Aside from the normal Y7 issues, life is pretty normal until Lance detects some weird changes in his Mum. She seems healthier than ever before but when he wakes in the night to hear her climbing the walls, he knows danger is lurking closer and closer.
The gang must re-unite to sort their issues but also to plan how to take down familiar creatures from their past before the entire town succumbs to the evolution. When a friend is turned, the evolution of the species is apparent and terrifying but Lance and his crew of clever and courageous friends are ready!

This thrilling read had me sat with my shoulders hunched around my ears and my breathe held in...perfect for a late night read. Spooky and atmospheric I could feel the heat from the tunnels, sense the noise of the buzzing and almost smell the sickly like scent. There are some wonderfully energetic scenes of weird wasp like creatures evolving, some funny moments of teen life and emotional scenes of friendships.

The characters are brilliant, love the addition of Karim this time. He adds a certain style to the gang and is always prepared with a catchy line and hairspray!

Sequels can be hit and miss but this one lands the bulls eye!