Shadows on the Pond - Hardcover

Grade 6-8 In a blend of first love and ecological interest that is reminiscent of Nancy Bond's The Voyage Begun (Atheneum, 1981), Jill, almost 14, is spending the summer with her mother in Vermont, where the family has vacationed for years. This summer, however, is different. Jill's sister stays in the city, and Jill's parents are having marital problems. The tranquility of a beaver pond, secret retreat for Jill and her friend Migan, is threatened by Jeep, a volatile friend of Migan's aunt, who wants to clear the beaver from the pond. An elaborate plan to save the beavers goes astray. In the end, Carly, an alcoholic, blows up the beaver dam, and Jill almost drowns in the rushing water. There is too much dependence on chance, luck and destiny for the story to work, and the book raises more issues than it resolves. Jill's budding relationship with a schoolmate is nicely explored, and Migan comes alive as the devilish risk-taker. Yet too much works out conveniently in the end, and it seems to take longer than the two weeks of the story's time frame to read it. Therese Bigelow, Hampton Public Library, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Having collaborated on award-winning nonfiction (Oh, Boy! Babies!) and novels, Herzig went solo to write this unusual thriller. Jill, 14, is with her mother in their Vermont summer cabin while her father remains with the girl's sister in New York. To escape worries over the separation, Jill sticks close to her life-long friend Migan, also 14. The girls court danger, destroying the traps set by cruel Jim McCullough around a beaver pond, a sanctuary deep in the woods. A broken arm immobilizes Migan but Ryan, a boy Jill has seen at her school in the city, arrives (conveniently) to ally himself with her on the beavers' side. The story's climax is an explosion caused by a drunk, not the feared trapper, and the result is tragic. Contrivances and digressions notwithstanding, the novel stands out as a drama and a timely treatment of major environmental issues. Junior Literary Guild selection.
Copyright 1985 Reed Business Information, Inc.