I won this book from LibraryThing a while back and finally got the chance to read it. I am sorry I waited so long. I sat and read it through in four hours. I will definitely be looking for more work by this author.
Zoe and Patrick have about five years difference in their ages. They are like sibling. They live in the same trailer park. Meredith is Zoe's best friend, the daughter of the local sheriff and tormenter to Parker. Ethan is the rich kid who spends his summer at the lake with his twin sister and divorce attorney parents.

All of these kids have issues. Zoe's mother wants her to call her Debbie instead of mom. Zoe is okay with this because she has pretty much raised herself. Her mom drinks and parties with Zoe's friends. Parker lives with his grandmother since his mother died.

Ethan is recovering some something that happened to him the year before. That is the main reason they are at the lake. He still has to see his psychiatrist each week. Together these kids join together as friends and help each other deal with things that have happened to them in the past.

Then Parker finds a dead body on the beach and things really take a change. I loved the relationship between Parker and Zoe. They truly did act like siblings. I enjoyed Ethan's attitude. Where Parker and Zoe envied the things that Ethan and his sister own, they soon realize that no matter how much money you have everyone has problems. Parker's grandmother Shirley was the glue that held them all together. You just didn't see it until farther into the story. I definitely didn't like Zoe's mom and didn't care for Zoe's best friend Meredith. The author did a great job of making them unlikable. Through the eyes of these kids we learn that when it comes to people, no matter hat your financial situation, people act the same. You have your good people, your weak and needy people, your selfish people and your just down rotten people. The only difference as my dad would say is the size of their toys. I highly recommend this book. Although I could have done without the F-bomb, it wasn't used so much it took away from the book. If I was going to criticize anything it was the repetitive way the author switched from one character to another. I probably would not have noticed this a few years ago until it was pointed out I had done this with my own first book. Still it didn't annoy me to the point of taking away a star in my rating. Like I said, I look forward to sharing this book with my students. It is definitely recommended for the older students due to some language and situations. However, I consider it a must read. ( )

I found this quick read to be enjoyable and I became invested in the lives of the characters. The Lake Never Tells is a story of friendship and growth. The characters have such a strong bond, all in different ways. The residents of the trailer park have become a tight knit family. The girls working at Crystal Waters look out for one another. An unlikely friendship forms between young Parker, his neighbor Zoe, Zoe’s friend Meredith and the handsome rich boy, Ethan. They help each other navigate the unpredictable summer events in Marblehead and emerge better versions of themselves. There are some bumps and twists along the way which make for a great story. I can’t wait to read more by Alex Tully! ( )

Zoe lives in a run-down trailer park while Ethan visits his family’s second home in exclusive Crystal Waters where he spends most of his time on the family’s yacht. Last year, Zoe and Ethan would never have met much less become friends. This year, they become friends with a chance for more.

Alex Tully’s Beautiful Chaos was one of the first books I read after I became a book blogger (read my review of Beautiful Chaos here). I really loved it so I was excited to have the opportunity to read The Lake Never Tells. While The Lake Never Tells strikes me as a very different story from Beautiful Chaos, it immediately grabbed my attention and even made me discard the other book I had been reading first and in conjunction just because I needed to know what was going to happen next.

read more: https://saschadarlington.me/2020/06/02/review-of-the-lake-never-tells/#.XuLtrjpK... ( )