The Boaters' Club by Deanne Baker

The Boaters' Club is a middle grade mythology book that was sent to me by the author. One day, Russian teen Matt and his friends run into Rusalka, a water zombie. Initially they hope it was just a hallucination- but when a house start catches fire and friends of theirs start losing their lives, it becomes clear that Rusalka and the monstrous mythical lizards must be stopped. Not by the police- but by Matt and his friends, Amy, Joe, and Tyler.

I enjoyed the foreshadowing, and while I could predict most of the events, it was awesome when something unexpected happened. I enjoyed learning about the Ruslka and other Russian mythology and culture, which made The Boaters' Club unique and fascinating to read. I also loved the frightening imagery of the creatures! The story was certainly terrifying at times and was very fun!

I love how each main character had extremely distinct personalities. Amy is my favorite character in the story, mostly because of Amy's involvement in commanding a scene and being a leader. She is an inspirational character and I enjoyed following her brilliant personality and her humorous, proactive approaches to troubling situations. Baba, the supernatural woman, was creepy and mystifying. I loved the wide range of emotions and character types in the story. For Matt, I was disappointed with the how his Synesthesia did not hold immense significance to the plot, and while it provided him with some internal conflict, he seemed much duller than all the other characters. However, him being the narrator with a calmer, constant temperament held the story together and allowed for more extraordinary scenes.

I recommend you read this book!

Title: The Boaters' Club
Author: Deanne Baker
Publisher: Sunbury Press
Pages: 205
Series: No
Rating: 4 Stars

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