this was a lot of fun, for the most part. it was creepy and well written and held a good amount of suspense. personally i didn't love the wrap-up or some of the explanations that left a few plot holes, but i'm not sure a younger reader would notice that in the same way. in spite of those little complaints, this was super enjoyable and the first question my son asked me this morning was if there was a sequel, so that says something. and i loved the nonbinary main character rep. ( )

Deephaven is not a particularly scary story when it comes to middle grade horror, but it was certainly very atmospheric as it takes place at an academy for students with specialized talents and interests with all the usual tropes that goes along with such a setting. However, the plot moved along quickly and the author used those tropes to develop an interesting plot and fun characters,

I thought the plot was well-developed, and the way the author creates a scene is really good. There is this focus on the little things which really enhance the overall enjoyment of the story and also makes you feel like you are there without being overly descriptive for a middle grade novel. The story moved along rather quickly, with an evenly-paced story, and enough twists and turns that made me read this in one sitting. I also enjoyed the illustrations that were included in each chapter as you got to experience what Nev actually saw and I think they added to the whole atmosphere of the story. It was really easy to figure out who were the villains in the story and I think even middle grade readers will have no problem figure it out as well so some of the tension that should have existed was not there because of this. It is really unclear exactly how Deephaven works however, and while there were some hints at magical realism, a lot of it was vague and left you with many unanswered questions.

Nev is a great character and I appreciated having their background story sprinkled throughout the book. And while it was great for the author to have a nonbinary person as a main character, I don't think it had any impact on the story at all. You could have switched any character in that role and you wouldn't have known. Now while the author may have wished to downplay the role, it also made it difficult to really empathize with Nev because there was this barrier, this difficulty to understanding their motivations, no understanding as to how Nev felt as they were becoming this new person, so different from the life they just left, and how confusing it must have been to make that choice. And the other children just accept the pronouns Nev used without a thought in the world. Considering this story is set in the 1940s, I have a hard time accepting there would be little discussion around Nev's choices. However, readers may enjoy this escape from historical transphobia.

The supporting characters were interesting as well, but I especially enjoyed Danny's character, a character who really pushed the others to develop and grow as well as take chances. I love it when the supporting characters are given a chance to shine.

Verdict
Deephaven was a fun, somewhat spooky read, one that I thoroughly enjoyed. It moved quickly, had interesting characters, and a story line that was engaging, but also gave me hope will continue into a sequel as so many things were left unanswered at the end, even if the ending was satisfying. This is definitely a book that many middle graders will enjoy. ( )