Summer of Fear

The author, Lois Duncan, has brought out the characters in this book, giving each of them unique traits. Lois Duncan has written yet another mystery novel that is filled with suspense and excitement. The story opens up with Rachel a seventeen-year-old girl remembering a summer when a strange incident happens. Her cousin Julia comes to live with them. Julia ruins Rachel's life and plans to take over. Julia starts by stealing her boyfriends and her girlfriends. During this story Rachel tries to convince her family and friends that Julia is bad. But of course her family does not believe her. As Duncan travels the characters through the book she brings them through all of her troubles. I thought this book was great and I hope you will want to read it too.

A reader's first impression of Summer of Fear will more then likely be a story of horror and murder. But they may find out that the book is more then horror, it is a suspenseful thriller that will keep you on the edge of your seat. The book also contains a type of love that over powers everything and could save the lives of your loved ones. Rachel Bryant had a normal life with loving family and friends and the perfect boyfriend, but once her aunt and uncle die in a car crash her cousin Julia, that she hasn't seen since she was 3, comes to lives with them. Rachel is excited about having another girl in the house but once she finally meets Julia her feelings change toward her. She feels some type of magic that surrounds her but it isn't pleasant magic, it's sort of like black magic. Things start changing around Rachel and her family and Rachel is getting suspicious; her family starts to surround Julia with ever lasting love and is very protective about her feelings. Her mom and dad say that they need to help Julia (her cousin) with this awful tragedy, but it doesn't seem to be affecting her in any way at all. She doesn't really care that her mom and dad died a horrible death. When she first got there Julia seemed ok about the event that occurred, like she never cried. When her parent's things arrived from their house she didn't want to look at them at all, like she didn't care that they were actually gone. She never seemed to cry or feel any guilt when someone mentioned her parents. She never ever talked about them! Then when she got a letter from a friend she seemed to ignore it and not care about what was in it or about the sender. More weird things change around her; her brother Peter gets googol eyes for Julia and becomes this sensitive guy towards girls that he has never shown before. Rachel's best friend Carolyn starts being best friends with Julia and leaves Rachel out in everything. Her boyfriend Mike falls madly in love with Julia like she is this beautiful girl that can only appear in dreams. Her dog trickle starts growling at Julia, which is a very unusual behavior he has never shown before, sort of like he knows that there is something wrong with Julia and is just protecting his family. Rachel can't help getting annoyed and suspicious for all these weird exotic changes, because they all changed the night Julia arrived at their house Rachel one day finds this odd shape wax figure in Julia's drawer; it has four legs, a body and a head and white hair sticking out of it. Rachel thinks it looks like a dog, but no it couldn't be for only witches use and make things like that. Could Julia be a witch? No, not Rachel's cousin! Or is she? Rachel knows that there is something more to her cousin then everyone thinks, and since they are blinded by her she will prove to them that Julia isn't who they think she is.

I have to admit that when I first looked at this book, I only got it because I had to. But when I started reading it, I immediately got hooked in the book's intriguing plot. Raechel is looking foward to another great summer, but the death of her aunt and uncle cut plans short. Raechel's cousin Julia is now coming to live with her. At first, the two girls bond like sisters, but soon Julia starts getting a lot of attention, and Raechel gets suspicious. Everyone, including Peter, Raechel's shy brother, falls in love with the beautiful cousin. Soon, Raechel's parents even believe that she is jealous, and ignore her pleas. Determined, Raechel does her research, and digs into Julia's past. But does she really want to know? The moral of the book is that persistence pays off in the long run. Even with nobody to believe her, Raechel overcomes the odds and cuts Julia's plan off at the knees. If she had stopped trying, she, and everyone else in her family, could find themselves in a problem that they cannot get out of. This is a great book that I am sure I will read many more times. I never thought of myself as a Duncan fan, but now I will definitely look into some of her many other works. I hope you enjoy the read.

I first read SUMMER OF FEAR in high school and found it to be the first book I couldn't put down, actually reading it all the way through in one sitting! Lois Duncan takes typical teenage angst and self-conscious paranoia and spins them together in a web of horror and mystery. Rachel is the number one priority of her family until her cousin Julia (parents recently deceased) moves in. The two bond as sisters at first, but when Julia begins to receive all the attention, Rachel's jealousy kicks into high gear. The spin here is when "accidents" and deaths become common place. Rachel suspects Julia to be responsible, but the jealousy Rachel's family has witnessed lend them to believe Rachel is just looking for attention, leaving her to discover her "cousin's" evil secrets and legacy. A great suspense novel I still reread occasionally. Check out the movie starring a teenaged Linda Blair as "Rachel" and Fran (The Nanny) Drescher as her best friend!

I have read many other Lois Duncan books. I was not planning on reading "Summer of fear" until my friend recommended it to me. She said that it was really good, so I took her suggestion and read it. I agree with her. It is a wonderful book about a 15 year-old girl named Rachel who lives in Albuquerque with her parents and her 2 brothers when her aunt and uncle and a buisness associate drive off the side of a cliff in the Ozarks. Her parents go to pick up Rachel's aunt and uncle's daughter Julia. Strange things start happening and Rachel is convinced that Julia is somehow connected to them. The rest of the family thinks she's crazy. Lois Duncan is an amazing writer and this book is surely one of her best books. So buy "Summer of Fear" and start reading!