SuitabookCrater Lake
Jennifer Killick
- Reading
- Consider reading alongside the child at the beginning, then pause after especially scary developments to ask how the tension is landing. Leave room to discuss friendship, bullying and Lance’s private medical need without demanding personal disclosure.
- Themes
- Friendship and teamwork: Lance and his friends work together while trying to understand the danger and escape it. Co-operation and loyalty are presented positively, with friends bonding and relying on one another.
- Bullying and self-advocacy: Lance is bullied by Trent, while the book is described as addressing standing up to bullies. The stated message supports resisting bullying, but the broader treatment of the bullying relationship is not fully known.
- Private health needs and disclosure: Lance has a special medical need that he has not told his friends about. The situation creates a possible discussion about privacy and asking for support, but the book’s evaluative treatment is unclear.
- Worth knowing
- The main point to consider is sustained frightening material: a blood-covered man, children behaving like zombies, body-snatching aliens, danger, survival pressure and genuinely scary scenes. A child’s response to horror may be worth checking before reading.