annieb123's Review of Wretched Waterpark (The Sinister Summer, #1)

by Kiersten White

A middle-grade mystery series that's spooky, creepy, and filled with gothic twists! Meet the Sinister-Winterbottom twins, who solve mysteries at increasingly bizarre summer vacation destinations in the hopes of being reunited with their parents—or at the very least finally finding a good churro.

“An absolute delight. If I have to die in a waterpark, I want to die in this one.”—Holly Black, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Cruel Prince

"Wickedly weird. . . . Will appeal to anyone who loved A Series of Unfortunate Events." —The New York Times

Meet the Sinister-Winterbottoms: brave Theo, her timid twin, Alexander, and their older sister, Wil. They’re stuck for the summer with their Aunt Saffronia, who doesn’t know how often children need to eat and can’t use a smartphone, and whose feet never quite seem to touch the floor when she glides—er—walks.

When Aunt Saffronia suggests a week pass to the Fathoms of Fun Waterpark, they hastily agree. But the park is even stranger than Aunt Saffronia. The waterslides look like gray gargoyle tongues. The employees wear creepy black dresses and deliver ominous messages. An impossible figure is at the top of the slide tower, people are disappearing, and suspicious goo is seeping into the wave pool.

Something mysterious is happening at Fathoms of Fun, and it’s up to the twins to get to the bottom of it. The mystery, that is. NOT the wave pool. Definitely NOT the wave pool. But are Theo and Alexander out of their depth?

Originally posted on my blog: Nonstop Reader.

Wretched Waterpark is the first book in a new middle grade series by Kiersten White. Due out 7th June 2022 from Penguin Random House on their Delacorte Press imprint, it's 256 pages and will be available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. The second book in the series is due out in Sept 2022.

It's not derivative; the author is capable and talented, but to describe this first book as an episode of Scooby Doo written by Lemony Snicket feels appropriate and accurate. The three Sinister-Winterbottom siblings, the eldest is 16 and permanently looking at her smartphone, and fraternal brother and sister twins aged 12 are sent to spend the summer with their Aunt Saffronia and it soon becomes crystal clear that weeks of boredom isn't the worst that could happen. People are *disappearing* and it's left to the siblings to get to the bottom of the weirdness.

This is a fun summertime mystery for middle grade readers. It's well written, edgy, but not inappropriate. The plotting struck me as a trifle meandering and the pacing was odd (clearly intentional on the author's part), and much of the page count is used on world and character building, but it's understandable to write a solid basis for the following book(s) in the series.

Four stars. This would be a good choice for public or school library acquisition, home use, or gifting to a young mystery fan.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Wretched Waterpark (The Sinister Summer, #1)

by Kiersten White

Reviewed by annieb123 on Jun 5, 2022

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