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Hold Back the Tide



by
Melinda Salisbury

Edition
Hardcover edition
Publisher
Scholastic
Imprint
Scholastic Press
ISBN
9781338681307

Awards and Honors
2022 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults
POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Sexual Content: Mild Sexual Content/Themes , Violence: Sexual Assault/Rape , Violence: General
$21.42   $17.85
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QTY
Out of stock

JLG Category

Mystery High Plus

From internationally bestselling, acclaimed author Melinda Salisbury comes a darkly seductive story of murder, betrayal, love, and family secrets in a small town in the Scottish Highlands.

Here are the rules of living with a murderer.
One: Do not draw attention to yourself.
Of course, when you live with a murderer, this is impossible. Even the subtlest of spectres is bound to be noticed. Which leads to the next rule.
Two: If you can't be invisible, be useful.

Everyone in this quiet lakeside community knows that Alva's father killed her mother, all those years ago. There wasn't enough proof to arrest him, though, and with no other family, Alva's been forced to live with her mother's murderer, doing her best to survive until she can earn enough money to run away.

One of her chores is to monitor water levels in the loch-a task her father takes very seriously. Their family has been the guardian of the loch for generations. It's a cold, lonely task, and a few times, Alva can swear she feels someone watching her.

But the more Alva investigates, the more she realizes that the truth can be more monstrous than lies, and that you can never escape your past …

POTENTIALLY SENSITIVE AREAS
Sexual Content: Mild Sexual Content/Themes , Violence: Sexual Assault/Rape , Violence: General

Details

Format

Print

Page Count

336

Trim Size

8 3/10" x 5 1/2"

Dewey

F

AR

4.9: points 11

Genre

Fiction

Scholastic Reading Counts

0

JLG Release

Mar 2021

Book Genres

Horror, Thriller

Topics

Vampires. Secrets. Scotland. Fathers and daughters. Monsters. Motherless families.

Standard MARC Records

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Cover Art

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Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up–Alva Douglas, 16, lives by a set of rules she created for protection after her father, Lachlan, murdered her mother seven years ago. She has a job waiting for her in another town, and as she prepares to leave home, Alva counts down the minutes until she will no longer live in fear of being her father’s next victim. However, due to the greed of the local mill’s owner, the levels in the loch have been dropping exponentially, resulting in the release of horrific creatures. It is the job of Lachlan, the loch’s caretaker, to ensure the mill slows down operation. Though when Lachlan is exposed as a murderer and taken away, Alva steps up to take matters into her own hands and save the village. This novel, set against the picturesque Scottish Highlands, begins with a slow build that breaks way to a bloodcurdling thriller that offers fast-paced suspense and surprising twists on every page. Readers will root for Alva. She is a strong, resourceful go-getter who perseveres, even when faced with an incessant stream of exposed truths. Salisbury delivers a harrowing and pulse-pounding novel that, once it takes hold, will carry readers all the way to the heart-wrenching end. VERDICT Fans of horror and fantasy novels will devour this.–Amanda Harding, Elmwood Elem. Sch., Wauconda, IL

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Alva Douglas, 16, lives by a set of rules she created for protection after her father, Lachlan, murdered her mother seven years ago. She has a job waiting for her in another town, and as she prepares to leave home, Alva counts down the minutes until she will no longer live in fear of being her father's next victim. However, due to the greed of the local mill's owner, the levels in the loch have been dropping exponentially, resulting in the release of horrific creatures. It is the job of Lachlan, the loch's caretaker, to ensure the mill slows down operation. Though when Lachlan is exposed as a murderer and taken away, Alva steps up to take matters into her own hands and save the village. This novel, set against the picturesque Scottish Highlands, begins with a slow build that breaks way to a bloodcurdling thriller that offers fast-paced suspense and surprising twists on every page. Readers will root for Alva. She is a strong, resourceful go-getter who perseveres, even when faced with an incessant stream of exposed truths. Salisbury delivers a harrowing and pulse-pounding novel that, once it takes hold, will carry readers all the way to the heart-wrenching end. VERDICT Fans of horror and fantasy novels will devour this.-Amanda Harding, Elmwood Elem. Sch., Wauconda, IL

Praise & Reviews

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up–Alva Douglas, 16, lives by a set of rules she created for protection after her father, Lachlan, murdered her mother seven years ago. She has a job waiting for her in another town, and as she prepares to leave home, Alva counts down the minutes until she will no longer live in fear of being her father’s next victim. However, due to the greed of the local mill’s owner, the levels in the loch have been dropping exponentially, resulting in the release of horrific creatures. It is the job of Lachlan, the loch’s caretaker, to ensure the mill slows down operation. Though when Lachlan is exposed as a murderer and taken away, Alva steps up to take matters into her own hands and save the village. This novel, set against the picturesque Scottish Highlands, begins with a slow build that breaks way to a bloodcurdling thriller that offers fast-paced suspense and surprising twists on every page. Readers will root for Alva. She is a strong, resourceful go-getter who perseveres, even when faced with an incessant stream of exposed truths. Salisbury delivers a harrowing and pulse-pounding novel that, once it takes hold, will carry readers all the way to the heart-wrenching end. VERDICT Fans of horror and fantasy novels will devour this.–Amanda Harding, Elmwood Elem. Sch., Wauconda, IL

School Library Journal

Gr 7 Up-Alva Douglas, 16, lives by a set of rules she created for protection after her father, Lachlan, murdered her mother seven years ago. She has a job waiting for her in another town, and as she prepares to leave home, Alva counts down the minutes until she will no longer live in fear of being her father's next victim. However, due to the greed of the local mill's owner, the levels in the loch have been dropping exponentially, resulting in the release of horrific creatures. It is the job of Lachlan, the loch's caretaker, to ensure the mill slows down operation. Though when Lachlan is exposed as a murderer and taken away, Alva steps up to take matters into her own hands and save the village. This novel, set against the picturesque Scottish Highlands, begins with a slow build that breaks way to a bloodcurdling thriller that offers fast-paced suspense and surprising twists on every page. Readers will root for Alva. She is a strong, resourceful go-getter who perseveres, even when faced with an incessant stream of exposed truths. Salisbury delivers a harrowing and pulse-pounding novel that, once it takes hold, will carry readers all the way to the heart-wrenching end. VERDICT Fans of horror and fantasy novels will devour this.-Amanda Harding, Elmwood Elem. Sch., Wauconda, IL

Grades 9 & Up
Mystery High Plus
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Interests
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