The Pools – 4/5 ✩
The Pools by E. Lockhart takes place in a town with several pools which are rumored to be magical. When Lexie moves to town, she meets Chester at the pools and they quickly fall in love. Only a few months later, though, five people go into the pools and their lives are completely changed. They have turned into birds. Not only is Chester one of the five who is changed, but so is Lexie’s little sister, and so begins Lexie’s journey to figure out how to save them, if she can save them.
E. Lockhart is an auto-read author for me. If she releases a new book, I’m going to read it, regardless of what it’s about. When I picked up this book, I hadn’t read the synopsis yet, so I was startled when these characters turned into birds. It was unexpected – something I’ve never read before – and I couldn’t put it down. This uniqueness made me feel like I couldn’t stop reading.
The fact that the book is written in verse also kept me very engaged. The book is fast paced and felt refreshing to read. At first, I wasn’t sure if I loved the verse – I felt like I couldn’t connect with the characters and get in their heads as much I would have if it was normal prose – but the novel flows so beautifully and with a storyline like this, there’s a little bit of a magical quality to not have all the answers.
I do wish there was a little bit more to the story at the end. I got to the last page and flipped, expecting more, and was disappointed there wasn’t more to read, but overall, I really enjoyed the book. I love how unique the story is, while also maintaining hallmark qualities of E. Lockhart’s writing like her love for stories and fairytales that we see in her other books.
Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Children’s Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!
Anchored Musings 