The Deep Well

By: Laura Creedle

Narrated by: Rebecca Gibel

In this tense, atmospheric novel where shadows flit across each page, Laura Creedle unfolds a story about legends, paranoia, and the horror that hides just below the surface. A must-read for fans of Rory Power and Cheryl Isaacs!

When April Fischer was five, the voice from the well told her to fly.

Ever since April survived the strange and brutal massacre at the Copperton mine twelve years ago, she has been in the spotlight. At first, as the subject of internet urban legend. Then, as a horror movie inspiration. And most frighteningly, as the darling of a cult that believes that on her seventeenth birthday she will come into universe-altering power.

April has unanswered questions about what really went down at the mine—most of all, what happened to her father, the foreman on the drill site, who disappeared on that day. Until the week before her birthday, when she is given a collection of documents and the words He’s alive.

As April uncovers more about her childhood at the mine, the cultists’ beliefs don’t feel as impossible as she once thought, and she begins to hope that she truly can bring her father back. But even though she never wants to go near the edge of the open-pit mine again, there are forces in Copperton who want to see her fail . . . or watch her fly.

Unsettling and insightful

I really appreciated the psychology of this book, the way it kept me constantly uncertain and uneasy about how much was real and how much wasn't, whether April's thoughts could be trusted, and how it was all going to end. I liked how the story reached what seemed like a natural end while also leaving open some questions and ideas (sequel? or just nightmare fodder?). I liked the realistic sibling relationship and the complicated nature of Mom's presence and her illness. Mostly it was the human aspects that kept me hooked much more than the paranormal/spiritual/unnatural/whatever-you-call-it, but there was an eerie quality to it that worked well for the style of book. I should say: horror is not usually my preferred genre. I read (listened to) this because I have faith in Laura Creedle's excellent ability to capture a teenage voice and relationships and the way she manages to keep the story YA while respecting her readers enough to not oversimplify or talk down to them. This story is so very different from The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily, but in that respect, it has her fingerprints all over it.

As far as the audiobook aspect, it was pretty good, I listened on 1.2x speed because it felt a touch too slow. The different voices for different characters makes sense and is probably (?) a good move but it did mean that every "he said' in a conversation REALLY stuck out to me which kind of pulled me out of the story.