Runyon, Brent. Surface Tension: A Novel in Four Summers. Knopf. 2009. ISBN: 978-0-375-84446-1. Gr 9 and up.
-- School Library Journal, 5/6/2009
This book is great! It's an easy read and you’ll enjoy reading it. It relates to me because most of us who live in River Falls, WI, have cabins and visit them often, and the age of the main character is almost the same as me. This book really relates to a teen’s life, and my life and some experiences. The cover tempted me to pick up the book because I'm an outdoors type of person, so I thought that this would be good since the cover showed a kid jumping into water outside.
What I found most compelling was the feud going on between the families and the "Sinister Minister." I laughed at how the Sinister Minister placed a Confederate flag on the end of his dock when he is from West Virginia because that state didn't break off from the U.S. (Virginia did, but not West Virginia.) I thought that was a very interesting addition to the feud, and I enjoyed it.
How Mr. Richardson, the friendly neighbor, reacted to the events was also very entertaining. For example, when Steve and Luke were sitting on the picnic table on their property, one of the Sinister Minister's dogs walked on to Mr. Richardson's property and went to the bathroom on his lawn, Mr. Richardson shot the dog with a paintball gun to scare him off. I really thought the whole feud was very entertaining.
The only thing that I found disappointing was that the author didn’t describe much about what went on during the rest of the year when Luke wasn't at the cabin. Did Mr. Richardson ever get into a fight with the Sinister Minister while Luke wasn't there? Did things get worse?
I hope there’s a sequel.—Charlie S., age 15
