The Monsters of Templeton

I have to admit that I bought this book because of its cover.  I was walking through Hastings, saw it, saw that it was a NYT Bestseller, and picked it up.

I'm not in the habit of reading books that I don't enjoy.  I figure there are so many amazing reads out there, why trudge through something miserable?  With that said I'm not quite sure why I continued on with this book.

Willie Upton returns to her hometown pregnant and disgraced (her opinion).  While home the lake monster dies and she is digging up family history and trying to get along with her mother.  Templeton is the shadow of Cooperstown, New York and Willie Upton is a descendant of the great writer Jacob Franklin Temple (James Fenimore Cooper).  Willie's mother tells her that her father is not who she originally told her and encourages Willie to research into family history to find the identity of her father.

Thus the book goes through generations of the family told from different points of view.  Which, in theory I like, but with that many voices in that short of a book, it just got annoying.

I desperately wanted to like the main character.  The author tried to make her this intelligent, charming character.  I found her weak, whiney, and anything but intelligent.  I didn't feel any connection to her at all.  Nor the hippie to born again mother, Vi.

The book had all the elements of a good story:  lake monster, secret history, ghosts, heartache.  But, for me it never came together.

Which is why I can't figure out why I read the whole thing.  I actually enjoyed reading it with all my criticisms aside.  It was a fun read.  It was a fast read.

Try this one at your own risk.  And, if you make it through, let me know what you think.