Book Review: The Twilight of Lake Woebegotten

By Sandy Amazeen Nov 12, 2011, 2:33 GMT

A small town... a plucky heroine, a shiny vampire, and a hunky Native American rival with a secret. But all is not as it seems in Lake Woebegotten. Let Harrison Geillor reveal what lies beneath the seemingly placid surface. You\'\'ll Laugh. We promise. When Bonnie Grayduck relocates from sunny Santa Cruz California to the small town of Lake Woebegotten, Minnesota, to live with her estranged father, chief of the ...more

If you’re in the mood for an amusing read then look no further then Geillor’s delightful parody targeting both the popular Twilight series and Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon. After a sequence of unfortunate and rather questionable events, it was decided Bonnie Grayduck should leave her mother’s home in Santa Cruz, CA to finish high school in quiet Lake Woebegotten, Minnesota where her father is the local police chief. From her first day at school, Bonnie is quite smitten by Edwin Scullen, a mysterious alluring boy from a reclusive family. Despite Edwin’s initial response to her, Bonnie sets her sights on the fascinating boy and as a genuine psychopath, she’s more then up to the challenge. Bonnie enjoys few things more then playing with people and unrestricted by morals or a conscience, decides Edwin who unsurprisingly turns out to be a vampire, is her ticket to tormenting others for eternity.

Joachim, a Native American boy is just growing into his abilities as a werebear charged with killing wendigos or vampires who feed on and kill humans. He and Bonnie used to play together as young children and she is more then happy to use him as another means of achieving her goal at the cost of everyone around her.

Geillor has created a light, entertaining spoof that shows monsters may not be where you expect and the sweet little girl next door might have dark, hidden depths best left unplumbed. There are a few places where the pace lags a bit but that in no way takes away from the story with all its entertaining characters and intriguing ending that promises an unpleasant surprise in Bonnie’s future.