Hello and welcome back to the Hobbit Library! Briellerose, here today. Make yourself at home with a hot drink of your choice as we head down a magical tunnel for this month's book. Despite it being for children, I really enjoyed this book, and I heard there is a second one, so I am on the lookout for that now.
The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis centres around siblings Stella and Tom, who recently moved back to England, London to be exact, from Hong Kong. They live around a garden with some other neighbours. The siblings don't like the gardener, Charlie Green, who hates when people mess up the gardens that he loves and cares about. I know that Cissarose loves taking care of the garden, and she doesn't like it if me or Ellieanarose accidentally mess something up.
I said there was a time change element to the book, didn't I? Well, it all starts when their elderly neighbour, Mrs. Moon's dog, Harry, goes missing for days at a time, and nobody knows where he goes. One day, Stella and Tom see Harry and some moles rush out of the door, so they go and follow Harry. They stumble across a boat in some dirt and dig it up. I wish that Karen had gone into more detail about the boat, as it plays a key part in what is going to happen next. They quickly have to hide the hole that the boat rests in, using a log, and themselves, in a hedge, as Charlie comes searching for them.
After Charlie leaves, the two discover a ladder in the hole, and they go down the ladder and through the tunnel, which appears to have been made by the moles, and it causes them to literally go back in time. The boat, the very one I spoke about earlier, is the only way to cross the lake that has appeared before them at the end of the tunnel.
The two children soon realise that they are in the past. It's not just anywhere in the past but in the exact spot where their house stands roughly a century later. It doesn't take long before the two are spotted, and they meet the children who live there, Emma, Sophie, and Jack.
Stella and Tom then find themselves involved in a mystery where Jack is accused of being a thief. There's a lot of action! Jack tells the modern-day siblings who the real thief is before Stella and Tom barely escape with their lives. Jack is caught, much to the worry of Tom, who insists that they go back and rescue Tom as he risked his life to save them.
The two sneak back into Emma and Sophie's house. After explaining everything to Lucy, the three set out to rescue Jack. Of course, they manage to rescue Jack and escape, but they are unable to go through the tunnel again. This then leads to them being sad as they wanted to go back through and see their friends. I really felt sad for them as they don't have any friends since school hadn't started yet. They'd made some friends who they'd seen as friends, finally. They also begin to feel that their time travelling adventures were a dream as well.
In the present time, they make a series of discoveries that bring everything back to them. Mrs. Moon is revealed to be Emma Gladstone, whose dog, Harry, has been going between the older Emma and the younger Emma. After Mrs. Moon's death, Charlie also reveals that he knew about the tunnel and is related to Jack, the very same Jack the siblings rescued.
I really loved this book. It reminded me of a few books that I've read before. I really did enjoy the time travel element as well, as it was an innocent adventure that turned into a midnight rescue. It was different and had a twist that I hadn't seen. I would say if you like this sort of story, then give it a chance. You might just enjoy it.
Ellieanarose is ready and getting excited that it is her turn next month, so come back and see what she's been reading.
Lots of love,
Briellerose xx