REVIEW: Gone Away Lake

Gone Away Lake
Author: Elizabeth Enright

I'm not sure how I missed this sweet children's adventure story, but I'm glad I happened across it by chance on my library's digital site! This is such a fun story!

Gone Away Lake was first published in 1957. Apparently it was out of print for awhile, but has been re-released. I listened to the audio book version. Narrated by Colleen Delany, the audio is just over 5.5 hours long....a good listening length for kids and adults! I enjoyed this story on my commute to work.

Portia is 11 and her little brother Foster is 6. Their parents are going to Europe for an extended stay, so they get to travel alone by train for their annual visit with their cousin, Julian. The trip is exciting and the kids have all sorts of adventures. The best part -- they discover an old summer resort, long abandoned after the lake area turned into a swamp. An elderly brother and sister still reside in one of the houses and happily tell the children the story of the former resort on what they now call Gone-Away Lake.

This is definitely a tale from an era gone by....times when middle class families could have summer homes and kids spent a month in summer away from it all....an era where parents would let their kids travel by train alone. The three kids have excellent adventures in the woods....experience a little bit of danger....meet new friends....and learn some lessons along the way. Fun story!

I was so happy to learn that there is a second book -- Return to Gone Away! I felt the ending of this story was a little abrupt. I wanted to know what happened next! I guess I'm not the only one, as Elizabeth Enright published the second book in 1961.

This story is a little bit dated, but that didn't hamper my enjoyment one little bit. The story is sweet and fun! Very entertaining. The tale is age appropriate for middle grade students, but entertaining for adults, too.

I'm glad the story continues! I have the second audio book checked out of my local library and ready to go. This is the first book by Elizabeth Enright that I have read. She wrote many books for children. I'm definitely going to read more of her books! I love it when I chance upon a new-to-me author that I really enjoy!