Georgia Blain, usually associated with contemporary literature for a much older audience, presents an engaging story about the mysterious death of Amanda Clarke, a popular teenager.

Intrigue sets in as the responsibility for her death is focused squarely on her closest friends, one of whom is the elder brother of the narrator, another, a boy with a distinctly shady background. By and large, Darkwater is well-written with additional subplots that deal with a number of aspects relevant to adolescent life - trust, friendship, new love. However, I couldn’t help but think that it lacked important descriptive detail readers know its setting, both time and place.