Mistik Lake: Un roman à suspense

Par Martha Brooks

Le passé refait toujours surface... Odella s'apprête à le découvrir à ses dépens.

Par une nuit glacée de l’hiver 1981, dans le Grand Nord canadien, une voiture fit une embardée sur les rives de Mistik Lake puis dérapa sur la surface gelée du lac avant de couler à pic. Des quatre jeunes occupants, il y eut une seule survivante : Sally. Ce tragique accident est le point de départ d’une histoire de famille, avec ses non-dits, ses rumeurs, ses révélations… Aux côtés de ses deux sœurs, Janelle et Sarah, la jeune Odella – la principale narratrice – devra bientôt affronter le passé de leur mère, Sally, et d'autres secrets de famille. Jusqu'au jour où elle découvrira qu’elle était la seule, parmi la communauté du petit bourg provincial, à ne pas savoir.
Qui était vraiment sa mère ? Pourquoi, lorsqu’Odella souhaite se rendre à Mistik Lake, son père est-il contrarié ? Que s’est-il vraiment passé à l’origine de cette nuit fatale où Sally a survécu à ce terrible accident de voiture sur le lac ? L’adolescente est bien décidée à connaître la vérité…

Efficace et bouleversant, ce roman canadien nous fait découvrir les secrets les plus profonds des personnages de ce livre. Odella, bien sûr : son rôle de grande soeur l’empêche parfois de se consacrer à elle-même. La mort prématurée de sa mère l’oblige à grandir avant l’âge. Jusqu’à ce qu’elle tombe amoureuse… Nous découvrons aussi, à travers l’enquête d’Odella, d’autres personnages tout aussi attachants : Sally sa mère, dont le comportement égoïste cache en réalité une grande souffrance et un secret bien lourd à porter ; le père d’Odella qui essaie d’épargner la vérité à ses filles ; la tante Gloria, également dans le secret, et qui devrait pourtant savoir que le mensonge finit toujours par être découvert … 

Il est impossible de lâcher ce livre avant la dernière page : émotion, suspense, humour, tendresse… tout est présent pour fasciner le lecteur dès 14 ans.

CE QU'EN PENSE LA CRITIQUE :

“Mistik Lake“ a figuré dans la sélection (Booklist) des dix meilleurs romans pour la jeunesse du Canada et dans celle de l’Internationale Jugend-bibliothek de Munich.

"Une histoire de résilience et d'amour tendre, à la fois sombre et lumineuse, comme les eaux du lac qui donne son nom au roman." - Le Devoir

"Entre suspense et émotion, ce nouveau titre a peu à envier aux polars islandais." - Le Temps

"Une atmosphère à la fois dense et troublante, une histoire dans laquelle évoluent des membres de la famille mais aussi ceux d'une communauté islandaise, immigrée depuis le XIXe. Ecriture limpide qui suit les mouvements des émotions vécues par Odella. Etude subtile des doutes, des questionnements. Un livre généreux qui apprend les choses de la vie." - Libbylit

"Beaucoup d’amour, de vie dans ce roman, de beaux personnages avec un détour par l’Islande, d’où viennent les ancêtres de ce territoire rude et magnifique à la fois. Un froid canadien «délicieux». C’est un roman lumineux malgré les thèmes sombres abordés. Une lecture prenante et un livre généreux qui apprend les choses de la vie." - ARPLE

À PROPOS DE L'AUTEUR :

L’œuvre de la romancière et dramaturge canadienne Martha Brooks a été maintes fois primée. Ses livres, publiés au Canada, aux États-Unis, en Angleterre et en Australie, ont été traduits en Espagne, en Italie, au Japon, au Danemark et en Allemagne. Martha Brooks est également chanteuse de jazz.

• Langue: Français
• Éditeur: Alice Jeunesse
• Date de sortie: 29 oct. 2014
• ISBN: 9782511024430

Avis sur Mistik Lake

[1morechapter · Évaluation : 3 sur 5 étoiles]

Mistik Lake by Martha Brooks is about a Canadian teenage girl who is trying to cope with a myriad of issues. One of Odella’s parents struggles with alcoholism and abandons the family. Odella, the oldest of her siblings, tries to maintain order for the rest of her household while also dealing with the typical trials of the teenage years. While I did enjoy certain aspects of the story, particularly the discussions on the characters’ Icelandic heritage, I’m afraid this book suffers from what I call ‘everything AND the kitchen sink’ syndrome. With themes of guilt, identity, alcoholism, abandonment, and h*mos*xu*ality — just to name a few, this book just had too much going on with the story in order for it not to feel a bit contrived. I just really believe that young adult novels, particularly short ones, are more effective when they deal with only one or two major issues. That is probably just a personal preference, though. Your mileage may vary. 2007, 224 pp.

[pocketmermaid · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

When I scan the audio book shelves at the library, I usually look for something I'd heard of one way or another (either from seeing it in a bookstore, recommended by a friend, or having read a review of it by a blogger.) I'd never heard of "Mistik Lake," but something about it caught my eye and I checked it out. I'm glad I did. Only four discs long, and there was a lot of story jammed in here. Only it didn't feel jammed at all. The writing flowed in and out, beautiful and highly enjoyable. The story switched from teenage Odella's first person narrative, to the third person account of her great-aunt Gloria, and perspective of Odella's boyfriend Jimmy. Normally a strange choice of switching point of view like that would throw me off, but Brooks worked it and it payed off. (I also wanted to mention that as an American reader, I was fascinated by the bits about characters' Icelandic lineage.) "Mistik Lake" is a story about a lot of things. It's about love, family, regret, loss, hope, sexuality, danger, secrets, guilt, abandonment, pain, death, growing up, coming to terms. For a story that was only 4 discs long (or about 200 pages), there's a lot covered and it never felt overwrought. One of my favorite reads of the year so far.

[picardopicks · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

Odella is the oldest daughter of Sally, a depressed alcoholic with secrets. The story centers around Odella from age 9 to 18, as she navigates life assuming the role as caretaker of her two sisters and father. Odella's mother Sally has never gotten over the tragedy of being the sole survivor of a fatal accident, that took place on Mistik Lake the winter she was 16. Mistik Lake is a small town in Manitoba where Sally grew up. Sally has a close relationship with her Aunt Gloria who was also from Mistik Lake. Gloria owns the family cottage at the lake but never uses it. Odella and her family have been going to the cottage for summers since she was little. Sally eventually leaves the family to move to Iceland with another man. Odella and her family try to cope, but feel lost and alone. Odella reaches out to Aunt Gloria who has a secret of her own. Life goes on and the family tries to keep it together as their mother communicates with them less and less. Shockingly, as the family is settling in to a new life without their mother, they learn she has died in Iceland. Odella who feels suffocated by her family, reaches out to a boy named Jimmy whom she met at Mistik Lake. A sweet romance between Odella and Jimmy begins, and is the uplifting highlight of the book. The story is gripping and heartbreaking at times, but shows the strength of love and perseverance. The story delves into the pasts of Odella, Sally and Gloria giving insights into the three generations of this family, with women who are complicated and misunderstood.

[ropppop · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

This teen paperback book is full of history, family secrets and mixed up emotions. With this book, each chapter comes from another member of the family. It begins with the death of young teenage people in Mistik Lake. It had happened along time ago but one girl survived the accident and this story is about her and her family. The writer does an exciting way as slowly letting the reader know a little more as each page is turned. Not read fast but slowly. It gives this book an excitement and the reader knows that they can't put the book down until you read it all. Another item that this book has is to show the reader how a feeling comes about and how the feeling is expressed. Not from the reader's point of view but a husband, a daughter, a cousin, or a past boyfriend twenty years ago. The reaader allows many new feeling nouns or verbs to flow into their heart and allow that reader an opportunity to feel it like the person inside the book.In this world, the birth of a new born baby is very, very special but a death is a hard part in let go of the realationship that a character has with the person. This book shows that realationship, before and after, to help readers understand what it is all about.

[francescadefreitas · Évaluation : 4 sur 5 étoiles]

This is primarily the story of seventeen-year-old Odella, although chapters alternate between showing her, her aunt Gloria, and Jimmy, a boy from Mistik Lake, the vacation town where Odella's mother grew up.The story starts with a tragic accident, where Odella's mother Sally is the only teenager to survive a car accident on the icy lake.Piece by piece, through a series of incidents, we learn how this accident has rippled down to affect the lives of Odella's family.I found the poetic descriptive style to be a little overblown at times, but this was offset by the choppy scenes, it gives the effect of seeing still pictures of important events over a long period of time.The family mystery was richly detailed, and revealed nicely, with a satisfying conclusion. Odella's romance was sweet, and didn't drown the story.I'd sell it to some looking for an atmospheric story, a story about families splitting up, or family secrets.