Not bad for a short

Puddle - A. Renee Hunt

This is a short, written in a not very believable country dialect. Despite that, it kept my interest and ended up being an enjoyable read with good spelling and grammar, except when imperfect grammar was intentional to depict the dialect.

It had some amusing imagery as we get to know the two main characters; schoolgirls, one white, one black and best friends. I liked that about it. The story is told from the black girl's perspective after she's old, just relating a story from her childhood. It sometimes breaks the fourth wall in the narrative style, but works fairly well.

The story was a bit like an urban legend. One of the girls is afraid to step into puddles from autumn rains, citing incidences where people have disappeared into them. Her friend doesn't believe a word and is surprised when the adults in the neighborhood seem to believe there is danger too.

 

It's predictable in that the danger is proven and there is a pretty horrific struggle which was well written and had my full attention while it was going on. I'd like to see this author practice with patience for writing longer stories because she definitely has the imagination to write Horror.