Why is Crater Lake So Blue? by Michael LaLumiere

Why is Crater Lake So Blue?By Michael LaLumiereStagger Lee Books[http://www.staggerleebooks.com]ISBN: 978-0-9791006-2-8Copyright 2007Hardcover, 324 pages, 24.95Mainstream FictionWhen Sam Hunter lands a summer job in 1975 as a seasonal maintenance worker at Crater Lake National Park in order to make some money for next year’s college tuition, little did he imagine the unusual events which would take place there, events that ultimately would defy his moral beliefs and put to test his honor and integrity.Though his superiors at the park aren’t exactly friendly, and often do their best to remind him of his place, Sam makes a few friends among the other seasonal workers, especially with Sally, also a young student looking for a chance to make a little money during the summer holidays.
The setting is idyllic, the view breathtaking, the air couldn’t be purer… that is, until people start getting sick. The park supervisors insist it’s just a passing flu. Only the situation gets worse, with victims soon growing in the hundreds. Is it something in the water? The food? The air? While keeping the role of passive observant, Sam decides to get some answers.What is going on at Crater Lake National Park? Why do the authorities act as if nothing is happening? Is it a cover-up?The novel, which is actually based on real facts, brings moral dilemmas to the surface and shows how far people in high places will go, at the expense of innocent victims, to keep those positions. It is about greed and the abuse of power. Are moral issues black and white, or in different shades of grey? What about honor and integrity?I found this novel interesting and enjoyable. The author has a way with words and the prose flows well. The protagonist—naïve, insecure, yet intelligent, sensitive and ultimately brave—is highly sympathetic and possesses a wry sense of humor, as shown in this short passage, where a friend of Sam’s suggests that freshly-killed deer makes some tasty food:“…Yeah, run over a deer and we got a party.”
“You’re going to hell, Andrew.”
“Oh, you’re not one of those bleeding hearts, are you? I know you ain’t no vegetarian.”
Yes. That was the problem. I hated seeing the animals hurt or killed, but I liked my steaks medium rare. I might as well just shut up about that kind of stuff in this crowd. At least the animals could take some solace in the fact that people didn’t treat people any better than they did animals. Except for the eating part.My only problem with this book is that, while it may work well as a true-life account, as a novel its plot seems a little unbalanced. The first half of the book deals with the illness and cover-up, and this main conflict reaches a resolution midway through the novel. In this sense, this resolution is anticlimactic and takes impact away from the ending. The writing itself is good and the book as a whole is enjoyable, but the second half, which deals with another scandalous event related to Sam’s friend Sally and one of the park’s superiors, didn’t grab me as much as the first one did. In sum, this isn’t your usual run-of-the-mill novel and, taken as a true story, is one most readers will enjoy. dr seuss book collection