Something's in the Deep End

Every swimmer leaves a reflection behind. Some of them don't want to leave.

Ivy Castellano trusts water more than she trusts people. Water never lies. Water never says one thing and means another. Water never gets weird at you at lunch. So when the Cedar Hollow municipal pool gets one final night before the bulldozers roll in on Saturday, eleven-year-old Ivy squeezes through the loose fence panel an hour early for one last swim in the deep end.

The pool has been drained, scrubbed, and refilled with brand-new water. The underwater lights glow acid green. Steam curls off the surface into the cold October air. It should be the most beautiful thing in town.

But something is already down there.

It looks exactly like her. And it isn't copying her anymore.

Wet dark curls. Green eyes. The same navy racing suit. It presses up against the underside of the water with its fingers splayed and its mouth open way, way too wide - and when Ivy backs away from the edge, it doesn't back away with her. Her big brother Tomas is the lifeguard on duty tonight, and he swears on his whistle that the pool is empty.

He's wrong.

Because six years of kids have swum in this pool, and every single one of them left a reflection behind in the dark. Down there with nothing to do and nobody to copy, those reflections have learned two brand-new tricks: how to grow arms, and how to hold their breath forever.

One of them is finished waiting. One of them wants out. And it has already picked whose face it's wearing home.

Inside this creepy-fun middle grade horror novella:

• A pool on its very last night - and something swimming in it that shouldn't be
• A hero who is fastest in the water and safest alone in it
• A big brother lifeguard who insists there's nothing to see
• Reflections that stay behind after their owners climb out
• Short chapters, fast scares, and a cliffhanger every few pages
• An ending that follows Ivy all the way down the sidewalk

Perfect for kids 8-12, reluctant readers, and anyone who has ever looked down at deep water and wondered what was looking back. Creep Street books are standalone spooky adventures - read them in any order, start with any book, and try not to read this one right before swim practice.

Scary, funny, and just the right amount of gross. Reading level grades 3-6. Great for classroom libraries, school book fairs, sleepover reading, and Halloween gift-giving.

Get in the water. Just don't look down.