Synopsis: You're the least popular girl in school, and the glossy friends who were briefly interested are bored. And you'll do anything to keep them. Nicky finds picking on the new girl is easy: everyone thinks she's weird anyway. But when does 'weird' become 'witchy'? When Bella's skin breaks out like a plague? When Mags and Janet land up in hospital? Normal teen stuff, or evidence of witchcraft? As Nicky's plan winds up to its shocking conclusion, she finds not only has she lost her friends, she's unleashed something truly evil.

Review: The combination of witchcraft and teenage girls is nothing new in contemporary culture both in terms of women’s social status and exploring adolescence. This novel is interesting in that maintains a connection to the traditional and contemporary. A disturbing story that follows the build up of victimisation and myth making leading to the drowning of the title. Forde certainly builds suspense and holds the reader's attention. The horror is not really in the events of the ending but the twisting of logic and morality that allows it to happen. In that sense this novel also ties into literature concerned with the darker side of human nature.

Despite the self-conscious splitting of narrative voices and use of zodiac signs as chapter headings, the real pleasure in this book is the subtlety. The tangled web that allows events to take such a dramatic turn includes the deterioration of Nicky’s mother, and its impact on her. Particularly interesting is how she feels about her father and brother seeming much more able to cope. Moreover, Ford does not shape her ending too predictably and the use of multiple voices comes to develop a genuine sense of tragedy especially regarding Nicky and Luke’s relationship.

While this is an interesting read and provides scope for discussion and writing on a number of topics, it should be noted that the novel needs to be recommended or used sensitively. The emphasis on bullying and power struggles, with all the language and incidents that involves, alongside the illness of Nicky’s mother and Lizzie’s background in care means that this is a surprisingly affecting read.

2006-12-01