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Junius Leak and the Spiraling Vortex of Doom

by Allan Wolf

A family mystery beneath Lake Peigneur

Regular price $17.09 USD
Regular price $28.49 USD Sale price $17.09 USD
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Awards & Recognition

  • Critical praise

    Booklist starred review

    Starred review praising the vivid events, strong cast, and protagonist’s personal triumphs.

AlbakiReads Editorial

A family mystery beneath Lake Peigneur

Junius Leak arrives in Delcambre, Louisiana, expecting an awkward stretch on a houseboat with an unfamiliar uncle. His search for answers about why his mother left town as he was a baby soon intersects with a family feud, pirate-treasure mystery, and the history of the 1980 Lake Peigneur drilling accident. The book combines fantasy-adventure and real-life disaster in a tale-within-a-tale, with alternating viewpoints that include Junius’s perspective as a Highly Sensitive Person and the lake’s wry voice. Water is both Junius’s area of expertise and the source of a fear he hopes to face, tying his personal questions to the story’s larger mysteries.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Young readers interested in family mysteries, fantasy-adventure, and pirate treasure
  • Readers curious about waterbodies and the history of the Lake Peigneur drilling accident
  • Readers who enjoy stories with alternating viewpoints

Themes

Family relationships and marriageFear and self-discoveryFamily history and buried secretsWater and disaster

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

"Wolf's latest weaves a dazzling tale. . . .Considering the vividly depicted events, the strong cast, and the young protagonist's personal triumphs, there's wow-worthy content aplenty here." --Booklist (starred review)

Part mystery, part fantasy-adventure, part riveting real-life disaster, this deft tale-within-a-tale blends the history of the 1980 Lake Peigneur drilling accident with a fateful quest for pirate treasure.


When thirteen-year-old Junius Leak--expert on waterbodies and creator of the encyclopedic Amazing Waterbodies of the World--steps foot on Uncle Spot's rickety dock on Lake Peigneur, the truth assails him: he may love waterbodies, but that doesn't mean they love him back. The latest in a long line of Junius Leaks, he's the first to be doomed to ten days of awkwardness and boredom on a houseboat with a relative he doesn't know while his parents "work on" their marriage. Delcambre, Louisiana, where Junius was born, is awash with unwelcome surprises. He determines to learn why his mom left town when he was a baby--and to conquer his fear of water at the same time. But the lake has other plans for him, plans tied to a hundred-year-old family feud and a swashbuckling mystery. When disaster strikes, Junius must dive deep within to emerge an unlikely hero. Alternating viewpoints spin the perceptions of a Highly Sensitive Person (HSP)--and the wry voice of a lake with a long memory--into an inventive tale of sunken treasure and buried secrets anchored by a dramatic true event.
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