The second book in the Montgomery Lake High series, When Darkness Tries to Hide, dives further into the lives of students at Montgomery Lake High as they learn that some actions have serious consequences. While Book One revolved around the struggles that starting high school can bring, along with the drama that comes with relationships and drug use, Book Two focuses on a much darker plot line: the potential loss of a friend’s life. For each student at Montgomery Lake High, when kind and caring Andy Ross suffers a life threatening injury during a severe storm, their lives change in ways they never imagined. However, some find this situation changing their lives for the better, while some find it changing them for the worse. 

One theme that is heavily covered throughout this novel is that there is always light to shine through dark times. For the group of friends impacted the most by Andy’s sudden situation, they find themselves turning to something some never thought they would need: Faith. For characters such as Jason, they find that they are unsure how to move forward carrying the guilt and shame that came from such a tragic accident. However, seeing how his friends are able to find the strength and power to move along through their Faith in God, he realizes he needs to be a part of that. In doing this, he learns how much he needs to better himself, not just for his own well-being, but for the well-being of those he cares about. Yet, for his girlfriend Cathy, she finds herself straying further and further away from her Faith in God, ignoring her emotions entirely. The result of doing this, however, is her becoming someone that nobody can stomach to be around. Through these characters, readers can see how choosing to have Faith and trust in God provides positive impacts, while straying away from this belief provides a destructive path.

When Darkness Tries to Hide is a powerful second novel in the Montgomery Lake High Series that showcases the importance of choosing to see the light in a dark tragedy. Although it can be easy to ignore a situation when it brings up hard-to-process emotions, choosing to tackle those feelings head-on is the only way to truly grow and move forward. When Darkness Tries to Hide is perfect for readers who are in high-school themselves and find themselves struggling with how to handle a hard situation. 

ABOUT EMILY MCDERMOTT

Emily is a recent graduate of  Bridgewater State University where she completed a Bachelor’s Degree in English with a concentration in Literature. While at Bridgewater State, Emily worked in the Academic Achievement Center as a writing consultant where she helped enrolled students with any stage of the writing process. Being in this position helped Emily realize that working as an editor might be something she could see herself doing as a career. Currently, she is employed for a small business in her hometown of Bridgewater, MA while actively searching for jobs within the publishing field. She spends most of her free time reading books, playing with her dogs Neely and Kevin, going on coffee runs with her friends, and watching the Bruins with her dad. 

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