The book reviewer blogs I follow have wildly different stances on Lakelore. Some loved it; some thought it was trite and overwrought. Both admitted the book to be earnest in its depiction of minority identities. What finally made me hit download was Rainbow Crate shipping us a Bastián and Lore fridge magnet.

The Storygraph summary doesn’t represent the novel well. Bastián’s siblings are only supportive. In the small town of Lore, Bastián has few friends, but he’s always had the lake. Its quixotic, evocative magic flickers between realities and fills his bedroom with playful sea creatures and colorful seaweed. One other person has seen its magic: a lost, strange student on a field trip from a long ago. That student was Lore, who was so changed by the experience that they took their name from the town’s. In a bid to outrun transphobia and a patchy school record, Lore and their family move near Bastián, and the pair re-connect. Not a moment too soon—something is wrong with the lake’s magic, making it unwieldy, vicious, and drowning dangerous.

McLemore is much lauded in the queer YA scene, and Lakelore is my first book by them. Lakelore was also my first time reading an enby/enby romance, and I really loved Bastián’s and Lore’s different experiences of being nonbinary. The gorgeous cover art isn’t lying to you either–they’re both Latine too. Much of the novel concerns Bastián’s ADHD and Lore’s dyslexia. I have relatives and friends with ADHD, but this book was the first time I felt in my gut how the neurodivergence means your head is full of bees and the concept of time is so different. That being said, some sections feel like a listing of symptoms rather than actual narrative. The fantastical elements are muted, which is a shame since the lake magic is very cool as a concept and as a metaphor for miscommunication.

After reading Lakelore myself, I can see how the other reviewers were so divided. While the representation is obviously needed and good, the low fantasy story is middling. Four stars from me.