- Chapter Books
- Ages 9–12
- Horror
Crater Lake: Evolution
Book 2 of 2 in Crater LakeView the full series
Five months after the school trip from hell, the aliens are back in Lance's home town – and this time one of them is wearing his mum's face. A scarier, cleverer sequel that reunites the gang against a threat that has evolved.
- Best for9–12
- FormatChapter
- Length256 pp
- Read aloud~3 hr40 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Conversational
- Comedic
Tone
- Scary
- Funny
- Suspenseful
- Exciting
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
Five months on from the nightmare at Crater Lake, Lance is trying to be normal: new high school, new routines, and a mum who came home strangely well after being so ill. But the gang has drifted apart in the chaos of Year Seven, and Lance is mostly on his own when an explosion rocks Straybridge University and a test subject escapes the lab. As the town goes into lockdown, Lance and his new friend Karim start to suspect that his mother's miraculous recovery has a sinister source – and that the aliens they thought they'd beaten have learned, adapted and come back harder to kill. To stand a chance, Lance has to pull his fractured friendships back together and face an enemy straight out of their nightmares, on home turf this time. Jennifer Killick's Crater Lake: Evolution takes an already creepy monster and makes it scarier and fresher, keeping the trademark humour and heart while turning the dread up – wickedly smart sci-fi horror for readers who loved the first fright.
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
For confident 9-12 readers who enjoyed the first book; independent reading fits 9 up and it reads aloud from about 8 for children who like a scare. The heightened dread, alien body-snatching and a threat wearing a parent's face make it a poor bedtime pick and too intense for very sensitive readers.
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- Best fit · 9–12
- Read aloud · 8–11
- Independent · 9–12
Prose load
Moderate
Visual support
None
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Reluctant readers
Preview before sharing if a child is sensitive to: scary imagery, violence.
Bedtime suitability
1 / 5 · Wide awake
Sensitive-child
2 / 5 · Use judgement
Graphic intensity
3 / 5 · Some
Best for
- Funny scary
- Reluctant readers
- Goosebumps fans
- Horror adventure
Avoid if
- Wants gentle bedtime
- Sensitive to scares
Particularly good for children who are…
- Reluctant reader
- Making friends
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
The monster from book one returns smarter and scarier, right in Lance's home town, and this time it's hiding in his own family. The creepy moments hit harder, the gang has to rebuild before they can fight back, and the mix of terror and jokes never lets up.
- Surviving danger
- Friendship and belonging
- The underdog winning
- Breaking the rules safely
Why parents love it
Killick makes the follow-up scarier and cleverer without losing the humour or heart, and threads in the strain of shifting friendships as the gang start high school. Fast, funny and genuinely creepy – a reliable win for readers who devoured the first.
- Quick to read
- Shared humour
In the series
Crater Lake.
2 books · open the series →
About the author
Jennifer Killick.
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