Delta Legend by Kelan O'Connell

When 16-year-old Oakland California teenager, Calvin Pierce, makes a bad decision and winds up getting arrested, his mother is quick to take action. Determined not to lose a second son to the drug and gang violence of the inner city, she sends Calvin to spend the summer working for his great uncle in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.

There in the predominately-white region of agriculture and recreational boating, Calvin’s a fish out of water with a chip on his shoulder. Complicating matters, a smart, beautiful (and feisty) local farmgirl, Mei Li Cheng, isn’t buying his city-boy ‘tude and relishes any opportunity to challenge him. If their instant combativeness is a thin veneer for attraction, the outcome might have to wait. When severed body parts are discovered floating in a slough, Calvin’s summer of proving himself takes on new meaning.

Something deadly is lurking in the deep, murky waterways of the Delta. Now the daunting task of containing the living incarnation of a mythical creature falls to Calvin and his ragtag posse of oddball characters



When I first read the description of this book, my mind automatically went to visualizing the movie Lake Placid. Although after reading it, about 50% in we find out that it is not a man-eating crocodile on the loose, but something more Legendary, and more dangerous.

There is an ensemble of different characters and they all bring something different to the story. There is humor and along with the "Legendary creature" we also get cultural facts and other myths from the area that the camp is in.

I did wish that the story took off a little bit sooner than it did. There are some hints and deaths that happen before we know what it is that is causing them, but it did take me until about 50% into the book before I became completely engaged into the story line. Even with a bit of a slow start for me, I ended up enjoying the story.

This book follows a male main character which is happening more in Teen reads recently and I for one jump at the change in perspective whenever I can. The story has a little bit of a campy feel along with the humor. Some death scenes but nothing I would consider too gruesome and a little bit of history, mythology and of course the main Legend.
I know it's weird for one reviewer to link to another's but my favorite review of this book can be found here I think she says it best.

I want to offer a ebook copy of this book to one lucky commenter, just remember to make a note of how I can contact you! A winner will be chosen on August 25th!