Undertow by Michael Buckley

Undertow by Michael Buckley
Geared Towards: Teen & YA
Published By: HMH Books for Young Readers
Publication Date: May 2015
ISBN-13: 978-0544348257

Allen Ginsberg — "Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness." Those familiar with the GoodReads app will also be familiar with the fact that whenever you first open the app a random quote will come up as the page loads and updates. Well, when I opened my app the evening I wanted to first write my review for this book, Undertow, I thought it quite appropriate that the above quote was the one that loaded. 

Again, "Follow your inner moonlight; don't hide the madness." Why am I going on about quote instead of the book? It's actually quite simple. To me this quote perfectly sums up everything this book was about. Lyric Walker isn't like just any teenager out there. She is, in fact, strikingly different from her fellow classmates and friends. Heck, she's different from nearly everyone around her. The thing about Lyric is she's not human. Well, not fully anyway. 

But this fact isn't something she is particularly proud of, especially when the time comes that this tiny detail could indeed be the undoing of her entire life. When over night the beach at Coney Island becomes laden with "humanoid" creatures of the sea, a pending war is inevitable. Will the monsters and humans live together as one, United in their similarities? Of course not. 

And this is when Lyric must truly learn what it is that makes her who she is. Will she be strong enough to look beyond what she has always known in order to save her family, her friends, and even both her peoples? 

This was a superbly written fairytale of sorts, but like the original Brother's Grimm style ones- not the Disney ones. Inventive, full of imagination, but never lacking a good story or action. This book was the complete package. My only complaint, and the reason for my assigning it 4 instead of 5 hearts was because the ending seemed ever so slightly rushed. The author made sure to wrap things up, and we're this to be the only book, no sequels, I'd be content with the ending. However, I think there was room for the author to lay a little more foundational groundwork for his ending. 

All this considered, I think it is reasonable to suggest that perhaps this won't be the last we hear of Lyric. The way Buckley brought this story to close, in my opinion, sets things up beautifully for a follow up. This bookworm hopes that's the case anyhow. 

OUR RATING: 4 hearts