Thank you BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for sending me a copy of Under the Surface! All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Ruby and her classmates travel to Paris on a school trip. Ruby is obsessed with traveling and finding new places to adventure through, and she blogs her experiences on her social media account.
When her best friend Val sneaks out to meet a guy after curfew, Ruby bumps into two other classmates: Selena, an ex-best friend, and Olivia, a smart do-gooder. With a rare opportunity to venture into the forbidden parts of the catacombs, the four girls decide to take the plunge and follow Julien into the catacombs of Paris to an underground party. When things become dire for Ruby and her friends, they will have to learn how to survive in the darkness and find their way back to the surface.
I really, really enjoyed the story and following Ruby through the catacombs of Paris. I've always been interested in the history of Paris and the underground maze. One of my favorite horror films is As Above, So Below, so this was a no-brainer for me. There are definitely some similarities between the two. Both are creepy, demanded my attention, and entertaining.
I love the way Diana Urban wrote the two povs: Ruby in the underground and Sean, her crush and friend, above trying to find and rescue them. There is a constant feeling of anxiety about whether the girls would be able to survive.
The plot twists are unpredictable, and the character development is great. The complicated relationships between all the characters are well-written and thought-out.
I truly couldn't put Under the Surface down! Once Ruby, Val, Selena, and Olivia are in the depths of the catacombs, the story hits the ground running.
I highly recommend Under the Surface if you enjoyed Diana Urban's other works, horror films, and fast-paced reads.
Also, I love the cover!
Ruby and her classmates travel to Paris on a school trip. Ruby is obsessed with traveling and finding new places to adventure through, and she blogs her experiences on her social media account.
When her best friend Val sneaks out to meet a guy after curfew, Ruby bumps into two other classmates: Selena, an ex-best friend, and Olivia, a smart do-gooder. With a rare opportunity to venture into the forbidden parts of the catacombs, the four girls decide to take the plunge and follow Julien into the catacombs of Paris to an underground party. When things become dire for Ruby and her friends, they will have to learn how to survive in the darkness and find their way back to the surface.
I really, really enjoyed the story and following Ruby through the catacombs of Paris. I've always been interested in the history of Paris and the underground maze. One of my favorite horror films is As Above, So Below, so this was a no-brainer for me. There are definitely some similarities between the two. Both are creepy, demanded my attention, and entertaining.
I love the way Diana Urban wrote the two povs: Ruby in the underground and Sean, her crush and friend, above trying to find and rescue them. There is a constant feeling of anxiety about whether the girls would be able to survive.
The plot twists are unpredictable, and the character development is great. The complicated relationships between all the characters are well-written and thought-out.
I truly couldn't put Under the Surface down! Once Ruby, Val, Selena, and Olivia are in the depths of the catacombs, the story hits the ground running.
I highly recommend Under the Surface if you enjoyed Diana Urban's other works, horror films, and fast-paced reads.
Also, I love the cover!