Hello everyone! Things have been slow at work but busy at home. I can finally get some work done at night, though, after all three boys are in bed. The baby is now sleeping through the night again; yay for getting accustomed to teething. I tell you…being a boy mom of three is rough some days!
I am thankful to Bookish First for allowing me to enter the giveaway for this novel. I have been reading a lot of fantasy lately and thought a thriller would be a nice toss in the mix…boy was I right.
I want to begin by saying that since I have been out of reading for a while, I have not picked up a thriller in a long time! I am also not a teenager, but I can relate to being lost somewhere similar. In my senior year of high school, my class went on a trip to NYC. We were allowed to roam Times Square one evening as long as we returned to the hotel by curfew and stayed with our group. So…my friends and I went out to explore a few stores. Well…needless to say, we were approached by a man, and he gave us the creeps. On the way back to the hotel, a friend suggested we go another route…welp, we got lost. They refused to call for directions from the teachers, insisting they knew the way back, but when we turned a corner, I saw red lights in the windows and I was not waiting to call. I called and got us back right away. I am so thankful nothing happened, but that was a scary experience, to say the least.
But enough reliving that nightmare…let’s take a look at the book shall we?
Under the Surface 
Author: Diana Urban
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Published: August 13th 2024
Book Length: 304 Pages
Genre: Thriller, Young Adult, Suspense
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Buy the book: Amazon, Barnes & Noble
An epic survival-thriller about four teens who get lost in the Paris catacombs for days—a gripping and propulsive story of love, danger, betrayal, and hope… even when all seems lost.
Ruby is terrified to cave to her feelings for Sean and risk him crushing her heart.
Sean is pumped to spend a week with Ruby in Paris on their senior class trip, and he’ll wait however long until she’s ready to take things further.
But when Ruby’s best friend sneaks out the first night to meet a mysterious French boy, Ruby goes after her with two classmates, but caves to another temptation: attending mystery boy’s exclusive party in the Paris catacombs, the intricate web of tunnels beneath the city, home to six million long-dead Parisians. Only they never reach the party.
Underground, as something sinister chases them, they get lost in the endless maze of bones, uncovering dark secrets about the catacombs… and each other. And if they can’t find a way out, they’ll die in the dark beneath the City of Light.
Aboveground, Sean races to find the girl he loves as a media frenzy over the four missing teens begins.
From award-winning author and rising YA star Diana Urban comes a twisty tale of four teens lost in the dark beneath the City of Light and the race to find them.
The book’s concept pulled me in immediately. A group of teens getting lost in tunnels under Paris, their friend racing to find them while they desperately try to escape a maze of bones and secrets—what a great hook. I picked it up, and turning the pages made me lose sense of time. There was a sense of urgency that permeated the pages, making me turn them faster and faster without noticing the time passing. I devoured this book in two hours. The beginning is a little slow, but the middle slams you in, and it goes quickly from there.
The main characters are in France, and for various reasons, four young students find themselves beneath the surface… in the twisting, turning catacombs. I loved how relatable the characters were in this book. It reminded me of high school friendships and how complicated they can be. I felt so connected that when certain events occurred, my heart raced. It reminded me of how I felt when I was only lost on the road in NYC with friends when I was around their age. Imagining being in the catacombs with no way out that we can see is utterly terrifying.
The sections from Sean’s point of view were less interesting, and I think it’s simply because he was not the one lost beneath. There did not seem to be as much happening in those scenes, and the urgency did not seem as prevalent if that makes sense. I much more enjoyed following along with Ruby as she discovered secrets. There are times that the typical teenage girl drama or banter fills space in the book, but I feel those are when the reader has to catch their breath before something else happens. It shows the reader the importance of trust and friendship. Friendships in high school can be fickle, and this has an underlying story that shows that.
This is a captivating, edge-of-your-seat, heart-racing thriller. A must-read for anyone looking for a read with relatable characters and a captivating plot.
For those who do not like you, this may not be for you. Though I am almost in my mid-thirties, I enjoyed it.
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This sounds really entertaining! Great review!
Thank you! It was for sure something different than what I have been reading as of late. I enjoyed it.