Book Summary: Undertow By Michael Buckley

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Have you ever thought you were one thing but in reality you're another thing? Well that's how it went in the book Undertow by Michael Buckley. In this sci-fi story Lyric Walker is living her life until she learns a secret that will change her life forever, she is half Alpha. The Alpha are a species loosely based off of the design of normal mermaids the main difference is the spikes and scars all over their body. These people come to Coney Island and take up all of the amusement park. Which most people are annoyed by but Lyric points out that “People talk about Coney Island's pre-Alpha days like they were magical, like we all lived in the Disneyland of Brooklyn. They forget our "Disneyland" was actually a garishly painted slum in a crumbling …show more content…

Don’t get involved. Don’t try to be nice. Don’t talk to new kids. Just go about your business” (Page 12). The unconventional mermaid based on violence and the Little Mermaid outlook, the hints that she smoked in the past, and all the action in the book make it a great story that’s still appropriate for teenage boys. This book is really interesting and it hooks me with its well developed plot and cliffhanger ending. “Readers will find themselves immersed in this semi-edgy, race-against-the-clock world that's waiting to implode.” — KIRKUS REVIEWS. And E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks says that “Undertow overflows with innovative, terrifying monsters—human, emotional and undersea. Landmark Coney Island becomes a dystopian state where two different species battle for dominance, and Lyric Walker is both a unique, quirky heroine and a fearless crusader. Allegorical and romantic, the book nevertheless reads like an action movie with especially awesome CGI.” Some other books by Michael Buckley are Book two and Book three in this series; Heart Storm and Raging sea, the N.E.R.D.S series, and the Sisters Grimm series which won the Kirkus Best Fantasy Book award and the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Platinum

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