Underneath the city lies an advanced society, and its dark secrets could bury her alive.
Ayla worries she’ll be stuck waitressing for pennies until she dies. She longs for adventure, for something to save her from the paycheck-to-paycheck life she lives with her long-time boyfriend, Derek, who plays it safe and only half-tolerates her thirst for exploration.
With her trusty camera in tow, she … trusty camera in tow, she explores abandoned buildings, searching for something—anything—interesting. One night, she finds a mysterious trapdoor in an old warehouse which leads to a futuristic society right beneath her feet.
This is the adventure she’s been looking for, but the people underground don’t appreciate her intrusion and she quickly finds herself locked up and questioned. They think she’s a spy, their questions are getting more intrusive, and Derek has no idea where she is.
Ayla must find a way out of this underground world that’s not at all the adventure she thought she wanted, or she may never see Derek again…
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After the death of her mother, Ayla was in an emotionally dark place, sinking deeper and deeper into a hopeless depression, without a light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak. Her life had become an endless loop of working two low-paying jobs, a crummy, dinky apartment with old, second-hand furnishings she shared with her long-standing boyfriend, Derek, and looking out for her younger brother, Jake. Not much of a life and little hope for a better future. Except for her growing interest in exploring and photographing old, abandoned, and forgotten buildings.
One night during one of their urban forays, she and Derek stumble onto an old, decrepit, and long-deserted warehouse, the outside inexplicably patrolled by a well-armed security guard. Hiding from the guard just inside the loading dock’s doors, they find a mysterious three-ringed symbol and the word “AURA” on the floor marking the location of a trapdoor. Wary of the guard’s return, they leave its further examination for another visit.
Against Derek’s better judgment, Ayla returns one night without him to continue her exploration and ends up below ground-level in what appears to be an underground research facility. She’s injured when she blunders into the middle of an ongoing experiment and winds up in the facility’s hospital, recuperating but now under lock and key and questioned endlessly about where she came from and why she’s there.
I liked the premise of this story very much – a secret underground facility housing hundreds of people and in existence for over 100 years! I initially thought Ayla was pretty immature, frankly, and treated her boyfriend quite disrespectfully. He seemed like a decent guy going on these expeditions around the city at night when it was apparent he didn’t share in her enjoyment of the trips but only went because she liked them. However, as the story progressed, the reasons for her behavior came out, and she does reflect on her treatment of Derek and tries to do right by him.
Readers are introduced to the leaders of the underground community and a few residents. Still, we really only get to know Katherine, the facility’s lead doctor, and Ellen, the head of research before the cliffhanger ending suddenly arrives. But as this is the first book in a series, I look forward to more about each of the players.
The story is quick-paced and relatively short, but it grabbed my attention from the start with Ayla and Derek hiding from the mysterious and menacing armed guard and held it throughout Ayla’s struggle to escape the underground facility and get back to Derek. As mentioned, there is a cliffhanger ending, and we are left with ALL the questions!
I recommend this book to fans of the “Book of Ember” series by Jeanne DuPrau, although there is some violence that may be too much for very young readers.
I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy (or ARC) on Reedsy Discovery.
Received as an ARC copy, this is an honest review. Alice in Wonderland in a science fiction world. Ayla enjoys exploring the mysteries of abandoned buildings, but it’s what she and her brother Derek discover thst will plunge both into an unknown, bizarre… an unexpected ways. Curious about the odd carvings and symbols Ayla journeys deeper into the abandoned building, accidentally discovering a world beneath the building and becomes trapped in an odd hospital that she can’t easily escape. Everyone there doesn’t believe the the world that Ayla knows doesn’t exist and see her as a spy for powerful organization; forcing her to endure bizarre conversations and procedures… leaving her frightened and confused. When a mysterious stranger helps Ayla flee her confinement… the bizarre world she’s in keeps getting weirder than what she’s already encountered. All Ayla wants is to get home but not sure if she can accomplish it surrounded by very odd people. Fun, fast and totally crazy… a brilliant journey to read; highly recommended.