Laura and her classmates have been looking forward to their senior camping trip for weeks. Three days on an island paradise, away from school and their parents. What more could they ask for? The camping trip starts out well enough. The island is scenic and just the kind of escape to nature that Laura had hoped for. However, cracks soon begin to appear in her plans. Her boyfriend ditches her to … ditches her to hang out with his friends. She has to share a room with one of the teachers. But those are the least of her worries.
A student disappears, and no one can find him. Soon, Laura and the other students realize that the camping trip is anything but a dream vacation. There’s something else on the island. Something large and frightening. Something that lurks unseen beneath the earth. Something that welcomes the presence of the students because they will satisfy its appetite.
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I didn’t hate this book by any means, I actually enjoyed many parts but there were others that frustrated me. Firstly, this is supposedly a horror story. Yes, it’s YA but still horror, since there is a monster threatening to devour anyone who comes close. The reaction of the characters in this terrible situation is all over the place, to say the least.
Everyone’s life is in danger and nobody knows if they’re going to make it from the island alive and what does the main character think during all this? How much of a jerk her boyfriend is, why did she even date him in the first place, how much better is Alex compere to the jerk Steve. And all these are repeated SOOOOO many times. Are these really the things you are going to think about, when you don’t know if you are going to be alive the next day?
I have to say that I enjoyed the parts with the monster. But the whole book could have been so much more suspenseful. I never really felt the panic that should have been there. In the end I didn’t care much because the characters themselves didn’t seem to care too.
“Beneath The Earth” is a YA Novel that totally surprised me.
I was extremely interested in the overall premise here so decided to give this a stab.
Well, it managed to hold my attention no problem whatsoever and I read this in one continuous sitting.
This is not an incredibly complicated story but it really didn’t need to be.
The onward momentum of the action here easily managed to drive this along in terms of retaining my focus and I was pleasantly entertained by this unexpected little YA gem.
The core of this novel centres on Laura and “Beneath The Earth” is narrated from her POV.
So, Laura and her classmates are on an annual senior camping trip to an isolated island.
There’s been an earthquake in the immediate area but it doesn’t seem to have affected the island’s structures so the trip is still a go much to the delight of all the students.
It’s not long though before the senior class and its teachers realise something is lurking beneath the surface ready to devour them whole.
So this was a YA Creature horror that definitely kept me in a state of constant angst.
This was fast-paced and frantic throughout and this is one that I really did enjoy.
I imagine this will appeal to both adults and adolescents alike it really did have something for everyone.
If you have ever watched the Cult classic film Tremors then this has a very similar concept but combined with the pressures and politics of the younger generation.
The only minor faults here for me were some of the characters portrayed in my opinion could have done with some slight fleshing out: this got away with it because the focus here was so bent on the commotion caused by the surrounding action and fear that it wasn’t major obvious until you actually looked deeper.
Also, I thought the ending was a trifle pat in nature which to me came across a tad unrealistic overall.
All else was fabulous and you also have to remember that at its heart this is a YA novel and not one marketed essentially for a more adult audience: in that respect, this is age appropriate.
So that’s it: this was a really great read that I am happy to give a thumbs up to.
Thank You to the Author for providing me with a review copy of “Beneath The Earth” of which I have reviewed voluntary.
All opinions expressed are entirely my own.
Reviewed By Beckie Bookworm
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