Rip Tide

June 6, 2011
A gruesome discovery marks the start of another perilous adventure for underwater colonist Ty and his surface ally Gemma in this sequel to Dark Life, film rights for which have been picked up by Disney. While preparing to sell the season's seaweed crop, Ty stumbles across an abandoned township, its doors chained shut and its residents murdered. Soon after, the colonists' deal with another township goes bad, and Ty's parents are kidnapped. As Ty and Gemma try to track down those responsible and save their loved ones, they're forced to join up with the notorious Seablite Gang, infiltrate the rough-and-tumble town of Rip Tide, fight for their lives against sea monsters and human predators, and discover who's killing entire townshipsâand why. As with its predecessor, there's no shortage of action, intrigue, or daring exploits in this aquatic thriller. Atmospheric and tense, built around an expertly used postapocalypticâmeetsâWild West setting, this story's a whole lot of fun and won't disappoint fans of the first book. Ages 9â12.

June 15, 2011
Ty, the underwater settler from Dark Life (2010), has to rescue his harvest, his parents and a slew of ragged surfs in this breakneck adventure.

The other settlers think Ty's parents are crazy for their willingness to do business with "surfs"—the unwanted surfeit population who sail the oceans in floating townships and are notorious for raids, crime and untrustworthy behavior. Were the cynics right? Drift township kidnaps Ty's parents and steals their crop of seaweed. While Ty searches for his parents, he finds signs that something bigger than the kidnapping of his parents is afoot: An entire township has sunk to the bottom of the ocean, its population left to die. Ty and his erstwhile girlfriend Gemma also learn a lot more about the politics of the settlements than they ever expected. Alas, despite Ty's frequent brushes with moral complexity—perhaps the laws protecting the settlement help make things so bad for the surfs they have few ethical choices; perhaps sometimes he needs to look "at the consequences down the line" for society instead of at his own immediate need—the ultimate resolution is all too simple.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

September 1, 2011

Gr 6-10-In this futuristic follow-up to Dark Life (Scholastic, 2010), 15-year-old Ty Townson and his friend Gemma, a homeless orphan who used to live in an above-water trade station, discover a submerged township filled with bodies in a trash vortex. Later, when Ty's parents go missing, the duo sets out to find them, fearing they'll meet a similar fate. The first child born of settlers in a postapocalyptic, land-scarce world, Ty possesses a dark gift enabling him to "shine" and generate biosonar pulses used to his advantage in dangerous situations. Gemma's fear of water has kept her from moving in with the Townsons permanently, but her fondness for Ty and his family and her dark gift of exceptional hearing make her an equal protagonist. They seek out Gemma's older brother, Shade, the suitably named leader of the Seablite Gang, for help in gaining information from the local outlaws, and Ty is forced to prove himself in a no-holds-barred boxing match. One of many adventures in the plot, this descriptive scene illuminates the many-layered social-class structure and the setting. Readers will empathize with the subsea pioneers, such as Ty's parents hoping to develop a viable economy based on harvesting laver, a highly edible seaweed, and will relate to Captain Revas and her sometimes-misguided authoritarian decisions to protect the peace in her territory. Readers will immerse themselves in this burgeoning new world that leaves the door open for more adventures.-Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 1, 2011
Grades 6-9 Ty's ocean-homesteader parents are kidnapped during an agricultural trade gone bad, and the search to find them puts the 16-year-old and his friend Gemma in between the Commonwealth police and a local politician with an out-of-control henchman. This action-packed sequel to Dark Life (2010) also includes the futuristic equivalent of Old West cattle rustlers and corrupt local sheriffs. Falls is good at creating a sense of the cultural fabric of her imaginary worlds, and she includes a few hints about past events that may ease entry for readers who jump directly into this follow-up.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2012
A friendly deal between the subsea settlers and township "surfs," brokered in Dark Life, turns ugly when Ty's settler parents are kidnapped. Unsatisfied with the Seaguard's response, Ty and his friend Gemma start their own search party. Along the way, they battle corrupt politicians, evil thugs, and their own fears. This postapocalyptic sea adventure is well paced, with nonstop action and suspense.

(Copyright 2012 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

June 15, 2011
Ty, the underwater settler from Dark Life (2010), has to rescue his harvest, his parents and a slew of ragged surfs in this breakneck adventure.

The other settlers think Ty's parents are crazy for their willingness to do business with "surfs"--the unwanted surfeit population who sail the oceans in floating townships and are notorious for raids, crime and untrustworthy behavior. Were the cynics right? Drift township kidnaps Ty's parents and steals their crop of seaweed. While Ty searches for his parents, he finds signs that something bigger than the kidnapping of his parents is afoot: An entire township has sunk to the bottom of the ocean, its population left to die. Ty and his erstwhile girlfriend Gemma also learn a lot more about the politics of the settlements than they ever expected. Alas, despite Ty's frequent brushes with moral complexity--perhaps the laws protecting the settlement help make things so bad for the surfs they have few ethical choices; perhaps sometimes he needs to look "at the consequences down the line" for society instead of at his own immediate need--the ultimate resolution is all too simple.

(COPYRIGHT (2011) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)