Underworld



By Catherine MacPhail

Rating: ****
Fiona and her friends go to school in a small town where there is lots of trouble. Most of them are punks and don’t know how to act. But when they get picked to go on a trip to an island, they are forced to cope with each other and work together. Trapped underground, they discover what fear really is. Something is around them, waiting for the right moment to take them one by one. The story has many suspenseful twists.

When a character says, “This trip is going to be hell,” he really means it. In the book, it teaches its readers that some legends are reality, and to take some things seriously. When a strange cook on the island tells them that there is a strange monster that lurks about underground, referring to it as “The Great Worm,” they do not heed the warning. Catherine MacPhail does a good job of throwing the theme out at the readers in a suspenseful tone and getting their attention. Many of the characters reveal the theme just as well, most mysteriously when a character comes back when the others were sure that he/she is dead. It gives a “spooky feeling.”

Many people would call this a horror story, but its proper title would be more towards the suspense genre. Readers that like edge of their seat, drooling for the next chapter kind of books will definitely want to read this story. If you came for blood and gore, you’ve got the wrong book. It is more pointed toward scaring its readers in a suspenseful way instead of a gory one.

This book, though not as revealing and blood filled, is similar to a book by Frank Peretti called The Oath. It has the same kind of monster situation, although geared towards an older audience.

This book has a good plot, a good ending, and a great effect. It has a creepy tone to it and will leave an interesting and satisfying impression on its readers.