Under the Surface

Starred review from June 3, 2024
In an exhilarating thriller reminiscent of The Descent, Urban (Lying in the Deep) follows four teens who find themselves fighting for their lives in the catacombs of Paris while on a class trip abroad. When Ruby arrives in the city, her best friend Val quickly befriends a mysterious French boy who invites Val to a party deep within the catacombs. Believing that this exclusive view of the underground site will provide great content for her burgeoning YouTube channel, Ruby—as well as friends Selena and Olivia—tags along. But they soon become lost and stranded—and a group of skull-masked, knife-wielding strangers starts pursuing them. As media attention surrounding the girls’ disappearance unfolds topside, classmate Sean, who’s in love with Ruby, struggles to piece together information to help exhume her from the vast necropolis before it’s too late. Without sacrificing nuanced character relationships, Urban utilizes propulsive prose to imbue the fascinating setting with haunting atmosphere. Punchy dialogue, drum-tight pacing, and tense stakes permeate this nail-biting adventure, a delight from start to finish. Protagonists read as white. Ages 14–up.

June 1, 2024
A secret party in the Paris catacombs sounds like the experience of a lifetime--until you're lost in the tunnels of the dead. Ruby has been looking forward to her French class trip to Paris for ages; she's especially excited to explore locations for her YouTube channel, "Ruby's Hidden Gems." When her adventurous bestie, Val, sneaks off to meet up with a handsome stranger, Ruby follows, accompanied by former BFF Selena and class valedictorian Olivia. The four girls trustingly follow the mysterious Julien into the Paris catacombs for an illegal cataphile party, but they all end up lost. Aboveground, Ruby's other best friend (and crush) Sean and Selena's girlfriend, Aliyah, help the police search for the missing teens. Underground, Ruby, Val, Selena, and Olivia confront the fractures in their friendships and struggle to find their way out. But wait--did some of the bones just come to life? From teen drama to suffocating nightmares, this book takes readers through twists and turns in the maze of tunnels beneath Paris. Urban's prose is absorbing, leading readers through frightening scenes at a breakneck pace. Ruby's narration of her harrowing journey is fast-paced and exciting. Sean's chapters, which focus on his attempts to assist with the rescue, unfortunately distract from the far more compelling story playing out underground. The lead characters are white; Selena reads Latine, and Aliyah is cued Black. A nonstop thrill ride through an eerily claustrophobic setting. (Thriller. 14-18)

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June 1, 2024
Grades 9-12 Urban (All Your Twisted Secrets, 2020) returns with another fast-paced thriller, this time set in the enigmatic, eerie Paris catacombs. Dual first-person narratives alternate between Ruby and Sean, close friends who produce travel videos for YouTube near their Boston suburb. They're on a once-in-a-lifetime trip with their French class, touring Paris and seeing sites like the Eiffel Tower and recording footage for their followers. On their very first day, Ruby's best friend, Val, meets Julien, a handsome Parisian teen, who invites her to an exclusive party that night. When Val secretly leaves the hotel to meet Julien, Ruby, her exbest friend Selena, and acquaintance Olivia tag along with Val and Julien to the party in the catacombs. But after descending into the tunnels, they realize they aren't alone and are in great danger. As Ruby and her friends fight for their lives to escape, Sean's on the surface, doing everything he can to find Ruby. Plot twists, peril, and secret truths revealed come together in this satisfyingly propulsive, cinematic survival story.

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August 1, 2024

Gr 9 Up-Four American students studying French in Paris find themselves lost in the catacombs in this thrilling survival story. Val accepts an invitation to an illegal underground party from handsome French stranger Julien, and Ruby, concerned for her safety, follows to stop her. Olivia, four-time teen Jeopardy! winner, and Selena, Ruby's ex-best friend, get swept up in the effort, too. At the mouth of the catacombs, Selena falls and is injured, kicking off a terrifying chain of events. They quickly realize they're being pursued by armed men in skeleton masks. They can't figure out why these men are chasing them, but it's clear they mean them harm as they continue to push the students deeper and deeper into the catacombs. Julien is lost now, too, there's no cell service, not much food or water, and it's completely pitch black without their few weak flashlights. This book doesn't pull punches as tragedy after tragedy strikes the group, revealing character-developing backstories along the way, as well as fascinating details about "cataphiles," real-life catacomb explorers. The chapters are narrated in turns by Ruby and Sean. Sean is still above ground, and loves Ruby but hasn't yet found a way to tell her. Lots of twists, heart-pounding near-misses, and heartbreaking turns of events make for an exhilarating read. VERDICT Recommended for YA collections.-Mandy Laferriere

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