Dark LIfe by Kat Falls

Release Date: Available Now from Scholastic

Source: Personal Collection

Synopsis:

Set in an apocalyptic future where rising oceans have swallowed up entire regions and people live packed like sardines on the dry land left, DARK LIFE is the harrowing tale of underwater pioneers who have carved out a life for themselves in the harsh deep-sea environment, farming the seafloor in exchange for the land deed.

The story follows Ty, who has lived his whole life on his family's homestead and has dreams of claiming his own stake when he turns eighteen. But when outlaws' attacks on government supply ships and settlements...

... threaten to destroy the underwater territory, Ty finds himself in a fight to stop the outlaws and save the only home he has ever known.


Joined by a girl from the Topside who has come subsea to look for her prospector brother, Ty ventures into the frontier's rough underworld and begins to discover some dark secrets to Dark Life.


As Ty gets closer to the truth, he discovers that the outlaws may not be the bloodthirsty criminals the government has portrayed them as. And that the government abandoning the territory might be the best thing for everyone, especially for someone like Ty, someone with a Dark Gift.

I've always been fascinated, or maybe terrified by the ocean. I blame it on my lack of swimming knowledge and also a viewing of Jaws when I was probably too young to be watching Jaws. Now, I'm drawn to underwater imagery and movies like The Abyss. I don't know why I like these things. I think underwater movies and images have an almost claustrophobic feel. The ocean is almost too vast....so vast that it feels very confining. So, when I heard about this book, I was instantly interested. A post-apocalyptic book set in the very depths of the ocean?! What could be better?!

This was a great read. I read a couple of mixed reviews of it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think Kat Falls captured the feeling of the deep perfectly. I still got that claustrophobic feel that The Abyss gives me, but I was mesmerized by the imagery and intrigued by the story.

Ty is a great character. My only complaint is that I wanted to know more about his life under the sea. We get glimpses and descriptions of how they live, but I wanted more. This is one of those reads that made me think, "where do they come up with this stuff"? Ty's world is incredible and actually makes me want to dive into the ocean and hang out for awhile. In fact, I didn't want to leave Ty's world. This is one of those instances when I would have been fine with 100 more pages.

I'm hoping that there's a sequel or companion book on the way. I'd love to read more about the world above the sea where Gemma's from. It sounds pretty interesting and almost as scary as the ocean. I recommend this one. It's a great adventure story that takes place in the unlikeliest of worlds.