Undercurrent

by Paul Blackwell

Overview

In Undercurrent, Paul Blackwell's fast-paced teen thriller, sixteen-year-old Callum Harris survives a plummet over a waterfall but wakes to find himself in a life that's totally different from the one he knew.

His parents were separated. Now they're together. His brother, Cole, was a sports star. Now he's paralyzed. And Callum, who used to be quiet and sort of unpopular, is suddenly a jock with two hot girls after him. But there's one difference that matters more than all the others combined: His former best friend wants Callum dead. And he isn't the only one.

Tense and original, Undercurrent is a psychological thrill ride with sci-fi elements that will appeal to fans of Neal Shusterman. The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books said, "the riveting opening and intense final scene will keep genre fans satisfied and breathless," while ALA Booklist called it "a menacing, suspenseful thriller."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062123527
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/01/2014
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	5.31(w) x 8.00(h) x 0.72(d)
Age Range:	14 - 17 Years

About the Author

Paul BLackwell never went over a waterfall himself, but he has jumped off a sixty-foot cliff. Once was enough.

This is his first book for teens. He lives in Montreal, Quebec.

Editorial Reviews

A menacing, suspenseful thriller. Hand this to fans of Mary Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008), Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate’s Eve and Adam (2012), and the novels of Neal Shusterman.” — Booklist

“Blackwell writes with a crisp, clean style, keeping up suspense and providing nicely off-kilter elements in character and detail.” — Toronto Star

“A pure concept thriller…the riveting opening and intense final scene will keep genre fans satisfied and breathless.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

“Thoroughly enjoyable. A page-turner.” — VOYA

From the Publisher

A pure concept thriller…the riveting opening and intense final scene will keep genre fans satisfied and breathless.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A menacing, suspenseful thriller. Hand this to fans of Mary Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008), Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate’s Eve and Adam (2012), and the novels of Neal Shusterman.

Booklist

Blackwell writes with a crisp, clean style, keeping up suspense and providing nicely off-kilter elements in character and detail.

Toronto Star

Thoroughly enjoyable. A page-turner.

VOYA

A pure concept thriller…the riveting opening and intense final scene will keep genre fans satisfied and breathless.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

A menacing, suspenseful thriller. Hand this to fans of Mary Pearson’s The Adoration of Jenna Fox (2008), Michael Grant and Katherine Applegate’s Eve and Adam (2012), and the novels of Neal Shusterman.

Booklist

A pure concept thriller…the riveting opening and intense final scene will keep genre fans satisfied and breathless.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

A potentially deadly trip over a waterfall turns out to be the least of teenage Cal's problems. Callum "Cal" Harris has survived the falls, a journey few others have. But the town of Crystal Falls in which Cal wakes to find himself is vastly different from the one he remembers. Cal is feared at school, he has a hot girlfriend, his best friend seems to hate him, and his beloved older brother is comatose. Struggling to adapt to this new reality, Cal feels hunted by an unknown presence that seems bent on thwarting his attempts to fit in. Blackwell's debut for teens attempts to explore the concept of the multiverse, how the past shapes the present and the perception of reality, but it does none of it well. There's no narrative tension, no character development and no compelling reason to turn the page. Callum is an incessant whiner, which is understandable given that he has jumped universes and woken in completely new circumstances, but it also makes it difficult to generate any sympathy for him or his plight. While the multiverse has potential as a narrative device, Blackwell simply falls into the tired evil-twin trope and leaves it half finished. The framework never jells, leaving the plot points suspended in the mist of the falls themselves. (Thriller. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews