Marvelous Middle Grade Monday: Rip Tide

Today’s pick: Rip Tide  by Kat Falls

Scholastic Press, 2011

From Amazon:

The sequel to the acclaimed subsea adventure DARK LIFE.

Ty has always known that the ocean is a dangerous place. Every time he swims beyond the borders of his family's subsea farm, he's prepared to face all manner of aquatic predators-sharks, squid, killer whales . . .

What Ty isn't prepared to find in the deep is an entire township chained to a sunken submarine, its inhabitants condemned to an icy underwater grave. It's only the first clue to a mystery that has claimed hundreds of lives and stands to claim two more -- lives very precious to Ty and his Topsider ally, Gemma.

Now in a desperate race against the clock, Ty and Gemma find themselves in conflict with outlaws, Seaguard officers, and the savage, trident-wielding surfs -- plus a menagerie of the most deadly creatures the ocean has to offer.

Kat Falls brings to life the mysteries, marvels, and monsters of the deep in this fast-paced and inventive action-adventure.

 

My take:

I loved the unique setting – I haven’t read many other middle grade novels that take place under the ocean. The underwater world in Dark Life and this sequel Rip Tide is intriguing and full of threatening sea life. The story in Rip Tide moves along at a fairly quick pace and is filled with action.

Ty is a great heroic character, always taking risks to help other people. The special abilities he has due to growing up in the ocean add a unique twist to his character. His friendship with Gemma becomes slightly romantic in this novel, so I hope the author writes another story so we can see where that goes. I recommend reading Dark Life first, since even though this novel stands alone, Dark Life gives a clearer introduction to the undersea world and gadgets.

From a writer’s perspective, I’d take another look at this when writing action scenes. It’s great the way the author can pack a lot of relevant information into a tight scene.

How I Discovered This Book:

I saw Dark Life in the Scholastic Book flyer last year and ordered it for my daughter. She enjoyed it so we bought the sequel. 

Other info:

Kat Falls lives in Illinois and worked as a screenwriter before she started writing novels.

Her first novel, Dark Life has won several awards, including a Juvenile Literary Award by The Friends of American Writers. It is being developed for film production.

Kat Falls wrote that she was thinking about what her own children like to read when she wrote her books, “Meaning, I tried to keep the stories fast, fun, fresh and edging over-the-top.”

Other books written by this author include:

Dark Life

For more, visit Kat Falls’ website.

Marvelous Middle Grade Monday was dreamed up by the incredible Shannon Messenger. Visit her blog for an up-to-date list of all the bloggers who are participating and posting about middle grade books today!