Undertow

Book 1

By: Michael Buckley

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Hardcover | 5 May 2015

At a Glance

Hardcover
384 Pages

Age
12+

Grade
7+

Dimensions(cm)
21.59 x 14.61 x 2.54

Hardcover

RRP $35.00

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16-year-old Lyric Walker's life is turned upside down when she witnesses the arrival of 20,000 Triton, a five-nation race of ocean-dwelling warriors, on her beach in Coney Island. Confined to a militarised ghetto of tents, the Tritons cause ugly changes in the town-xenophobia, violence, and fear surpass humanity's initial wonder and awe. But the Triton's arrival also reveals a shocking family secret: her own mother is a Triton, which makes Lyric half-Triton. When the Triton agree to allow a small handful of their children to enroll in a human school where Lyric is a student, she can no longer avoid her people. She is recruited to help the crown prince, a boy named Fathom, assimilate, and begins to fall for him. But their love is a dangerous one, and there are forces on both sides working to keep them apart. After a Triton teenager kills a human boy, everything goes from bad to worse. And Lyric finds herself caught in the middle, just as both of their races must face the greatest threat the world has ever seen. For fans of Rick Yancey and Marie Lu, Undertow is book one in this much-anticipated, genre-breaking, breath-catching new trilogy for teens from New York Times bestselling author Michael Buckley. AUTHOR: Michael Buckley's two middle grade series, the Sisters Grimm and NERDS, have sold more than 2.5 million copies. He has also worked as a stand-up comic, television writer, pasta maker, and a singer in a punk rock band. Visit his website at www.michaelbuckleywrites.com. A CONVERSATION WITH THE AUTHOR: *** What can fans of Sisters Grimm and NERDS expect from your first YA novel for teens? My fan base is the best. The're incredibly loyal and enthusiastic, so I turned to a few 'superfans' for their opinions on Undertow. They told me it is scary, romantic, shocking, thrilling, and thought-provoking. This story is more sophisticated and mature than what I've written before, but so is my audience. They grew up with the Sisters Grimm and NERDS, and I wrote this with them in mind. It has my brand of humor, my pacing, and the quirky characters I'm known for creating, but aside from that, it's a very different kind of story. ***What can readers expect to find that's different? Everything. For one, the main character, Lyric Walker, is not a spunky kid detective. She's a young woman living in a xenophobic, racist, violent world. She is surrounded by monsters, both real and metaphorical, and she has learned that keeping her head down keeps her alive. Second, the story has a conscience that my other books don't have. It asks some tough questions and hopefully sparks conversations about our society and who we claim to be. One huge Sisters Grimm fan told me she was expecting an older Sabrina and Daphne Grimm but got something entirely different. She said the book felt like being tossed into the deep end of the pool. It's unexpected, but my fans know better than to think I'm just going to keep telling the same stories over and over again. ***UNDERTOW promo video: http://youtu.be/dPVksM8_fII

Industry Reviews

"Undertow overflows with innovative, terrifying monsters -- human, emotional and undersea. Landmark Coney Island becomes a dystopian state where two different species battle for dominance, and Lyric Walker is both a unique, quirky heroine and a fearless crusader. Allegorical and romantic, the book nevertheless reads like an action movie with especially awesome CGI." -- E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks "Undertow crashes over you in waves of emotion, allowing glimpses of family and loyalty, before dragging you into the depths of human prejudice, cultural mistrust, and political corruption. Once you resurface, you'll view the world through different eyes." --A.G. Howard, author of the critically acclaimed Splintered Series "Undertow will unexpectedly grab hold and pull you out into a world of epic romance and gritty suspense. A must-read tale of how love can survive under the most dangerous circumstances. It will leave you gasping for air, and for more." --Tonya Hurley, NYT bestselling author of the ghostgirl series and The Blessed Trilogy "A gritty, turbulent novel as sweeping and deep as the ocean itself. UNDERTOW will pull you in and hold you down." --Rebecca Serle, author of When You Were Mine, and The Edge of Falling "Lyric is a girl's girl--as savvy as she is soulful, as sharp as she is tender. Lyric's fierce, distinctive voice is the core magnetic force of UNDERTOW, and why we will all be stampeding for more." --Adele Griffin, author of All You Never Wanted and The Unfinished Life of Addison Stone * "Sharp political commentary and strong parallels to the treatment of minorities in the U.S. ground the world in reality, while the well-rounded and ethnically diverse supporting cast will cause readers to root for them...the breathtaking action and cliff-hanger conclusion will leave teens desperate for more." --School Library Journal, starred review "There are some nice parallels to the civil rights movement and school integration in this novel, but the real attraction for most readers will be the romance and action, both of which are in high supply...should please readers looking supernatural romance with a bit of a twist." --VOYA "Civilization's end is fast and furious in Michael Buckley's Undertow. Cut your nails before reading or you will find yourself biting them off." --Campus Circle "Readers will find themselves immersed in this semi-edgy, race-against-the-clock world that's waiting to implode." --Kirkus "Buckley packs this propulsive novel with one walloping scene after another, and there's enough action, romance, and high-stakes drama to keep a wide array of readers interested." --Booklist "Buckley draws clear parallels between the vicious anti-Alpha attitudes and existing racial and ethnic prejudices...A fascinating, engaging, and tense tale, and a strong start to the series." --Publishers Weekly "A gripping story that is convincingly told, and astute readers may spot what is almost certainly some sharp political commentary about the ways our own nation has addressed "otherness" throughout our tumultuous history." --Bulletin --

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