Goodbye, World!
October 8, 2018Underground Book Reviews Goes Under
The time has come to close our doors at Underground Book Reviews. It was a difficult journey at times, but our time was well worth the honor of finding and occasionally meeting the talented authors who joined us. Our last issue will be November 12th, 2018, and we intend to leave as strong as we started. Coming up, we have an exciting lineup of at least two reviews per week, including some Top Picks you won’t want to miss, plus a recap of the best books we’ve found and a little something about where to find our writers once we’re gone. So don’t give up on us just yet. The end may be near, but there’s still more to come!
3.5 stars: Review of DOWN IN THE BELLY OF THE WHALE by Kelley Kay Bowles
The story started out seeming as if it were going to be a lighthearted comedy because of the playful tone of the first few chapters. However, about five chapters in, a lot of serious problems start to happen with her best friend and her mother. Cora’s life is basically falling apart and Isabella’s health is failing. There are some YA and middle-grade stories that deftly handle a serious topic, while retaining a comic feel throughout, but that aren’t many that can do this successfully. This book showed promise at the beginning and it could have worked well if only one person in the story had such serious problems. It seemed a bit much for a children’s book to have the two people closest to Harper experiencing tragedy at the same time. It went from humorous to extremely heavy in one chapter. While the problems mentioned were worth dealing with in a novel, it might have been better to focus on one problem only.
Author Spotlight: Guillermo Stitch
Literature is a dystopian thriller about the power of words and the worlds they can create. The story moves at a blistering pace and provides many surprising twists along the way, as well as some delicious prose of its own. Captivating and timely, with a perfect bittersweet ending and an endearing protagonist you’re rooting for to the last page.
Quality reviews of independent literature from 2011 - 2018