Dark Life is a post-apocalyptic type book. As a result of climate change and earthquakes, the world’s oceans have risen and there is little land for humans to live on. Topsiders (people who live on land) live in stack cities with virtually no space to move around. Ty and his family are ‘pioneer’ settlers that are living in underwater homes in the ocean and cultivating the ocean floor. Topsiders refer to living in the ocean as the, “Dark Life”.
Rumors abound that the brains of children who live in the ocean are affected by the intense water pressure. Between protecting his homestead from a band of outlaws, to meeting the fearless Topsider Gemma, Ty is thrown into a crazy chain of events that will change his life.
I loved this book! It’s a mix of the the wild frontier meets X-Men, set mostly underwater. The story felt original and very creative and I really liked the characters and the relationships built between them. I can’t wait for the sequel Rip Tide. I absolutely recommend you read this book. So far, it’s one of my favorite reads for this year.
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Overall Rating: 
Parent’s guide:
- Sex: a few brief kisses
- Violence: a sub splattered with blood, a death threat, light description of people being experimented on, a gang that is threatening the safety of a community
- Language: the word hell is used once
[…] Tide by Kat Falls – This book is a sequel to one of my favorites from 2010, Dark Life. In Rip Tide, Ty and Gemma find an underwater township that is chained to a sunken submarine. Not […]