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kenna92005's review against another edition
3.0
Barry Lyga is a great author and for that reason I wanted to read this book. The Secret Sea is interesting and full of adventure. It just didn’t keep my attention as much as his other books had. It could be just the wrong timing for me to read it.
That aside, The Secret Sea was full of adventure, some mystery, and Barry Lyga created a fascinating new world. There were moments I got lost (some of the science explanations and switching of POV). I would recommend this book to sci-fi fans and adventure readers.
That aside, The Secret Sea was full of adventure, some mystery, and Barry Lyga created a fascinating new world. There were moments I got lost (some of the science explanations and switching of POV). I would recommend this book to sci-fi fans and adventure readers.
the_fabric_of_words's review against another edition
5.0
Learning about two IRL premises in this book caught and held my attention: 1) A real ship from 1773, found buried under the rubble of the World Trade Center, and 2) twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome.
Zak hears a voice warning him of danger, and when it saves him and his friends Moira and Kahlid from the subway as it fills inexplicably with sea water, he decides its his guardian angel. He pokes around in his parents' room and safe and discovers he had a twin brother, Tommy, who died when they were two due to TTTS. His parents and a therapist inexplicably hide the boy's death from him and pretended all these years like Tommy didn't exist.
But now Zak's having ...visions? experiences?...of the subway filling with water, and no one else can see them. The voice lures him and his friends back to the subway and they slip through a breach into another world, a parallel universe where magic rules, Moira is in danger just because she's a girl, and Zak can finally talk to Tommy's ethereal form.
They learn the voice was not always Tommy, but another man's ghost, and he has plans, horrific plans, for our world...
I won't spoil the ending. Just know that while this book features a 12-year-old protagonist, it's just creepy enough and deals with some brutal enough treatment of women (sexual abuse is implied but never outright stated) that I'd recommend it for young adult, not middle grade.
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
Zak hears a voice warning him of danger, and when it saves him and his friends Moira and Kahlid from the subway as it fills inexplicably with sea water, he decides its his guardian angel. He pokes around in his parents' room and safe and discovers he had a twin brother, Tommy, who died when they were two due to TTTS. His parents and a therapist inexplicably hide the boy's death from him and pretended all these years like Tommy didn't exist.
But now Zak's having ...visions? experiences?...of the subway filling with water, and no one else can see them. The voice lures him and his friends back to the subway and they slip through a breach into another world, a parallel universe where magic rules, Moira is in danger just because she's a girl, and Zak can finally talk to Tommy's ethereal form.
They learn the voice was not always Tommy, but another man's ghost, and he has plans, horrific plans, for our world...
I won't spoil the ending. Just know that while this book features a 12-year-old protagonist, it's just creepy enough and deals with some brutal enough treatment of women (sexual abuse is implied but never outright stated) that I'd recommend it for young adult, not middle grade.
Visit my blog for more great middle grade book recommendations, free teaching materials and fiction writing tips: https://amb.mystrikingly.com/
allzen_nochill's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
This was... fine. The concept is imaginative, but some of the world mechanics are lacking. Lyga's done a lot better creating characters that are messed-up but still lovable. Maybe it's because I don't read a lot of middle-grade or fantasy, but this was just eh for me.
amdame1's review against another edition
3.0
Zak has always thought that he had a guardian angel watching over him. He's heard a voice warning him of danger throughout his life. However, this time the voice warned him about a flood in the subway tunnel, but there was nothing there. Now his parents are making him see a counselor to help him sort things out. Something weird is going on, though, because he and his two best friends Moira and Khalid all end up in an alternate universe - and it turns out the voices weren't just in his head!
Lots of action, sort of creepy. Not truly horror, but students looking for horror that aren't ready for Stephen King might like it.
Grades 6-10
Lots of action, sort of creepy. Not truly horror, but students looking for horror that aren't ready for Stephen King might like it.
Grades 6-10
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