Underworld [Paperback]

Catherine MacPhail (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 3, 2009

A school trip goes disastrously wrong when a visit to local caves turns into something far more sinister. Five school children find themselves trapped beneath the ground. Their best chance of escape is to stay together. Then a member of the group disappears, and their hopes of leaving start to fade. Does one of the remaining four know more than they are letting on, or is there something evil lurking in the caves? The five children find themselves in a struggle for dominance as well as survival .

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 7-10 -Readers who happen to be familiar with the film The Breakfast Club may recognize this title as being, basically, a subterranean version of the 1985 teen-angst classic. Instead of being trapped in a daylong study hall together, five British teens-each one with a distinctly different background and temperament-find themselves trapped in a labyrinthine cave during a field trip in Scotland after a rock slide suddenly seals up the entrance and leaves the group's advisor unconscious. The squabbling students eventually realize that they must put their differences aside and cooperate if they are to survive and-you guessed it-within the course of the ordeal, the angriest and most arrogant among them have their tender undersides exposed. Eventually, all of the cave-bound kids come to realize on some level that fear is the common denominator that drives all kinds of superficial teen behaviors and that one can only overcome insecurity through empathy and understanding. The melodramatic tone and stereotypical characters are questionable enough, but it's this type of exposition-and the story is rife with it-that really drives the novel into cheeseville: "That was in another life, another world. The world up there. Down here, they had all changed." Still, less-discerning readers may enjoy the quick pace and spooky suspense as they work their way to the predictably happy ending.-Jeffrey Hastings, Highlander Way Middle School, Howell, MI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

Gr. 7-10. Smart-mouth Fiona; innocent, always cheerful Angie; prefect (and perfect) Zesh; angry bad-boy Axel; Axel's follower Liam--all are selected for the class trip, spelunking with PE teacher Mr. Marks. The teens hate each other aboveground, but once they go below, circumstances eventually force them to support and care for each other. MacPhail writes a suspenseful adventure story, sprinkled with Scotttish slang, which will attract males and females alike. The author teases readers with the characters' personal obstacles, such as asthma, fear of small spaces, obesity, indecision, and mean-spiritedness--all potentially dangerous under the conditions. The legend of a cave-dwelling giant worm adds further suspense. Reminiscent of reality TV, this page-turner will draw eager readers. Frances Bradburn
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Childrens Books (August 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140880204X
• ISBN-13: 978-1408802045
• Product Dimensions: 7.7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,028,794 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A chilling page-turner, August 11, 2005

By 

Teenreads.com (New York, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underworld (Hardcover)

An old man suffers from memories of a nightmare that no one believes could ever have existed. As he begins to tell his terrible story, five Scottish teens are about to descend into a nightmare of their own. They all dislike one another immensely and lead very different lives. There's Axel, the bully; Liam, the quiet one; Zesh, the seemingly perfect student; Fiona, the rebel; and Angie, the overweight new girl. When they are sent on a school trip together to a wild island in the North Sea, they think they couldn't be in a worse situation.

A few days later, their teacher Mr. Marks announces that he is taking the students on an underground cave expedition. No one --- except for Zesh and Angie --- is looking forward to another boring afternoon with Mr. Marks. Then a disgruntled cook named Mrs. Soames tells the teens about the legend of the Great Worm. Apparently there was a Nazi soldier who saw the horrific creature when he and his comrades sought shelter in the caves after their submarine sunk. The students don't believe the legend and dismiss the cook's story.

The following day is at first uneventful as the group is led on the expedition. Then, suddenly the entrance to the caves collapses and the students are trapped inside. If that weren't terrible enough, Mr. Marks falls and is badly injured. The teens now must find a way out while confronting their worst fears, and each other.

UNDERWORLD is a chilling mystery that will draw readers in after the first page.

--- Reviewed by Sarah Sawtelle (...)

5.0 out of 5 stars High adventure and interpersonal struggle at its best, August 12, 2005

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Underworld (Hardcover)

Five young cavers who hate each other at school become trapped when a field trip to a desolate island injures their teacher and traps them underground. Now they find themselves struggling for survival: a struggle which forces them to confront their fears and get along, if they're to survive. Catherine MacPhail's Underworld is high adventure and interpersonal struggle at its best.