I got accepted to review this book years ago, but unfortunately never got around to reading it. Apologies for this.

Reading "Above" is a bit like reading two books in one. Blythe Hallowell is 16 when she's abducted from her small-town Kansas life by a doomsday-prepper-type. He stashes her in the decommissioned underground missile silo he's purchased as part of his survival plan. She manages to maintain her sanity (mostly), she has a son, and ultimately she notices changes in the man who's been holding her for so long. When she finally gets an opportunity to make her escape with her (now teenaged) son, the story takes a surprising turn into dystopian territory and Blythe finds herself in a strange new world that's completely foreign to her and to her son, whose only clues to the world "above" are the ones Blythe has spun to him in stories about life outside the missile silo. I thought Morley did an excellent job building both a claustrophobic underground life for Blythe, and an unrecognizable outside world that leaves Blythe and her son totally bewildered. She definitely held my interest through both.
Thanks to Netgalley and Gallery Books for providing a copy for an unbiased review.

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

** spoiler alert ** People have compared this book to Emma Donoghue's "Room". Yes there is a teen that has been abducted and held captive. Also have seen it compared to Alice Sebold’s “The Lovely Bones”, but the only resemblance there is the teen abducted has been held underground.

Above is the combination of two incredible themes: abduction and my favorite theme, the apocalypse.

I realized the book was about abduction, as it was mentioned in the blurb. But the apocalypse…I never saw that coming, and I LOVED IT!
Kudos to Ms. Morely for taking a bold step from the usual predictable plot and making it exceptional, I was floored.

The character descriptions were spot on; I had no trouble visualizing each and every one of them. Reading this book was like being a fly on the wall. At times I wanted to jump off that wall and help Blythe.
In addition, her world development… I was right there! There was no question of what the world, both Above and Below were like.

I loved this book and look forward to getting the physical copy.

ARC provided by Gallery Books thru Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sorry for the inconvenience, but I was not able to review this title. The book turned out to be something that I could not get into unfortunately. Thank you so much for the opportunity. I really do appreciate it.

WHY DID I LISTEN TO ABOVE BY ISLA MORLEY?
It has been years since I’ve requested Above by Isla Morley on Netgalley. At the time of request, dystopian books were the THING to read. And well, I had this insatiable appetite. So, this book appealed to me on both a dystopian level and also a CRIME level. Of course, I just kind of let it sit on my Kindle until I got a free trial of Scribd after buying the Ultimate Homemaker’s Bundle (disclaimer: I work full time and am not a homemaker but the bundle still appealed). When I saw Above available as an audiobook on Scribd, it got added to a list I made on there of Netgalley books that I still have outstanding in my queue. SO HERE WE ARE with me listening to this utterly ENGAGING book.

WHAT’S THE STORY HERE?
Above by Isla Morley is told through the perspective of Blythe Hallowell. When the story opens, she is sixteen and living a happy life with her family in Eudora, Kansas. Her parents are farmers. She lives in a small town. Anyways, she goes to this event and is going to meet her crush at the bleachers, but he does not show. Instead, she is abducted by this weirdo survivalist from the library, Dobbs. He keeps her imprisoned for years — claiming that some awful dystopian things are going on above ground. She endures abuse – and well, there’s sexual abuse too. Also this may trigger people who have experienced a miscarriage. Anyways, eventually, Blythe makes her way above ground — with a son in tow. Her son has never experienced the world outside of the silo but Blythe will do whatever it takes to protect him. So, there’s a whole lot of choices to make and it is an entirely different world from the one that she remembers.

HOW DID I LIKE ABOVE?
I found myself quite surprised by Above. I mean, I was expecting to like this book. However, it has been years since it has come out. The hype is over. It is not like I have been hearing about this as a throwback must read. BUT IT IS. You know how people still talk about Room? Well, this book is also in that kind of vein, too. It’s different, but still worth discussing. I think there is a lot to unpack. Like, with Hobbs. There’s no question he is a villain. However, he is a villain with SHADES and well, it is complex. I like complexity in what I read. There are parts of this book that are very difficult to read — especially as a new parent. I think that Morley just really nails down a lot of emotions and I was so engaged by this book.

HOW’S THE NARRATION?
Madeleine Maby brings Above to life with her narration. I listen to A LOT of audiobooks in the course of a year. Maby is someone I don’t recall if I have heard before, I don’t think so? Anyways. She’s a superb narrator. Her Blythe voice sounds right on point. Her pacing is good. She has this interesting accent. I just really think this is an audiobook you should listen. Read this book if you’re ready to come back to dystopian books and also here for adult fiction.

Sorry, requested but did not find the time to review.

Two years ago, I set this story aside. Not that it's poorly written, but being in the Point of View of a kidnapped child was just too dark. I tried again to read this, but I'm still not feeling up to this -- it's more than not being "in the mood" - my sister at almost age 19 was abducted, raped, murdered, and stuffed into a culvert under a gravel road, and 41 years later, she's still an Iowa Cold Case. Normally, this doesn't stop me from reading something that could be a "PTSD Trigger," as the latest trendy phrase goes. Again, this is a fine novel, and the opening lines are riveting, and I'm sure the writing is good all the way to the end. It just might take me another two years to work my way there.