Undertow by Michael Buckley is an intense, fast-paced sci-fi thriller with a unique take on an alien invasion. When a fierce new race called the Alpha arrives on Earth, sixteen-year-old Lyric Walker finds herself torn between worlds. With high-stakes action, mystery, and a bit of romance, it’s perfect for fans of dystopian adventures and supernatural suspense.

Sounded intriguing, but this seemed to be a case of too many things going on for any of it to be truly successful. While there were sections that I enjoyed, the whole thing felt too much for me to ever really enjoy.

Undertow is a racial allegory with another racial allegory layered within itself. Alphas are an underwater species driven from the ocean onto shore at Coney Island of all places, and conflict with the American people and NY government ensues. There's echoes of Brown v. the Board of Education, internment camps, and general fear of the Other.
Is this story believable? No more unbelievable than the plot of Aquaman. I'm also a sucker for a star-crossed lovers romance, so I enjoyed this story. I wish there was more of those moments since they were some of the most genuinely entertaining. The battle scenes were easy to visualize, but at times felt a bit repetitive.
Adding the second to my TBR list.
Thanks to NetGalley and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Children's Book Group for the advanced copy of this book; my apologies for the belated review.

One of the reasons I loved Undertow so much is because of the characters. They were believable and each had their own issues to overcome.

Undertow
By Michael Buckley
May 5, 2015

Fantastic story with great world building, I loved the creativity. The storyline was great. I loved the setting and the alien life forms. I liked District 9 and this really reminded me of it.

Thank you to Clarion Books and NetGalley for this ebook to read and review.

A constant favorite of my students, I purchased this after lightly skimming a few pages, knowing immediately that my students would love it. I was right. I have had to replace my copies twice as students keep this book circulating throughout the year.

Well I’ll be damned this book was really damn good and not at all what I was expecting. It’s like an alien invasion, only they come out of the water on the shores of Coney Island. Humans are their usual horrible selves and cannot work with the ‘Alphas’ but instead use violence, discrimination and hatred to release their pent up anxiety about what they don’t understand. A few Alpha students try to integrate into the local high-school but every day is loaded with bullying and fighting. In many ways this is believable just because of the human aspect. Makes everything more interesting for heroine Lyric as she’s literally caught between the two species being a mix herself.
The one aspect I’m not loving is the love triangle that’s happening. Seems the prince is already spoken for, happy with that arrangement but still in a way leads Lyric on. Plus if he gave up his rights to the throne, wouldn’t that make his arrangement with his betrothed Arcade a moot point along with his fathers continued anger misplaced? Well maybe not daddy dearest who is truly a psycho who needs to be taken out along with his wretched wife.
With so few Alphas now it’s curious who will even want to rule them. And the stupid humans are once again literally willing to bomb themselves to take out the threat while ignoring the bigger issue. All of it is completely dramatic and crazy and I’m very eager for what’s next especially now that Lyric is exploring her Alpha side.

The premise for Undertow is EXTREMELY interesting and something I wanted to love. What I don't love is men who believe that they can accurately write teenagers and specifically girls. Perhaps there are men who cam do this, but this author cannot and the absurdity of the characters tanks this book.

I love how different this is! Underwater aliens aren't exactly something that gets covered all that much and I thought this was really interesting! It took a second to get into because not all of the information was revealed right away but besides that, I was happy!

In Undertow, the potential end of the world isn't coming from an alien invasion or from the barbarian hordes from across the globe. It's coming from deep in the sea -- or so it would seem at first. Lyric, a 16 year old teen girl, sees the invasion of Alphas arrive at Coney Island, which quickly becomes a military zone. Then Lyric is recruited to help Alpha's crown prince assimilate, begins to fall for him, and questions the original assumption that Alpha were coming to take over the world. What if, instead, they are humanity's only hope of survival? Teens will enjoy the pace and the original twist on the familiar story. But heavy readers will recognize this as very similar to many other titles from the past few years, as it feels like ground that has been tread far too often lately.

Really wasn't a fan...a little too dark and otherworldly for me.

(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

Sixteen-year-old Lyric Walker’s life is forever changed when she witnesses the arrival of 30,000 Alpha, a five-nation race of ocean-dwelling warriors, on her beach in Coney Island. The world’s initial wonder and awe over the Alpha quickly turns ugly and paranoid and violent, and Lyric’s small town transforms into a military zone with humans on one side and Alpha on the other. When Lyric is recruited to help the crown prince, a boy named Fathom, assimilate, she begins to fall for him. But their love is a dangerous one, and there are forces on both sides working to keep them apart. Only, what if the Alpha are not actually the enemy? What if they are in fact humanity’s only hope of survival? Because the real enemy is coming. And it’s more terrifying than anything the world has ever seen.

I seem to be finding myself using the word "potential" a lot in recent times when it comes to reviews...and the sense of disappointment that comes with trying very hard to believe in said potential...

I was actually quite keen on the start of this book (hence where my thoughts of potential came from) - but when it turned into a mish-mash of YA tropes and stolen ideas, then it just got tragic. Take some Lovecraft, some District 9, throw in some YA-instalove and a dash of character-cliche - that pretty much sums up everything this book has. Hardly original, and not very well written either.

I am hoping that Raging Sea is a better book but I am not holding out too many hopes just now.


Paul
ARH