Rip Tide (Dark Life Series #2)

by Kat Falls

Overview

The sequel to the acclaimed subsea adventure DARK LIFE.Ty has always known that the ocean is a dangerous place. Every time he swims beyond the borders of his family's subsea farm, he's prepared to face all manner of aquatic predators-sharks, squid, killer whales . . .What Ty isn't prepared to find in the deep is an entire township chained to a sunken submarine, its inhabitants condemned to an icy underwater grave. It's only the first clue to a mystery that has claimed hundreds of lives and stands to claim two more -- lives very precious to Ty and his Topsider ally, Gemma. Now in a desperate race against the clock, Ty and Gemma find themselves in conflict with outlaws, Seaguard officers, and the savage, trident-wielding surfs -- plus a menagerie of the most deadly creatures the ocean has to offer.Kat Falls brings to life the mysteries, marvels, and monsters of the deep in this fast-paced and inventive action-adventure.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545389365
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/01/2012
Series:	Dark Life Series , #2
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	320
Lexile:	780L (what's this?)
File size:	2 MB
Age Range:	9 - 12 Years

About the Author

Kat Falls is the author of Inhuman, Dark Life, and Rip Tide. A graduate of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, she holds an MFA in screenwriting from Northwestern University, where she now teaches. She lives in Illinois with her husband and three children.

Editorial Reviews

A gruesome discovery marks the start of another perilous adventure for underwater colonist Ty and his surface ally Gemma in this sequel to Dark Life, film rights for which have been picked up by Disney. While preparing to sell the season's seaweed crop, Ty stumbles across an abandoned township, its doors chained shut and its residents murdered. Soon after, the colonists' deal with another township goes bad, and Ty's parents are kidnapped. As Ty and Gemma try to track down those responsible and save their loved ones, they're forced to join up with the notorious Seablite Gang, infiltrate the rough-and-tumble town of Rip Tide, fight for their lives against sea monsters and human predators, and discover who's killing entire townships—and why. As with its predecessor, there's no shortage of action, intrigue, or daring exploits in this aquatic thriller. Atmospheric and tense, built around an expertly used postapocalyptic–meets–Wild West setting, this story's a whole lot of fun and won't disappoint fans of the first book. Ages 9–12. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Praise for DARK LIFE:

"There's no denying the nifty premise, solid characterization, and tense moments that contribute to a cinematic reading experience. Falls's undersea world warrants further exploration." - Publishers Weekly

"Falls creates an interesting reality in her new novel. . . . Based on the young ages of the characters, this book will appeal to middle grade readers, who will enjoy the novel's mystery and suspense. It is a definite must-read for SF fans." - Voice of Youth Advocates

"A Western . . . with plankton instead of cows, harpoons instead of six-shooters and submarines instead of covered wagons . . . and a few plot twists keep the tension high. A thrilling conversion of the classics to one of our newer frontiers." - Kirkus Reviews

“The exotic setting and well-conceived details about undersea living, along with likable characters and a minor surprise at the end, will keep readers turning the pages." - Booklist

From the Publisher

Gr 6–10—In this futuristic follow-up to Dark Life (Scholastic, 2010), 15-year-old Ty Townson and his friend Gemma, a homeless orphan who used to live in an above-water trade station, discover a submerged township filled with bodies in a trash vortex. Later, when Ty's parents go missing, the duo sets out to find them, fearing they'll meet a similar fate. The first child born of settlers in a postapocalyptic, land-scarce world, Ty possesses a dark gift enabling him to "shine" and generate biosonar pulses used to his advantage in dangerous situations. Gemma's fear of water has kept her from moving in with the Townsons permanently, but her fondness for Ty and his family and her dark gift of exceptional hearing make her an equal protagonist. They seek out Gemma's older brother, Shade, the suitably named leader of the Seablite Gang, for help in gaining information from the local outlaws, and Ty is forced to prove himself in a no-holds-barred boxing match. One of many adventures in the plot, this descriptive scene illuminates the many-layered social-class structure and the setting. Readers will empathize with the subsea pioneers, such as Ty's parents hoping to develop a viable economy based on harvesting laver, a highly edible seaweed, and will relate to Captain Revas and her sometimes-misguided authoritarian decisions to protect the peace in her territory. Readers will immerse themselves in this burgeoning new world that leaves the door open for more adventures.—Vicki Reutter, Cazenovia High School, NY

School Library Journal

Ty, the underwater settler fromDark Life(2010), has to rescue his harvest, his parents and a slew of ragged surfs in this breakneck adventure.

The other settlers think Ty's parents are crazy for their willingness to do business with "surfs"—the unwanted surfeit population who sail the oceans in floating townships and are notorious for raids, crime and untrustworthy behavior. Were the cynics right? Drift township kidnaps Ty's parents and steals their crop of seaweed. While Ty searches for his parents, he finds signs that something bigger than the kidnapping of his parents is afoot: An entire township has sunk to the bottom of the ocean, its population left to die. Ty and his erstwhile girlfriend Gemma also learn a lot more about the politics of the settlements than they ever expected. Alas, despite Ty's frequent brushes with moral complexity—perhaps the laws protecting the settlement help make things so bad for the surfs they have few ethical choices; perhaps sometimes he needs to look "at the consequences down the line" for society instead of at his own immediate need—the ultimate resolution is all too simple.

Still, what with all the man-versus-crocodile cage fights and the boxing matches over pools of lamprey eels, moral complexity is hardly Ty's first concern in this nonstop, cinematic, CGI-ready adventure.(Science fiction. 11-13)

Kirkus Reviews