A World Below

Gr 5–8—When Mr. Baker shares with his eighth grade AP class that they will visit Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico instead of the two-night stay in Albuquerque that last year's class experienced, his students are not pleased. They reluctantly show up the day of the trip with snacks in tow and sensible shoes for all the walking they will be doing. What they did not prepare for is the earthquake that strikes suddenly and swallows the class deep into the earth. After their teacher disappears through a crack, the teens are forced to fight for their lives. One of the students, Eric, manages to pull himself out of the swift-moving water but is helpless to rescue the others as they frantically swirl past him. Eric is frightened but through persistence and determination manages to eventually reunite with his class. In the meantime, Silvia has panic attacks and receives therapy for it. She bravely leads her classmates through the winding and booby-trapped caverns. The students discover the deeper they progress in the caverns, the more bizarre underground life exists—including oversize bugs and spiders. They even discover a secret society underground but are sworn to secrecy about its existence. Standard character tropes are used—jocks, popular girls, loners. Protagonists are fairly well fleshed out. Readers will enjoy seeing Eric and Silvia emerge as leaders despite initially struggling with personal setbacks. The conclusion sets up for a forthcoming sequel.