Dark Life By: Kat Falls

There were several major earthquakes that destroyed continents. Some of them so large, they threw entire cities into the hungry ocean. The survivors have two choices. They can live in buildings so packed that you don't even have privacy when you shower, or you can join the Dark Life. The Dark Life is a group of pioneers that have chosen to go and live underwater, with the promise of 100 acres of land to farm, take care of, and own. To most of the Topsiders, the Dark Life are to be feared. They believe the pressure of the water messes with their brains and gives them a Dark Gift, for example, seeing in the dark, flying etc. To most of the Dark Life, the Topsiders are idiots that can't tell the difference from a sea cucumber and a tomato.

Ty was born under the ocean and he lives a fairly routine life. Or as routine as it gets 14,000 feet below the ocean. One thing that isn't routine about him is that he has a Dark Gift. He can use something similar to eco-location. Another thing interesting about him is he doesn't care about rules. He often goes to visit Coldsleep Canyon, a very dangerous place that you're forbidden to go in, hoping to see part of Old New York. While on one of these expeditions he meets a Topsider named Gemma. The reason Gemma is sub-sea is that she is looking for her brother that was a prospector. The submarine they're in gets attacked by a gang of outlaws called the Seablite Gang. When they are escaping, they see a room in the submarine coated in blood. Gemma sucks Ty into the search for her brother and his life becomes much more dangerous.

When Ty and Gemma are looking in a bar for her brother, they find out his disappearance might be more complicated then they thought. The leader of the Seablite Gangs name is Shade. He also has a Dark Gift. He can change what he looks like. One of Ty's neighbors, named Doc, tells Gemma and Ty where the name Seablite came from. He said that it was from a prison called Seablite and the gang escaped and named themselves after the prison they were held in. Doc is a scientist that once examined some of the Dark Life that were to said to have Dark Gifts. One night, his specimens escaped leaving him without any proof. Ever since, he's been disgraced, and is forced to live with the dark life.

Ty's parents are already considering moving topside. Ty doesn't want them to because he wants to have his own land underwater. Once his parents find out about how he is running away from Gemma, it makes them want to move even more.While searching for more clues about Gemma's brother, they come across an old rotted sign with the label 'Seablite' on it. When they go in to investigate, they find out it wasn't a prison after all but a research station.

When they go home and tell Doc about this, he suddenly changes the subject to the submarine that was full of blood, and says they analysed the blood and it belonged to Richard Straid, Gemma's brother. Doc says no one could have lost that much blood and live. Disappointed, they start to make their way back to the surface when they encounter Shade. They discover Shade is really Richard Straid and he faked his death by saving up his blood in pints for a long time. Ty's parents discover he has a Dark Gift, they are completely set on moving when Shade tells them something. He tells them that if they move to the surface, Ty will be cut apart by doctors, trying to figure out why he has a Dark Gift. When Ty's parents don't believe him, Shade shows them many scars that he got from doctors. Ty's family decide to stay under water and let Ty get his 100 acres of land

This is a very interesting book. I thought it had many good parts in it. However, one thing I didn't like, was that it was not clear on certain parts of the book. If this was improved, it would definitely be an A grade book.