Name: The Dark Beneath the Ice
ISBN: 9781492657071

Amelinda Bérubé

Marianne has felt a supernatural presence since she stopped dancing, and is afraid that she is following her mother into mental illness until a new friend, Ron, helps her find the truth.

The Dark Beneath the Ice

Jillian Clare

This was creepy. It was eerie. And it home harder that I thought it could.

Things are starting to happen around Marianne. Strange things. Scary things. Things that shouldn’t be possible. She swears it’s not her, but with her blackouts, how can she be sure?

The pacing of this book was fantastic. At any point where I felt like Marianne might be able to slow down and catch a break, something else happens to terrorize her. It kept me on my toes and kept me reading. 

The writing was really well done (I got chills!). It was eerie and compelling, some parts dreamlike even. The characters, the relationships, and the writing all had me hooked reading this. I liked the main characters and found it really easy to follow them throughout all the paranormal occurrences. I’ve never understood why characters in thriller/suspense books don’t just tell someone (literally anyone. Parents, friends, teachers, police) what’s happening or try to get help, especially when things are turning deadly and they are clearly out of their depth. But Marianne handles things as rationally as anyone could in this situation; she tries to talk about what is happening to her, gets medical assistance and treatment, and reaches out for help from family and friends. When things seem to be getting worse, she enlists the help of Ron, a classmate who grew up in a psychic household, to figure out what’s going on once and for all. 

The paranormal occurrences were mixed with psychological tension, bringing the characters and readers to some soul searching. While I thought both paranormal and psychological aspects were great individually and the potential was there to have worked well together, ultimately I didn’t think end meshed as well it could have. Because of that, it made me question the rest of the story and I felt like it fell a bit short.

Despite that though, I enjoyed the writing up until the end and I definitely felt it was worth the read. I don’t think I’ve yet read a YA quite like this, and for that I have to recommend it.

TL;DR: I flew through this eerie and psychological story, and it kept me guessing until the end. The writing and pacing were so well done and I liked the characters (LGBT rep, ya'll) and the relationships formed, so while I wasn’t completely sold on the ending, the I definitely think storytelling is worth the overall read!

**I received this via NetGalley for an honest review.**

Paige Green

Disclaimer: I received this book through KidLitExchange and Sourcebooks Fire. Thanks! All opinions are my own!

Rating: 3/5

Publication Date: August 7th, 2018

Genre: YA Horror

Recommended Age: 15+ (mental illness, scary moments, violence)

Pages: 320

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Synopsis:

I didn’t think that when I requested this book it would be SO SCARY! Like I love horror films and I love horror games, but horror books? I’m gonna have to rethink my position on them after this book. The scary moments were amazingly well written and the man vs. self conflict was really really well done. I thought overall most of the characters were engaging and the character development/relationship and dialogue with one another was very real.

However, I do think that there were some plot holes and the plot was a bit weak. The pacing felt off to me as well, like everything was happening much faster than what it should. And I feel that the main character really didn’t care what was going on in some parts of the book. I’m kind of baffled by her nonchalant attitude towards everything. It almost came off as cold or disconnected. Also, the writing really gets me confused. There were some parts of the book I had to read over and over again to understand what the author meant, including a part towards the beginning that almost comes off as the author being homophobic.

Verdict: Scarier than Madeline Roux.

Nicole

Neva Davies

Kymberly L McNabb

Black Swan meets Paranormal Activity in this compelling ghost story about a former dancer whose grip on reality slips when she begins to think a dark entity is stalking her. Something is wrong with Marianne. It's not just that her parents have finally split up. Or that life hasn't been the same since she quit dancing. Or even that her mother has checked herself into the hospital. She's losing time. Doing things she would never do. And objects around her seem to break whenever she comes close. Something is after her. And the only one who seems to believe her is the daughter of a local psychic. But their first attempt at an exorcism calls down the full force of the thing's rage. It demands Marianne give back what she stole. Whatever is haunting her, it wants everything she has—everything it's convinced she stole. Marianne must uncover the truth that lies beneath it all before the nightmare can take what it thinks it's owed, leaving Marianne trapped in the darkness of the other side.

The Dark Beneath the Ice

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