But one horrifying night, an old enemy murders Safe’s founder, Atticus, and the community is taken over by an army of shadows. Only Matthew, Ariel, and a handful of friends escape Above. Now they not only have to survive in a sunlit world they barely know, but they must unravel the mystery of the shadows’ fury and Atticus’s death. It’s up to Matthew to find a way to remake Safe—not just for himself and his family, but for Ariel, who’s again faced with the life she fled, and who needs him more than ever before. (From Goodreads)
I love the synopsis for this book and I've seen nothing but glowy, lovely things about it. I wanted to love this book so badly, but I just didn't connect with it. It was kind of like I could see how this would be a beautiful story, how it could be meaningful, but I was seeing it underwater. Everything was distorted and in the end, kind of empty.
It is narrated by Matt, or Teller. He is meant to hold all the stories of this underground world where all these people who are different have banded together. I hate to say this, but I kind of felt like he wasn't very good at what he did. I didn't care very much about the subjects of his stories. And his need to protect Ariel was infuriating. There was no hope, no release. Just her, running away, all the time. Their relationship was not healthy whatsoever. I never really understood Ariel, she was so spineless that it was hard for me to care what happened to her. More than once she'd run away and I'd hope she wouldn't come back.
I was also completely confused through the whole book. I didn't really know what they were doing until they were doing it; I didn't know what was happening until after it happened. Maybe I missed something, but I just felt totally exterior to the story because I wasn't drawn in.
This all said, my literary side of me wants to defend all these things. Matt and his gang are outsiders. But within their own group you kind of have to be in - to be in. So as readers who are technically outside of this world, maybe we're meant to stay that way and this writing style is reflective of that. We get snippets, moments - we get to look pressed up against the window, seeing, but not hearing. Because we aren't like them and we can't be.
I didn't enjoy this book, but a lot of people did. If it sounds like your kind of book I encourage you to read it and decide for yourself. Because I get the feeling that you're either going to be enchanted by it, or you're going to be like me and wonder what you're missing. And maybe it's worth possibly being enchanted and giving it a shot.
