Teen Pick: The Light at the Bottom of the World

Teens and fans of Young Adult literature! Looking for something new to read? Check out this 5-star review from our Teen Contributor Isabel.

The Light at the Bottom of the World

This was a thrilling, incredible, sci-fi novel that I thought was like a good mix of “The Hunger Games”, “1984”, and “Waterworld”. Our protagonist in this story is Leyla McQueen who is a 16-year-old “Submersible” racer. In Leyla’s world, the water levels have increased so much that the entire human population is stuck deep underwater in the bottom of what is now a huge ocean. After her father gets wrongly arrested for a crime she knows he didn’t do, she is left alone at home as the constant fear of the ocean, the Anthropoids, and the Earthquakes run through her mind. When she is chosen to race in London’s famous annual marathon, she puts her mind to winning so that she can win the grand prize of a wish- which she would use to ask for her father’s freedom. But, when things start to go wrong, she realizes there are a lot of things she never knew, and that her father’s arrest was more serious than she thought it was. So, she goes into the deepest, dangerous parts of the ocean on her quest to learn these secrets and find the truth. I really enjoyed this book, and I could not put it down. I thought it was well- written and that the storyline was quite creative and interesting. I recommend this to teens who love sci-fi, mystery, or the ocean. I can’t wait to read the sequel to this thrilling Duology.