Dark Life

Dark Life
Falls, Kat, 2010.
Dark Life.
New York: Scholastic Press.
304 pages, hardcover. $16.99
ISBN 9780545178143.

Format: book
Rating: 4.5/5.0 stars

Plot Summary

Ty is the first born in the depths of the ocean, as his parents were part of a group of pioneers who left ‘Topside’ for a safer life far below in the ‘Territory’. His family, and others like them, farm the ocean and provide much of the food like lobster, crab and shrimp necessary for those living on land above. They’ve adapted to this lifestyle and value it greatly.

While Ty meets Gemma, a Topside girl searching for her brother, other issues arise for Ty and his family. The government has declared war on the pirates that have been wreaking havoc by attacking supply ships and wants them stopped at all costs. They are threatening to not purchase the food from Ty’s family and friends unless they catch and deal with the pirates. When Ty discovers more than he should, he and his family are forced to make a decision that will affect them all.

Critical Evaluation

Reading Dark Life, it is evident that Falls majored in screenwriting, as the imagery she creates is a world normally hidden in the depths of the ocean to most readers is fantastical. Her details bloom before us as both a colorful, wondrous magical place and a dark, terrifyingly dangerous place.

Falls' plot twists and turns, not only with the introduction of Gemma who is searching for her brother, but also reveals secrets that Ty had not been privy to before now. The relationship between Ty and his family, especially his younger sister, reflects a closeness necessitated in part by the very way they live and the ever-present threat for their survival. The ways Falls developed these characters are unique in some ways yet feel safe and familiar in other ways.

While Dark Life is intended for tweens and teens, grades 6 to 10, parts of it

read much stronger for the 11 year-old male and not the YA reader who is Ty’s age when dealing with the light romance; Falls was definitely in mom-mode, which overrode author-mode on this one.

Reader’s Annotation

After devastating earthquakes and rising ocean waters, regions of the country slip beneath the surface, forcing people to live all stacked up together on the only land areas that remain. Adventurous souls, like Ty’s parents, decide to forge a new frontier on the ocean floor, but as outlaws threaten to destroy his homestead Ty decides to fight back instead of give up the only life he knows.

Information About the Author
Kat Falls lives in Illinois with her family and quite a few pets. She has an MFA in Screenwriting from Northwestern University. During a writing exercise, she came up with the idea of Dark Life combining her 11-year-old son’s love for the Wild West pioneers, the ocean, and the X-Men. Her loss of sleep during her obsession to plot and world-build is paying off; Dark Life has been published in 18 different countries and is in development with Disney to produce the movie.

Rip Tide, the sequel to Dark Life, was released in August of this year. Not resting on her laurels, Falls is busy writing – this time a YA sci-fi trilogy, The Fetch, which will be published beginning in the fall of 2012.

Genre:
Fiction: Science Fiction – alternate world

Read-Alikes
The Explosionist by Jenny Davidson
Choices by Deborah Lynn Jacob

Curriculum Ties
Dark Life provides an interesting concept of creating new homes underwater, and supports a study for the biology of humans and adaptation. It also supports the notion of global warming, and its permanent impact on the planet.

Booktalking Ideas
1) where Ty escapes capture by the pirates only to come across a grisly, bloody scene in an abandoned submarine
2) when Gemma, the ‘Topsider’ and Ty meet for the first time

Book Trailer Links
Book Trailer by a Reader

Reading Level/Interest Age
Gr. 6 - 10 / Ages 9 and up

Challenge Issues
alternate worlds, pirates, violence, murder

First, I would share some of the recommendations used as part of the selection process, including reviews from resources as noted below. Next, I would point out the value in allowing these types of materials to be optional reading as teens grow ever closer to adulthood and making their own decisions. Finally, following our school district’s policy #KEC, after explaining that our school district’s philosophy is that no parent or group of parents has the right to determine the reading matter for children other than their own, I would refer the parent or community member to the building principal, so that he/she can file a written complaint to begin the process of review.

Awards
ABC New Voices pick for Outstanding Debut, 2010

Al’s (Al Roker) Book Club for Kids, 2010

Sunshine State Young Reader’s Award, 2011

Why Title Included & Selection Tools
Dystopian titles are becoming prominent right now, and a new world deep within the ocean offers a uniquely new spin to a classic tale of adventure, pioneering, and medical discoveries. Many of our YA readers like this kind of novel, especially when it reads as intensely and quickly as Dark Life does. I can’t keep it on the shelf.

School Library Journal, Booklist, Kirkus Review, Publisher's Weekly, Junior Library Guild selection