Title: The Secrets Below
Author: Camilla Sten and Viveca Sten
Translator: AA Prime
Publisher: Amazon Crossing Kids
Pages: 352
My GoodReads Rating: 
The story begins with a little baby
girl, who falls out of her mother’s arms while they are on the deck of their
boat. The next chapter takes us to the Stockholm Archipelago, with 12yo Tuva on
her way to school. She is shunned by her classmates, especially Hanna,
Isabelle, Axel and Rasmus.
On a particular field trip in the
woods surrounding the school, Axel suddenly disappears. The police question
Tuva on the disappearance as well as on the trance-like behaviour of Rasmus.
This is the third disappearance of this kind.
The story is written in the first
person, present tense PoV of 12yo Tuva.
WHAT I LIKED:
I liked the fact that Tuva sought to
resolve issues on her own, and that Rasmus was a good friend, and not the
‘hero’ in her story. It is good to see young girls essaying powerful roles in
their own lives.
Among the minor characters, I liked
Tuva’s parents.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE:
The mean girls, Isabelle and Hanna,
and Grandma Gerd seemed like caricatures. There was no reason for why they
behaved as they did.
The fact that we never ‘see’ the
antagonist ourselves weakens their power over us.
What I really liked was the attempt
to raise awareness about oceans and how to prevent pollution. But the plot gets
lost between the emphasis on mankind’s deliberate disrespect towards nature and
the supernatural antagonist.
WHAT DIDN’T WORK FOR ME:
I found the writing a little
repetitive, then realized that it was meant for school grade children. Also, I
don’t know if some things have been lost in translation.
I didn’t find the plot very
impressive. But then again, I’m not the target audience. Young children who are
not very familiar with the genre would have a better experience.
I wasn’t sure if merfolk as heroes
were very credible. Bringing together diverse myths such as the mara, the
merfolk, fairies, elves and gnomes seems like overkill. The word, mermaid, is
never used, possibly in order to be politically correct.
We receive no closure on what
happened to Axel. It should have been addressed here, not left for Book 2 in
the series.
ALL SAID AND DONE:
I would have liked to see more of the
dynamic between Tuva and her parents, and to understand a little more of her
backstory. Also, the antagonist should either have been human or supernatural,
but not both together.
(I read this book on NetGalley. Thank you to the author, the publisher and NetGalley.)
