A World Below by Wesley King

Abstract

Reviewed by: A World Below by Wesley King Wesley Jacques King, Wesley A World Below. Wiseman/Simon, 2018 [272p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-7822-9 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-4814-7824-3 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 6-9 When Mr. Baker’s eighth-grade AP class travels to Carlsbad Caverns National Park on a field trip, Eric, the quietest in the class, believes having his mother along as chaperone will be a nightmare. Worried that his whole world might figuratively fall apart as his mom starts showing interest in his crush, Silvia, he’s startled when it literally does: a sudden earthquake rips the ground from underneath him and drops him and Silvia into the Midnight Realm, a land completely untouched by sunlight, inhabited by the descendants of indigenous peoples who have lived in fear of surface-dwellers for generations. Eric, Silvia, and the Midnight King Carlos embark on journeys of self-discovery as they navigate the darkness of the caves and confront what lurks in the metaphorical shadows cast by their respective fathers (Eric was abandoned by his, Silvia’s father ignores her anxiety issues, and Carlos the boy king struggles with the influence of his royal father). This underground adventure features plenty of strange creatures, clever uses of science, and an appreciation for New Mexico’s geological and historical heritage (though there are some colonialist echoes in Eric and Silvia’s education of the Midnight Realmers, despite the fact that Eric is biracial and Silvia is Latina). This richly imaginative field trip gone bad or amazing—depending on how you look at it—is a sharp meditation on the seemingly universal difficulties of being young, smart, and uncertain. Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois