Review of The Beast by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs (physical arc)

 

This is a book two.  There will be spoilers from book one in the synopsis and review.

 

 

 

The Beast by Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs

Nico, Opal, Tyler, Emma, and Logan survived their worst fears come to life, and saved their tiny Pacific Northwest town of Timbers from a monstrous figment invasion. Now they just want to keep their heads down, enjoy Halloween, and explore the secrets of their mysterious houseboat clubhouse. And also figure out their new Torchbearer responsibilities as keepers of the Darkdeep, an ancient whirlpool hidden in Still Cove that can make both dreams and nightmares into reality.

But when a dangerous new breed of figments starts appearing on their own, and the very environment around them begins to spiral out of control, the friends realize they have no idea what they are doing-or how they’re supposed to restrain the Darkdeep. They must uncover the pool’s origins, as well as those of the freaky Thing in a Jar, a seemingly lifeless green creature Opal believes is communicating with her. To make matters worse, a trashy YouTube series has rolled into town intent on finding the Beast, the legendary local sea monster suddenly stirring up the countryside.

As threats rapidly close in around them, the friends must fight to protect their secrets, defeat new enemies, and save Timbers and all that they love.

Told from alternating points of view, this chilling sequel from bestselling duo Ally Condie and Brendan Reichs will once again have readers sleeping with the lights on.

 

 

 

The Beast was just as much fun as The Darkdeep!

 

Nico, Opal, Emma, Tyler, and Logan are back again.  They are trying to follow clues to explain the Torchbearers and find that there is a lot of history in the town.  Something Opal hears has been giving them hints on where to go.  The voice in her head is Thing, the gooey thing in the jar that they thought was dead.  He starts telling him that there is a rift and they need to take care of that and The Darkdeep as Torchbearers.

 

A weird sulfur smell starts to surround them at the boat.  Then there is a bio luminescence algae and then weird storms.  Something isn’t right.  New figments appear and the daggers don’t stop them.  Thing starts telling them that they have to fix the rift.  That it’s not balanced.

 

During this same time, a film crew shows up to find “The Beast”.  They are filming and searching everywhere.  Emma gets on the crew to try to keep them away from The Darkdeep.  Things do not go well and the kids not only have to fix something they don’t understand, but they have to make sure the crew and town doesn’t understand that figments and the beast are real.  Oh, and it’s Halloween!

 

I love this group of friends.  I honestly think middle school kids are perfect for this type of book.  They have fear, but they also aren’t as jaded as adults.  And their lack of impulse control and lack of planning tends to come in handy.  The trust between the five melts me.  I can’t wait to see what they do next.

 

I gave this book 4  1/2 stars (rounded up to five).  Thank you to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy for review.  Both a physical copy (which I read) and through Netgalley.

 

 

Have you read The Darkdeep yet?  Are you planning on reading The Beast?