The Secret Sea by Barry Lyga - OPTIONAL

Lyga, Barry The Secret Sea, 430 pgs. Feiwel and Friends, 2016. $16.99.

Language: PG (6 swears, 0 “f”); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG.

Zak Killian is hearing voices, which he thinks may be his guardian angel.  After he runs to save himself from a flooding subway station that isn’t really flooding, his estranged parents worry not only about his strange behavior, but a heart condition Zak was born with.  As the voices intensify, Zach and his two friends, Moira and Kahlid go on the run to find the source of the visions, literally plunging into an alternative universe.   Zak faces danger in this new universe and has to decide which voices to trust because lives in both universes could be at risk through his actions.  

The premise is interesting, and I liked the author’s note at the back of the book explaining how he got his ideas.  Zak and his friends seem a little too willing to go against their families and break laws just because of Zak’s voices.  Zak’s feelings of grief, loss, and betrayal seem a bit over the top considering how little he knew of the source, and the book lagged in spots.

MS, HS - OPTIONAL.  Michelle in the Middle