Underground

by Beth Brown

Nothing exciting ever happened in Emily's sleepy Church Hill neighborhood. Just when she'd come to accept that she lives in probably the most boring place ever, a giant sinkhole opens up in the middle of the street and swallows two cars. All of the new excitement nearby fuels her curiosity so much that Emily can't avoid it clouding her typically good judgement. With the help of her best friend Sarah, she decides to investigate the mysterious circumstances surrounding the appearance of the hole and the strange behavior of the city officials in charge of repairing it. When they find themselves in over their heads with the investigation-and trapped at the bottom of the pit-the girls learn that there is much more buried beneath the surface of their hometown than just its shadowy history.

101 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 27, 2013

About the author

Beth Brown is an award-winning author, speaker, and media presenter based in Richmond, Virginia.

She is the co-creator of the popular Richmond Macabre anthology series, as well as the recipient of the Library of Virginia People's Choice Award. Her work has been featured on Travel Channel, The Biography Channel, A&E, History Channel, and the Emmy Award-winning "Virginia Currents".

Reviews

[Al Cormier · Rating 3 out of 5]

I just finished recording the book for 'The Virginia Voice'. This local book offers a little bit of everything for all ages. The public library had it listed in the YA section, though I believe it could be for the younger readers, too.

If you have a decent knowledge of the Richmond,VA area, you will enjoy this book. The historic and geographic references would make this a good book for the classroom, sparking discussion, and the occasional field trip. And the adventure, experienced by these two young ladies, makes this a great read-aloud book.

There were a couple editing errors (Malrich's name was inserted where Lolfus' name should have been, as well as a couple misspellings), but, being a 20-year resident of the Greater Metro Area, I will definitely recommend it to my friends and neighbors :o)

[Lord Beardsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

An fun, funny original YA novel centered around two young girls who discover more than they bargained for under the streets of their Richmond, Virginia home. Great, proactive young female protagonists and unconventional plot twists! I am also very happy to see someone writing about sinkholes (because sinkholes are not written about nearly enough).

[Melanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun juvenile fiction set in (and under) Richmond, VA. I enjoyed it enough that I'd like to see further stories about the characters.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Imagination. Will never look at RVA again the same way!
Thank you for taking me back to childhood adventures.
Loved the book.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think the author read the Gregor The Overlander books and wanted to try and recreate them. Unfortunately, this story doesn't compare to the rich underground world that Gregor inhabits.