January 15, 2015
The sequel to The Well's End (2014) takes the action into a mysterious underground city. Mia and her friends seek the miraculous water that cures all ills, hoping to stop the rapidly spreading virus that radically-and fatally-accelerates aging. Mia's found the elusive well hidden deep in a cave where her father and mad-scientist Sutton had been conducting research. Now she dives into the well, followed by her friends Jo and Rob. They emerge in a marvelous underground city called Capian, where Keeper Randt, one of its three leaders, admits Mia's father is being held hostage. Randt treats the trio well, however, and they meet his daughter, who longs to go Topside and immediately agrees to help them. However, the city is reeling from the death of one of its leaders, and civil war looms. Can Mia rescue her father and find the mysterious source of the water, then escape back to the surface? Fishman sets most of the action in Capian but doesn't forget that Jimmy and Odessa are still on the surface, trying to escape Sutton's minions and find a way to help the infected. This concluding adventure de-emphasizes the mad-scientist plotline in favor of the newly imagined underground world, opening the adventure up some. Standard-issue present-tense narration is unsubtle but gets the job done. Those who started with the first should be satisfied with this conclusion. (Fantasy. 12-18)
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March 1, 2015
Gr 9 Up-In The Well's End (Putnam, 2014), Mia Kish fell down a well as a young child, forever changing her life. At the end of that first installment, she willingly dives into another well, once again altering her life as she and her friends discover an underground civilization. This work picks up right where the first book left off but takes a decidedly different turn. Instead of a thriller that takes Mia on the run from clandestine but terrestrial enemies, this book sees her and her friends in the middle of a civil war between clans of underground people, with all factions seeking to control The Source of the water. It is the only cure for a rapidly spreading viral outbreak aboveground that is killing everyone who comes in contact with it. Mia discovers she may be the only hope for both Topside and the newfound world below. Fishman builds on the momentum of his first entry, and the action comes even faster this time around. Readers learn much more about the Water and how Mia fits into its purpose, but unfortunately there is not much growth for the characters making the journey with her. Teens will find it easy to feel invested in Jimmy and Odessa's compelling adventure, but they won't find the other secondary protagonists' travails emotionally impacting. Still, readers will be eager to see where the series goes from here. VERDICT Overall, a solid book quite on par with the first-perfectly enjoyable as sequels go.-Erik Knapp, Davis Library, Plano, TX
Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
April 1, 2015
Grades 9-12 While bio-destruction continues at home in this sequel to The Well's End (2014), Mia and her friends surface on dry land after diving into the well in search of the source of its waterwater that acts as an antidote to the rapid-aging effects of a new virus. Finding themselves in Capian, the underground civilization where the source is believed to be, they arrive at an inopportune time: Mia's father has been captured; one of the three leaders of Capian has been killed; and an imminent war between clans seethes everywhere. With the help of Lisenthe, one leader's daughter, Mia, Rob, Jo, and Brayden fight for their lives and to save Mia's father, all while looking for the source. The importance of water as a life source is central to the story, drawing attention to the recklessness of causing devastation without reparative action. The pace is nearly as breathless as its predecessor's, and the situations require quick thinking, thoughtful judgment, and an appreciation for the severity of the characters' mission. A wet and wild adventure.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)
July 1, 2015
Mia and her friends reach the other side of the Well, where their knowledge of the source is used for political leverage among the city's Keepers. Meanwhile, Jimmy and Odessa escape Sutton's soldiers and attempt to stop the outbreak of the virus in Fenton. This suspenseful science fiction sequel's innovative world-building and tense atmosphere will satisfy fans of The Well's End.
(Copyright 2015 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)