TITLE: Deep
AUTHOR: Susanna Vance
RATING: 1/5
BLURB (GOODREADS): “Nothing really bad has ever happened to Birdie. And she hates it! She needs drama, angst, torment–something to provide fodder for the amazing book she wants to write. When her parents take a yearlong sabbatical to the Caribbean, she gets her wish. . . .
Morgan is a child of the sea. Raised by nomadic Norwegian parents who encouraged her to chart her own course, and filled with sorrow after the water claims her older sister, she attempts to create a new life for herself in the warm waters of the tropics. But before she can do that, she needs papers that will keep the Coast Guard away, And there's only one person she knows who can help her. Tricky Nicky. Morgan knows he's a shyster. But what she doesn't know is that he's a maniacal killer.
Told in alternating points of view, Deep is a riveting story that will pull readers into its depths.”
REVIEW:
Deep was a weird book, with odd characters and an even stranger plot. It was written in the points of view of two separate characters, Birdie and Morgan. Birdie Sidwell is a thirteen year old girl who wants to have her own adventure so she can write some sort of thrilling novel later on in life. Morgan is a “child of the sea” who is living her own lonely life of freedom.
The plot of the book was…questionable — Whilst Birdie is on vacation in the Caribbean with her family, she gets whisked off by some handsome kidnapper named Nicolas by boat. Birdie then spends the next days (months?) trapped in a boat, or being gaslighted by Nicolas. At the same time, Morgan is starting a new life of her own, after leaving her drunken and heartbroken parents behind. She travels alone by boat, and meets up with Nicolas because she needs his help getting a passport.
WHAT I DIDN’T LIKE ABOUT THE BOOK:
I wasn’t sure what this book was trying to do/convey. The storyline seemed so wacky (think Wayside School Stories, but much darker), and there were no real explanations provided later on towards the end. Who is Nicolas? What is his backstory? What kind of punishment did he get? This meant that the story’s ending wasn’t really satisfying for me.
There were also some really confusing parts of the book, here’s a summary compilation of examples:
Birdie acts like she’s eight even though she’s thirteen.
One of Birdie’s old friends was brainwashed into being superficially nice at this school called “Nu Way”.
Nicolas changes eyebrow and eye colours at least twice throughout the book.
Birdie doesn’t seem to have any aftershock, or is emotionally scarred by traumatic events during the time when she was kidnapped by Nicolas. She just returns back to her original town and goes to celebrate Christmas.
WHAT I LIKED ABOUT THE BOOK:
I really liked Morgan’s backstory, and how it shaped her character and personality. Morgan’s older sister, Oona, drowned in waves after accidentally falling overboard her parents’ boat, and ever since, Morgan’s parents have mourned and found a way to numb pain through drinking. After Morgan realised that her parents are no longer able to care for her because of their misery, she decided to leave and start her own new life. To me, Morgan seemed like the mysterious, wise, and solemn older sister archetype. If the story had been centred around Morgan instead of Birdie, it probably would have been a more memorable read for me personally.
YOU WOULD LIKE THIS BOOK IF:
You would like this book if you enjoy reading books with a mixture of younger characters and darker, more maniacal characters.