August 13, 2024 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central
Ruby is thrilled to be in Paris after months of getting ready for a school trip. She's hoping to find some undiscovered places to film for her YouTube channel, Ruby's Hidden Gems, but it's hard to sneak away from the school group and Mr. LeBreque. She and Sean (on whom she has a crush) and Val (whose parents have their own media empire and travel a lot) ask to go off when the rest of the group is looking at the Eiffel Tower, but don't find anything interesting. After a day of sight seeing, Ruby is angry to realize that both her new camera and wallet have been stolen. She's trying to figure out what to do when Val tells her that she is going off to meet a cute guy she met, who is going to take her to a party in the Catacombs. Ruby thinks this is a bad idea, but follows her, and enticed by the idea of getting footage for her channel, goes along. There's also Selena, Ruby's former best friend and now nemesis, as well as Olivia, the class valedictorian, who have decided to come along. Ruby is leery of Julien, the French guy who invited Val, and Julien isn't thrilled to have so many people along. Things go badly from the start, with all of the things that can go wrong in an unlit, underground, largely abandoned venue. Not only is it creepy, dank, and smelly, but there are thrones made of bones and people in creepy masks who occasionally come after the girls. There are injuries, but also a lot of unpacking of old emotional baggage in between. We also see Sean and the teachers contacting the French police and trying to locate the group, so have some idea of what is going on outside of the catacombs. After a tragedy occurs, there seems to be little hope that the group will escape, and the group makes videos of themselves for their families should they perish. There are a few more surprises, and the clock is ticking. Will Ruby and her friends make it back to the City of Light, or remain underground as a sacrifice to the malingering dead?
This had some similarities to R.L. Stine's Fear Street books, where teens hang out in ill-advised places and people end up getting hurt after lots of injuries and scares, so it will be automatically popular with readers. It definitely doesn't hurt that it is set in Paris; it reminded me a tiny bit of Plum's 2011 Die for Me, and Schwab's Tunnel of Bones. You would think that more novels would be set in the catacombs, since they are so creepy!
There's also plenty of teenaged angst as well, from Ruby's relationship with her troubled father who never got over the fact that Ruby's birth killed her mother, to Ruby and Selena's friend drama, and there is even a little romance, with Ruby and Sean being interested in each other, and Selena having a girlfriend, Aliyah, who is also on the trip.
The real surprise is the reason that Julien lured them into the catacombs for a Cataphiles party, so I don't want to give away any of that! For sensitive readers, know that there are several on page deaths.
If you're a fan of Barnes' The Lovely and the Lost or Carter's Not if I Save You First, and you're looking for a book that involves sight seeing, adventure, drama, and tremendously creepy vibes, make sure to investigate Under the Surface.
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