Dark Life 

 

Author: Kat Falls 

Illustrator: No Illustrator

Date Published: 2010

About the book: A thrilling futuristic adventure set deep undersea, Dark Life follows the settlers of the world's first subsea settlement as they defend their homesteads against a brazen band of outlaws. Kat Falls describes the book as a "underwater western" science fiction novel for upper elementary to middle-grades students. 

Summary: The oceans rose, swallowing the lowlands. Earthquakes shattered the continents, toppling entire regions into the rising water. Now, humans live packed into stack cities. The only ones with any space of their own are those who live on the ocean floor: the Dark Life. Ty has spent his whole life living deep undersea, helping his family farm the ocean floor. But when outlaws attack his homestead, Ty finds himself in a fight to save the only home he has ever known. Joined by Gemma, a girl from the Topside who has come subsea to look for her brother, Ty ventures into the frontier rough underworld and discovers some dark secrets to Dark Life . . . secrets that threaten to destroy everything.

Genre: The genre of this book is Science Fiction. "Science fiction is an imaginative extrapolation of facts and theory: stories project what could happen in the future through a logical extension of established theories and scientific principles."  (Galda, Cullinan, & Sipe. 2010, p.17) This book is about a boy who has powers to communicate with sea creatures and his friend from the land who are working together to fight outlaws and protect the city. The boy's gift is referred to as Dark Gifts- special abilities caused by the water's pressure on their developing brains. It speaks of "underwater colonies" which is not far fetch and the special gifts of their citizens. Plants and animals evolve constantly to adapt to their environment so this is something that could possible happen one day. 

Illustration: This book is a chapter book with no illustrations in it. The only illustration there is, is on the front cover of the book. There is no mention of who illustrated the cover of the book, just the image. However, the illustration does reflect the type of book as it is of a jellyfish on what seem to look like a futuristic background. This illustration adds character to the book and was the main reason I choose this book to be a part of my blog. 

Motivational Activity:

• Activity #1:                                               Art

After completing reading the book, children can draw a picture of Ty, Gamma, the underwater colonies, or their favorite scene in the book. 

• Activity #2                                        Language Arts

Students can compare and contrast elements of the book such as the two main characters, Gemma and Ty. Some questions that can help students to complete the task are; How are these two youngsters alike and how are they different? What are their similarities and differences as it relates to their two environments and what are the consequences? Students must provide support for their argument from the text. 

Personal Opinion: Personally, I do like this book. I am not the kind of person who reads science fiction book but this book really capture and holds my attention. I love all the elements of the story such as the characters, plot, theme, settings, etc. It would be nice if the book had a few illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I believe that this would make it more appealing to people who like to see pictures in the books they read or even to just give a visual of the elements of the story. 

Other books by the Author: 

• Dark Life Book 2 

• Inhuman

• Rip Tide 

• Undaunted 

References:  

Falls, K. (2010). Dark life. New York: Scholastic Press.

Galda, L., Cullinan, B. E., & Sipe, L. R. (2010). Literature and the child (7th ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/Cengage Learning.