The Underers by Justin Christopher

When ten-year-old Journee Blake moves into yet another creepy old house with her hopeless policeman dad, her eccentric mum, and the world's most annoying brother, she thinks the worst thing she'll face is sharing a room with Miles.

Then she discovers them.

The Underers -- strange, glowing, jellybean-shaped creatures who live in the tunnels beneath her home. Mischievous, messy, and full of secrets, the Underers have powers Journee can't explain and a connection to her family she doesn't understand.

Soon, Journee is dragged into their underground world where:

Chime, the cheeky Underer, causes chaos with every step

Memory knows far more about Journee's life than she should

Panic can blast rainbow laser beams (when he remembers how)

And something monstrous with red eyes waits in the dark...

If Journee can't protect her new friends, the Eye-Shiner will destroy both their worlds -- and her family will never believe her.

What Reviewers Are Saying:

"A quirky, heartfelt adventure full of glowing creatures, gross laughs, and real heart. Journee's bond with her strange new underground family makes this both hilarious and surprisingly moving. Perfect for ages 9-12." (Publishers Weekly).

Perfect for Fans of:

Roald Dahl's deliciously twisted tales

Neil Gaiman's Coraline

David Walliams' larger-than-life characters

Quick Facts:

Audience: Middle-grade readers (ages 8-12)

Tone: Funny, spooky, adventurous

Length: Perfect read-aloud or binge-in-secret story

Hook: A girl, her annoying brother, and a hidden world of glowing creatures -- where mischief, monsters, and mayhem collide.

=======

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY REVIEW

After moving seven times in seven years due to her cop father losing his job, Journee Blake expects Millwater to be no different from every other place: she'll be sharing a room in a strange new house with her obnoxious younger brother, school bullies will make fun of her weight, and they'll soon leave yet another town.

But a secret door at 88 Cabbage Tree Avenue leads down 101 steps to Shadow Edge, a sewer-laden land home to Chime, Panic, and Memory, three white, bloblike sentient creatures with antennae called Underers. As Journee navigates both frustrating classmates and gaining a new friend at school, she learns that the Underers are linked to the home's ancient alarm -- and that Shadow Edge houses dangerous secrets that threaten their realm and the human one above.

Christopher's supporting cast is one-note and the parental figures are comically absurd, but Journee's burgeoning relationship with her new underground family makes for an endearing tale.

Younger readers will delight in the creatures of Shadow Edge, along with the abundant crude humor, as Christopher's whimsical narrative grounds itself in themes including grief, loss, and the occasionally scary nature of change.

Ages 6 -12 - Chapter book for children

• We started tracking this book on November 9, 2020.
• This book was £0.00 when we started tracking it.
• The price of this book has changed 87 times in the past 1,971 days.
• The current price of this book is FREE last checked 28 minutes ago.
• The lowest price to date was FREE last reached on April 2, 2026.
• This book has been FREE 20 times since we started tracking it.
• The highest price to date was £3.48 last reached on October 5, 2022.
• This book has been £3.48 one time since we started tracking it.
• This book is currently at its lowest price since we started tracking it.

• Children's eBooksLiterature & FictionScience Fiction, Fantasy & Scary StoriesFantasyComing of Age
• Children's eBooksLiterature & FictionScience Fiction, Fantasy & Scary StoriesFantasy & MagicComing of Age
• Children's eBooksLiterature & FictionScience Fiction, Fantasy & Scary StoriesFantasy & MagicParanormal & Urban

• Publication Date: July 30, 2020
• Text-to-Speech: Disabled
• Lending: Disabled
• Print Length: 214 Pages
• File Size: 29 KB