The Secret Sea has ratings and 46 reviews. Skip said: Really weak effort by Lyga, following his excellent trilogy. Lyga stiches together a news item.
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He sees it before anyone else. The voice warns him to run. His friends Moira and Khalid believe this is more than a premonition, and soon all three find themselves in an alternate universe that is both familiar and seriously strange. In his most propulsive and heartfelt book yet, acclaimed author Barry Lyga explores the depths of friendship, the bonds of family, and the nature of the universe itself.
everest (2016)
You did it, Barry. This is the novel you were meant to write. Stine, author of Goosebumps and Fear Street. Readers will love the fast-paced action and terrifying details of the alternate timeline Zak and friends find themselves in, and the satisfying conclusion will leave them considering questions of identity and family. A strong choice for many young adult and upper—middle grade collections. Archvillain Archvillain 1 Reviews Archvillain 2: Then one day Zak is standing on the subway platform when the voice warns him to run.
The tunnel starts to fill with water. His friends Moira and Khalid believe this is more than a premonition, and soon all three Zak Killian hears a voice. His friends Moira and Khalid believe this is more than a premonition, and soon all three find themselves in an alternate universe that is both familiar and seriously strange.
As Zak unravels the mystery behind the voice, he faces decisions that may mean the end of their world at home— if they can even get home! Hardcover , pages. To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up. To ask other readers questions about The Secret Sea , please sign up. Lists with This Book.
Oct 01, Skip rated it did not like it Shelves: Really weak effort by Lyga, following his excellent trilogy.
The Secret Sea
Lyga stiches together a news item about the discovery of an old ship at Ground Zero with a real medical condition, TTTS twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome to come up with a YA novel about three friends in Brooklyn, who manage to wander into an alternate universe where things are very different, especially for women.
Occasionally interesting, but mostly preposterous and too much unexplained. Jul 30, Erikka rated it it was ok Shelves: Contrived, cliched, tedious, and preachy. And those might be its good points. The checklist-style diversity that I abhor was everywhere, the plot made no sense, the scientific gobbledygook was annoying, and it's really bad when you can't stand the main characters. It annoyed me that they constantly succeeded: This was a protagonist-driven book--nothing was at stake because the plot relied on them being preternaturally successful.
It Contrived, cliched, tedious, and preachy. It was annoyingly one-sided. I also felt the World Trade Center was exploited--it felt like readers were having their emotions toyed with. I also feel like this book has no audience--like I wouldn't know who to recommend it to if I wanted to. I appreciated the feminist message, but that's where my "preachy" comment applies: It could have been managed to greater effect with more subtlety. But, then again, middle grade audience--maybe the preachiness was needed? I was mostly upset though because "I Hunt Killers" is one of my favorite series of all time.
I know what Lyga is capable of. He should steer clear of middle grade books and stick with teen--he's a freaking beast at writing teen books. Thank you, NetGalley, for the arc. Jan 18, Ayesha Ayyad rated it it was amazing. It gets slow in the middle, but do not give up. This book is such a great read! It has a different twist than your usual books. Jun 26, Billie rated it really liked it. This is that rare beast, the Middle Grade novel that has middle school-aged protagonists and is aimed at a middle-school audience.
Lyga neither keeps his characters immature in order to appeal to a 9-to year-old readership nor has them acting like high schoolers in order to satisfy some aspirational middle school fantasy. Zak, Moira, and Khalid are very firmly and clearly twelve or thirteen and their actions and decisions reflect that. Yes, they manage to get themselves out of tricky situatio This is that rare beast, the Middle Grade novel that has middle school-aged protagonists and is aimed at a middle-school audience.
Yes, they manage to get themselves out of tricky situations in really clever ways, but those escapes are never implausible given what we know of the characters of these characters. They also make a lot of mistakes and poor decisions because they let their emotions and impulses rule. This is especially true of Zak who almost makes a catastrophic mistake in pursuit of something he wants to be true.
Lyga also creates an alternate world which is both appealing and terrifying—it is technologically advanced and has magic! Lyga is clearly a feminist with a feminist agenda and gods bless him for it. While he never beats the reader over the head with the idea of equality, it is very clear and examined in ways that will, it is to be hoped, make kids take stock of their own attitudes and prejudices and maybe make some adjustments.
Several characters mention how they would be willing to give up the technology of this alternate world to live in a world where women weren't treated as property, but there was another question that was never addressed, and it's one that may be even more important and more difficult to answer.
In the alternate Manhattan, the United States had abolished slavery more than a century before it happened here and there is true racial equality and harmony. Bookman, for example, had to make a choice between his world with its racial harmony and advanced technology and magic! Overall, this is a big, smart middle grade adventure novel that manages to thoroughly entertain its readers while also challenging them to think about bigger issues.
Jun 17, Kaitlyn Raich rated it it was amazing. For someone like me who has loved YA fiction for a long time, I've kind of stagnated on reading in this genre for a while. Two of the main trio are people of color--one is Hispanic and another has Middle Eastern heritage I can't remember if his family is from Iran or Iraq so please excuse me for that and regularly mutters to himself in Farsi. The problems they point out are shown in ways that are similar to our own history and in my case at least, make the emotional connection to these issues in the book even stronger. And characters end up checking their own privileges multiple times, usually without prompting from anyone else.
While I've been seeing more and more of other kinds of diversity in recent years, it's still hard to find books where a person with a disability is the main protagonist. What makes this even better is that it does not fall to ableist tropes that we see all too much with differently abled characters. That being said, the plot is also breathtaking in itself. I could hardly bring myself to put this book down. I was always coming up with new questions as certain details were revealed. The world-building is something I'll probably admire for a long time, from the language changes, societal issues, technology, architecture, and even the clothing.
Lyga, Barry The Secret Sea, pgs. Feiwel and Friends, Zak Killian is hearing voices, which he thinks may be his guardian angel. As the voices intensify, Zach and his two friends, Moira and Kahlid go on the run to find the source of the visions, literally plunging into an alternative universe. Zak faces danger in this new universe and has to decide which voices to trust because lives in both universes could be at risk through his actions.
Michelle in the Middle http: Jan 01, Avery ThePagemaster rated it really liked it Shelves: Was trying my best to finish this before , but I was sudden;y invited to a NYE party and couldn't. This one, even though it didn't match up to Jasper Dent, still had that mysterious tone that made me like Lyga in the first place.
I will say that my only gripe with this Was trying my best to finish this before , but I was sudden;y invited to a NYE party and couldn't. I will say that my only gripe with this book is that the ending was slightly drawn out, then suddenly "The End". Also, if you are unfamiliar with the elementary theories of Multiverses or Alternate Universes, or metaphysics, this book will have you lost, to a degree, but it will explain things as the story goes along.
Jun 18, Margo Kelly rated it really liked it. Plus, at pages, it's extremely long for a middle-grade novel. However, if I'd gone into it with the correct mindset, that would have helped me, because it's certainly a great adventure.
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Sep 10, Lucas Ballard rated it liked it. Book was really good but at same time wasn't the greatest it had parts that I couldn't set the book down and pulled me in but also had parts that made me barley wanna turn the page. All in all though it was a good book. I think my only real problem with the book was that they were younger than the average character of Barry lyga instead of being 18 or so they were about which made it harder to relate.
Apr 10, Susan Gellert Ketcham rated it it was ok. Couldn't get into the whole alternate history setting, which is a shame because I love Barry Lyga. The protagonist is younger, so the whole novel is a great leap from what he usually writes. Nov 18, Yami rated it it was ok. I finished Lyga's Bang couple of weeks ago and absolutely loved it but, No,No,NO,NOoo this can't be one of Lyga's , the writing is way weak and annoying, and not to mention repetitive paragraph syndrome.
Moira and the frau idea was very intimidating but making repeating how smart she was through out the novel made her look dum especially when she was proven wrong. I was never so happy to see the last page saying author's note. Oct 31, ahasan rated it really liked it Shelves: This is a good book about a kid named Zack who hears voices in his head. The voices tell him of danger and sometimes Zack does dangerous things without knowing it. The voices then warn him of something that didn't happen and he gets in trouble because of it.
He then learns that the voices in his head are two people. One is good and one is bad. He has to find out which is the good one before they make him do something that can kill everyone. I give this book 4 out of 5 stars and recommend it. Aug 22, Stacey rated it liked it Shelves: It was intriguing following the three young people has they entered an alternative universe, similar to our world with some major changes.
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In the other world, there is a higher level technology and science and no racism. However, the dark side of that world is that girls and women are treated as second-class citizens. The women folk don't have the freedom that our world has. Jun 20, Kelleen Thaxton rated it it was ok. The basic storyline for the Secret Sea had a lot of potential, but that potential was not realized, in my opinion.
The characters were one-dimensional and their actions and motivations were not very believable. If it had not been a very quick read I would have put it down without finishing it. Oct 29, Vona Bowling rated it really liked it. I'm not usually into sci to, but this was enthralling.
Good twists, loved the kids and their adventure, the science geekiness of it. It was an interesting mystery as well. Mar 04, Liz rated it really liked it Shelves: I enjoyed The Secret Sea. Zak is a twin who doesn't know he's a twin. He hears voices and has the sensation of being on a boat when he rides the subway. He has a heart condition which makes him dependent on his medication.
His life is endangered when he unintentionally slips into an alternate universe, accompanied by his friends Moira and Khalid.
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They are dunked in seawater and canal water, chased by police and punks. The new universe has advanced technology but is misogynistic, which makes it v I enjoyed The Secret Sea.
The new universe has advanced technology but is misogynistic, which makes it very difficult for super smart Moira to be of active help. Add to the tension a pair of ghosts both claiming to be Zak's long lost twin, and yelling at him to take opposing actions, putting the population of New York at risk. This is a great read! My favorite part is the forgiveness finale.
The Secret Sea — Barry Lyga Dot Com
It's just that we lack the ability to perceive it thus. Time is fold onto itself. Nov 27, Barbara rated it liked it Shelves: Although this book is nothing like the author's earlier titles, the Jasper Dent series or Boy Toy, for that matter, I was impressed that he took a risk and ventured into new territory. While some of the plot devices and the science might be questioned, I still ended up enjoying this one, based as it is on quantum physics. It's action-packed and moves quickly, and many middle graders will enjoy it because of the age of the protagonists, twelve and thirteen, and the possibilities of alternative un Although this book is nothing like the author's earlier titles, the Jasper Dent series or Boy Toy, for that matter, I was impressed that he took a risk and ventured into new territory.
It's action-packed and moves quickly, and many middle graders will enjoy it because of the age of the protagonists, twelve and thirteen, and the possibilities of alternative universes that it imagines. It all starts when New Yorker Zak Killian begins hearing a voice and seeing visions of a subway tunnel filling up with water.
Needless to say, his parents are concerned and hustle him off to talk to a therapist.