Undertow 01

First, we feared them. Then we fought them. Now they might be our only hope.

Sixteen-year-old Lyric Walker’s life is forever changed when she witnesses the arrival of 30,000 Alpha, a five-nation race of ocean-dwelling warriors, on her beach in Coney Island. The world’s initial wonder and awe over the Alpha quickly turns ugly and paranoid and violent, and Lyric’s small town transforms into a military zone with humans on one side and Alpha on the other. When Lyric is recruited to help the crown prince, a boy named Fathom, assimilate, she begins to fall for him. But their love is a dangerous one, and there are forces on both sides working to keep them apart. Only, what if the Alpha are not actually the enemy? What if they are in fact humanity’s best chance for survival? Because the real enemy is coming. And it’s more terrifying than anything the world has ever seen.

Action, suspense, and romance whirlpool dangerously in this cinematic saga!

"Sharp political commentary and strong parallels to the treatment of minorities in the U.S. ground the world in reality, while the well-rounded and ethnically diverse supporting cast will cause readers to root for them...the breathtaking action and cliff-hanger conclusion will leave teens desperate for more." School Library Journal, starred review

"There are some nice parallels to the civil rights movement and school integration in this novel, but the real attraction for most readers will be the romance and action, both of which are in high supply...should please readers looking supernatural romance with a bit of a twist." VOYA

“Undertow overflows with innovative, terrifying monsters — human, emotional and undersea. Landmark Coney Island becomes a dystopian state where two different species battle for dominance, and Lyric Walker is both a unique, quirky heroine and a fearless crusader. Allegorical and romantic, the book nevertheless reads like an action movie with especially awesome CGI.” E. Lockhart, author of We Were Liars and The Disreputable History of Frankie Landau-Banks

For fans of Rick Yancey and Marie Lu, Undertow is book one in this much-anticipated, genre-breaking, breath-catching new trilogy for teens from New York Times bestselling author Michael Buckley in which a 16-year-old girl is caught in an epic clash of civilizations when a society of undersea warriors march out of the ocean into modern-day Coney Island.

Michael Buckley is the author of the New York Times bestselling series Sisters Grimm and NERDS. Before starting to write children's books, he worked as a stand-up comic, television writer, advertising copywriter, and a singer in a punk rock band. He lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit his website at www.michaelbuckleywrites.com.