Going Under -- Kathe Koja

I really like the cover -- you can't tell from the picture here, but the pomegranate is shinier than the rest.  It's so nice when you can tell that the designer actually read the book.  (Or at least knew more about it than the title.)

This is the story of Ivan and Hilly, brother and sister.  Or as he puts it, "pilot and copilot":

See, they mean well, Marshall and Ada, Daddy and Mummy.  They're not stupid, they read all the books, they try to do their best.  But they get scared easily, they hear refractive trauma and teenage suicide and they start manning the lifeboats, they think that because Hilly's pal at High Tide or Riptide or Currents or whatever that stupid literary magazine calls itself--just because Elisha jumped off the gym roof, Hilly's going to do it, too.  Just because Hilly cries, and won't sleep in her room anymore.  So what?  I told them.  Hilly's smart, she'll figure things out on her own, and anyway I can help her.  Besides, isn't it really their fault in the first place for letting her go to the high school?  I mean why does Marshall work overtime at the sports clinic so Ada can be Mrs. Homeschool, if they end up caving in and letting Hilly hang out with monosyllabic cheerleaders at Dumbass High?

The book is so short that I don't want to go into a description of the plot.  So I'll just go for reaction:

Hilly...  I was never really all that worried about Hilly -- that was the one thing I think Ivan was really right about -- she mostly just needed time to work her stuff out.  Ivan, on the other hand...

It's been a while since I've hated a character as much as I hated Ivan.  He made me so angry that I WANTED to PUNCH him in the FACE.  Even during the chapters he narrated.  ESPECIALLY during the chapters he narrated. 

He was arrogant and hugely selfish and self-absorbed and bossy and condescending and pretentious and controlling and a snob.  And he was pathetic.  He tried so hard to act cultured and smooth -- some people, like the girls in Dr. Roland's waiting room, didn't see through him.  Anyone who bothered to look through past the surface, though... 

But, I think, by the end, he was Starting to Get It.  Starting to.  He wasn't there, not by a long shot, but there was hope.

Going Under is a GREAT multiple voice narrative and an outstanding psychological thriller.  A good pick for fans of Gail Giles and Alex Flinn. 

I'll be reading Kathe Koja's other books soon.  (Oh, wait. I've already read Buddha Boy.  But I'll read it again.)

Comments

[Little Willow]

I have read Straydog, Buddha Boy, Talk, and The Blue Mirror. Of these four titles, I think Straydog is the most memorable (but have Kleenex at the ready) and The Blue Mirror, the most impressive. Talk had a great concept, but I wanted more, not only at the end but throughtout the entire story. Buddha Boy is also good, but didn't have the highs and lows of the others.

[Leila]

I remember liking Buddha Boy, but not much more about it... I'll be hunting down the others when I get a chance.

[Emily]

I personally luv THE BLUE MIRROR. I luv evrything about it. It needs more luv and stuff like that between cole and Mags.

[Haruku]

Well, of Kathe Koja's books, I've only read The Blue Mirror, Buddha Boy, and am about to read Talk.

Personally, I really love angsty, coming-of-age stories so I was really interested in The Blue Mirror(and it proved to be a really good read).
Actually, I was sort of scared of Cole, even in the beginning, b/c those blue lips of his seemed like it was foreshadowing something.

The ending kind of let me down, but at the same time, there was no other way I would've wanted to end it.(I'm talking in circles now...)

I read Buddha Boy two days ago, and I thought that while the concept and the theme of the story was good, I liked The Blue Mirror better.

I'm about to read Talk, but I have to say, the storyline doesn't really appeal to me much. It sounds like just another story about a gay boy and a straight girl who's using him.

Oooh. I really like the review for Going Under. It makes it look very...enticing.