***Warning: This book review contains some spoilers***
“Sometimes, I think putting up with Dobbs and playing by his rules is being strong, but sometimes, like now, I wonder if I didn’t misplace my backbone somewhere.”
Blythe is 16 yrs old when a trusted adult who worked at her high school’s library delivers her some distressing news. Told that her brother was in a car accident, she jumps into his car, believing he (Dobbs) will be whisking her away to the local hospital. Unfortunately, Blythe was tricked, and she soon finds herself underground in complete darkness, where she will spend the next 17 years with her deranged conspiracy theorist captor..
“We are the Remnant, Blythe. After the end, you and I will rise up together. You and me -we will one day seed the new world.”
Fear, crushing loneliness, and mental illness consumes Blythe. When she becomes pregnant due to a rape, Dobbs is convinced that Blythe has “ruined everything”, as her pregnancy wasn’t a part of his master plan.
Sadly, the baby dies moments after child birth.
With the death of her baby, Blythe has never felt so cut off from love.
In a sick and twisted attempt to comfort her, Dobbs kidnaps a child and brings him down for Blythe to “mother”.
“What miracle is this before me? What magic have I conjured? What awful terror?”
The boy isn’t well, and neither is Blythe. She considers killing him to end his suffering. Moments before she does, Dobbs whisks him away and he is never seen again…
Three years later, Adam is born. The child is brought up underground, and taught “end of the world training”. He grows up to hate and question his father’s teachings. He desperately wants to go above.
When Adam discovers the kidnapped boy’s remains from so long ago, he questions his parents. A terrible fight ensues between father and son, and Blythe and Adam are finally able to escape. They are able to go ABOVE.
But what Blythe wasn’t expecting, is an entirely different world above. A lot has changed since she has been trapped underground, and Blythe discovers you can never truly ‘go home again’.
I really enjoyed Above, by Isla Morley and was happy to participate in the book tour to promote this excellent book. If you like books written in a similar style to The Lovely Books, you will enjoy this story!
Part II (Above) really surprised me. I didn’t at all see the second half of the story coming. I believed that the story would end when Blythe became free. Really, that is when the story began!
I am giving Above, by Isla Morley 5 very well deserved stars! Please check this book out! You will be glad you did!
***I received an E-Copy of this book in exchange for a fair & honest review.
PURCHASE ABOVE:
A Well Read Woman 