The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**3.5-stars rounded up**
Marianne’s world is falling apart. She has quit dance, which once seemed her life’s purpose, her best friend has moved away and ghosted her, her parents are separated, again, and it seems like this time it’s for good, and her mother has checked herself into a mental health facility after a breakdown.
Now staying with her Aunt, Marianne notices other things going on with herself. She is losing time and objects are moving and breaking around her, seemingly on their own.
She feels afraid, like a dark spirit is constantly around her, messing with her head and her world.
Her fear is so strong, she’s not sleeping well and soon begins to feel like she is coming apart at the seams. She seeks help from a girl at school whose mother is purported to be a psychic of some sort.
Marianne believes the presence after her is some sort of ghost and her hope is that Rhiannon’s mom will be able to get rid of it.
As Marianne and Rhiannon, who goes by Ron, begin to get to know one another, a really precious friendship forms. Both ostracized by their peers, the girls find acceptance within one another.
This friendship was one of my favorite aspects of the story, made stronger once you begin to see that the girls have developed feelings for each other deeper than friendship.
Once it is clear that’s Ron mom won’t be as much help as they would have thought, the girls strike out on their own to try to banish the spirit. Unfortunately, their actions make it worse. A lot worse.
I really enjoyed the majority of this book. At first, the writing style threw me off, but I came to really enjoy it.
It is metaphorical in nature, more so than I tend to enjoy, but very dark and beautiful.
I thought the paranormal elements were well done. The intensity kept being amped up and it truly kept me glued to the pages.
The ending made me a little uncomfortable, but I may be reading too much into it. I just wasn’t sold on the conclusion.
Anyway, overall I did really enjoy this. I had a ton of fun reading it and even had moments where I was legitimately creeped out. I think this would make a great movie.
If you enjoy movies with paranormal activity or possession, you should definitely check this one out. Bonus points if you enjoy dark, metaphorical writing.