The Vanishing Deep

By Astrid Scholte

Book Overview

Bestselling author Astrid Scholte, returns with a thrilling adventure in which the dead can be revived...for a price.

Seventeen-year-old Tempe was born into a world of water. When the Great Waves destroyed her planet five hundred years ago, its people had to learn to survive living on the water, but the ruins of the cities below still called. Tempe dives daily, scavenging the ruins of a bygone era, searching for anything of value to trade for Notes. It isn't food or clothing that she wants to buy, but her dead sister's life. For a price, the research facility on the island of Palindromena will revive the dearly departed for twenty-four hours before returning them to death. It isn't a heartfelt reunion that Tempe is after; she wants answers. Elysea died keeping a terrible secret, one that has ignited an unquenchable fury in Tempe: Her beloved sister was responsible for the death of their parents. Tempe wants to know why.

But once revived, Elysea has other plans. She doesn't want to spend her last day in a cold room accounting for a crime she insists she didn't commit. Elysea wants her freedom and one final glimpse at the life that was stolen from her. She persuades Tempe to break her out of the facility, and they embark on a dangerous journey to discover the truth about their parents' death and mend their broken bond. But they're pursued every step of the way by two Palindromena employees desperate to find them before Elysea's time is up--and before the secret behind the revival process and the true cost of restored life is revealed.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525513957
• ISBN13: 9780525513957
• Release Date: March 2020
• Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
• Length: 448 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.6" x 5.5" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 12 years and up
• Grade Range: Grade 7 and higher

Customer Reviews

Great worldbuilding in a submerged future

The Vanishing Deep is set in a fascinating future world in which global warming melted the polar ice caps and The Great Waves submerged most of the planet. There is not much land left. The story is set on an island with an attached floating community called a reef. A facility called Palindromena is able to resurrect the drowned dead for 24 hours, after which they must die again. Tempest, is all alone in the world and decides to resurrect her sister who died two years ago, because she wants to find out more about their parents' death. In doing so, she meets Lor and Ray and things get complicated. This aquatic adventure is non-stop and the complex plot has many suspenseful twists and turns. The author is able to convey well the depth of emotion between the characters. A really well done YA sci-fi dystopian.

Fantastic world-building and imaginative storyline

The Vanishing Deep follows Tempe, a seventeen-year-old girl, living on the water. After the Great Waves destroyed her planet, land is a commodity only available to the extremely wealthy. Tempe spends her days diving for treasures to fund the resurrection of her sister Elysea on the infamous island, Palindromena. For an exorbitant fee, the dead can be resurrected for only 24 hours, giving the living a chance to say their goodbyes. Tempe wants answers from Elysea, namely what happened the day she died. But when Elysea is resurrected, she has other plans, and the two escape Palindromena and set out on an epic adventure to find answers of their own. The Vanishing Deep introduced thought-provoking questions about climate change, capitalism, and the value of human life wrapped up into a gripping tale of two sisters. I was fascinated by the idea of life on the water and the island of Palindromena. Scholte does an excellent job of world-building, creating likable characters, and an intricate storyline. I didn’t want this book to end! It’s told in alternating first-person perspectives: Tempe, the tenacious diver who just wants answers about her family, and Lor, Palindromena employee and resident, responsible for resurrecting Elysea. Both were fantastic characters! If you are a fan of YA Fantasy and adventure stories, this one is for you! Thank you to BookishFirst and Penguin Teen for my review copy! All opinions are my own.

The Vanishing Deep is Great!

I really enjoyed reading this book. I know it was not the main story of the book but it was quite fascinating to read about the bits about the Great Waves that swallowed most of the earth because they melted the ice caps. I really would not mind maybe reading a prequel that told that story in more detail and how the reefs and the islands came to be how they were, as well as the Untied Sea. The main story that centered around Elysea and Tempe and Lor was also quite interesting and I devoured the book in a day, much like how most of this story happens in one day. The countdown at the beginning of each chapter was fun to follow and increased my anticipation. There was so many twists and turns in this story that I was second guessing about how it might end and I was still wrong. I like books that can do that and it makes them so much fun to read. The main characters were all well written and I felt like I got to know them pretty well. I would definitely recommend this book to all the fantasy lovers though I guess this book could also actually happen someday, so maybe it should be a future possibility book.