Hope isn’t measurable or conditional; it’s not for anyone to try and control. It’s ours—all of ours—boundless, as wild and unfettered as the waves.
I loved swimming as a kid. I have distinct memories of lake campgrounds during summer vacations, of grabbing my snorkel and rushing out into the water. And yet, there was always a fear. Those moments when your feet would step astray of the rocks laid down by humans for boat launches, sinking instead into the muddy bottom sprawling with seaweed.
Intriguing, yet terrifying. I can’t think of anything that better epitomizes this sentiment than bodies of water, especially the ocean. It’s vast, beautiful, and bursting with fascinating forms of life—and yet, it’s a mystery. There’s so much about the depths of these waters that remains unknown.
London Shah’s debut, The Light at the Bottom of the World, takes these fascinations, and these fears, and weaves them together in an imaginative and immersive story.
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers | Pages: 320 | Release Date: October 29, 2019
Hope had abandoned them to the wrath of all the waters.
At the end of the twenty-first century, the world has changed dramatically, but life continues one thousand feet below the ocean’s surface. In Great Britain, sea creatures swim among the ruins of Big Ben and the Tower of London, and citizens waver between fear and hope; fear of what lurks in the abyss, and hope that humanity will soon discover a way to reclaim the Earth.
Meanwhile, sixteen-year-old Leyla McQueen has her own problems to deal with. Her father’s been arrested, accused of taking advantage of victims of the Seasickness-a debilitating malaise that consumes people,often claiming their lives. But Leyla knows he’s innocent, and all she’s interested in is getting him back so that their lives can return to normal.
When she’s picked to race in the action-packed London Submersible Marathon, Leyla gets the chance to secure his freedom; the Prime Minister promises the champion whatever their heart desires. The race takes an unexpected turn, though, and presents her with an opportunity she never wanted: Leyla must venture outside of London for the first time in her life, to find and rescue her father herself.
Now, she’ll have to brave the unfathomable waters and defy a corrupt government determined to keep its secrets, all the while dealing with a secretive, hotheaded companion she never asked for in the first place. If she fails, or falls prey to her own fears, she risks capture–and her father might be lost forever.
You can find The Light at the Bottom of the World on Goodreads, Amazon, Indigo, Barnes & Noble, Indiebound, and Book Depository.
I’d argue that it’s impossible not to be swept away by the world Shah has created. There’s something so immediately gripping about the concept: in the world of the future humanity has been forced below the water’s surface, to live at the bottom of the world. There’s a stunning mix of futuristic technology that makes this possible, and it’s been a while since I last remember becoming this engrossed in a science fiction world. It feels plausible, possible. Intriguing, yet still terrifying to imagine being there yourself.
What helps makes this setting accessible is the way in which Shah brings in elements of the Old World—things from the past that, to readers, are present. There is a distinct sense of nostalgia, a loving nod that doubles as a cautionary warning to the ways in which clinging too tightly to the past can do more harm than good.
Other times the glow is a greeting across forever, a trillion Old World hugs and laughter and memories and dreams reaching down through the ages, lighting our way.
What really makes this story shine, though, is Shah’s protagonist. Leyla McQueen is fiercely optimistic, perpetually hopeful even in the darkest and most dire of circumstances. No matter what she always, always, pursues the light. She pursues truth.
Her hope is addictive, even though at times it exposes a recklessness that borders on naïvety. But this is not a weakness, or a detriment to her character. Rather, it provides the opportunity for Leyla to develop over the course of the story. She is forced to question what at first she blindly accepted, and through that questioning, she grows. She changes. Combined with a perseverance that is nothing short of admirable, I cannot wait to see how much further she will go in the sequel.
Side Note: there are some fantastic firsts for representation in The Light at the Bottom of the World as well! It’s the first science fiction/fantasy book to feature a British Muslim protagonist, and the first where the protagonist is of Pashtun ethnicity!
Together, Shah’s relatable, easy-to-root-for characters and engrossing world are brought together with a plot that is as fast-paced as the submarine races in which Leyla participates. The story unfolds like a current, picking you up and sweeping you away. It’s the sort of book that once I started, I couldn’t put it down until I was finished.
The fear is all-encompassing. A deluge smashing into the deepest chasm inside us all. Into the gaping gulf the floods created within us.
Coupled with timely and poignant social commentary, The Light at the Bottom of the World is a phenomenal debut, one that had me on the edge of my seat and has left me desperate to dive into the sequel.
My Rating: 4 Stars
Disclaimer: I had originally received an ARC from Disney Book Group and Little, Brown Books for Younger Readers courtesy of NetGalley. I am also on the author’s Street Team. Neither of these things affect my review, which reflects my honest opinions.
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