Beneath by Roland Smith

What an unusual book and an I can't put it down read!  Pat and Coop are brothers to brilliant science parents. Coop is an unusual child and has always been drawn to the underground. He loves the dark and sleeps during the day. His parents had to hire two nannies so that someone could watch him at night. In his teens he starts to dig a tunnel in the Washington D. C. area where they live.  His brother helps him and is involved in an explosion that sends him to the hospital in a 3 day coma. Coop is taken in for questioning by the FBI.  The mother says Coop is insane.  Coop eventually runs away and gets involved in a underground community in New York City.  He contacts Pat and when the communication stops, Pat realizes that his brother may be in trouble. He sneaks away to try and find him. In New York, Pat follows a series of leads and discovers a sinister under underground community that may have taken Coop hostage. Friends that Coop has made along the way begin to help Pat with the search.  It is a thriller and adventure story that is exciting and riveting.

First of all, do homeless people live underground in New York?  Very interesting twist for this story. The story ended with a cliff hanger. When is the next book coming out?  I couldn't find another book mentioned in Smith's blog and yet, everyone is asking the same question.  Although it has violence, it is toned down and not graphic. There is no inappropriate language either.  This book is for 5th grade and up and will appeal to boys and girls.  The reading level is 4.3.  I give it a 4 out of 4 rating and would put in on the Divsion 2 Maud Hart Lovelace list.

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.; Reprint edition (March 29, 2016)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0545564875
• ISBN-13: 978-0545564878