Create Editorial Content for Our Brothers at The Bottom of The Bottom of The Sea

The excellent, lyrical title of OUR BROTHERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA drew me in immediately as I sat down to open this book --- I really applaud whoever came up with it! The story opens with the tragic deaths of two young boys at Happy World, a Coney Island-esque amusement park on a pier in Sea Town, New Jersey.

The first death is Curtis Leary, a boy with Down syndrome who fell to his death from a roller coaster. The second is Jason Waters, a boy who drowned off of a jetty near the pier but was known for not enjoying the ocean. Both deaths are veiled in mystery --- why was Jason out on the water when he hated it so much? Was anyone there, or did he jump to his death? How was Curtis able to fall out of the car if the ride wasn’t malfunctioning and supposedly didn’t need repairs?

These questions bring together the boys’ siblings --- Rachel Leary and Ethan Waters ---along with Leonard, the ride attendant who is being held responsible for Curtis’ death. Together, they seek to break the cover-ups surrounding the incident --- for Happy World is controlled by the monopolizing, filthy rich Mr. Stone --- and they bond in the wake of loss, confusion and the gnawing “if only’s” they experience.

I must admit, I wish I had been as roused by this book as I was the title. Don’t get me wrong ---there were a handful of scenes with delicious tension and expertly played out drama, along with some phrases with definite staying power. But on the whole, I was a bit disappointed because the setup and plot of the story was ripe and loaded with stakes and conflict, but I didn’t see much of that manifested in the text.

At many points, the story divulged the petty workplace drama of the amusement park, only half of which mattered to the story’s resolution, and I was surprised that Rachel wasn’t as driven to find out whether or not the roller coaster that killed her brother was malfunctioning. For half of Rachel’s scenes, she was doing things that weren’t particularly exciting or relevant to the book’s main conflict. Ethan’s story had more weight more consistently, especially once he discovered Jason’s journal.

[The romances in OUR BROTHERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA] bloomed beautifully and were grounded in realism.

Plot-wise, I was probably most bothered by the ending --- the writing style and information revealed left me with a muddled picture of the truth behind both deaths. I eventually understood Curtis’, but I closed the book still not knowing exactly what had happened to Jason. I understand that the author wanted to maintain an aura of mystery --- a haze to lay over the coastal town to symbolize how no one realizes exactly how things work --- but it left me dissatisfied.

I was also a bit disappointed with the writing because I felt that it was uneven. In Jason’s journal entries, the writing was flowing, rhythmic but natural, completely believable as the inner thoughts of an 18-year-old boy. Those were easily my favorite sections of OUR BROTHERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA.

Many of the lines in the book were zinging, sharp and on-point, but I thought that the author’s use of clunky, unbelievable (as in no teenager would think them or say them) and unnecessary metaphors took away from them. For example, there was a section from Rachel’s point of view describing an incident where she and her mom see a DANGER sign that has been vandalized with the words “don’t fall.” It’s a powerful moment because this random act in the world is deeply relevant to their lives, but the metaphor the author uses to describe the mother’s reaction is cumbersome and distracting: “Betty clamped a hand over her mouth as if preventing a prisoner there from escaping.” It really bothered me because I didn’t think it needed to be there. The circumstances of the situation provided enough emotional impact, but those words (a bit too abundant in number and syllables) reduced the blow.

On the positive side, I thought that the two romances that developed in the story came very naturally, and did not take away the focus like romances often do in books aimed at younger audiences. They bloomed beautifully and were grounded in realism, and I greatly enjoyed reading about them.

If you tend to be critical of metaphorical language and like to be told exactly how things happen in clear detail, OUR BROTHERS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA might not be the book for you. However, there are many readers who will enjoy this book, and those who pick it up will unearth shining, golden nuggets that provide commentary on the proper treatment of individuals with disabilities and the struggle of feeling stuck in a rut.