SPOILERS

In this YA fantasy debut, three gifted teens journey to an underground realm to thwart an oppressive ruler.

Mia Britt, Lee Chang, and Lance Mahoney are 15-year-olds from working-class families. They’ve been selected to attend Charlton Academy, an elite New York prep school, for their exceptional talents. Mia excels in science, Lee in the use of technology, and Lance in math and physics. One day, the city suffers an earthquake. Afterward, Lance notices that Moody, a homeless man, has vanished. This strikes a chord with Mia, because her parents are also missing; her father works for the government, while her mother possesses telekinetic powers—as does Mia herself. While studying in the school library, the three teens stumble into an off-limits room and find the map of an old system of tunnels nearby. Later, as they use an alley to access the tunnels, another earthquake propels them into a cave. The trio quickly encounters strange insects, prehistoric birds, and even people. One of them, a teen named Nadia, says, “This is a nightmare you can’t escape.” The underground world is populated by lost souls of every stripe who are ruled by a tyrant named Oman. He alone can access a machine that might transport people back to the surface. In her book, Thompson sends her protagonists on a head-spinning adventure that could have filled two novels. Once underground, Mia and company meet geophysicist Dr. Vincent Ram, a talking owl named Ivor, and a woodland guardian named Orka, among numerous others. The colorful plot, which includes appearances by dinosaurs, Wolflings, and gigantic winged Eglipses, whips along briskly until all seems resolved partway through. It is the reptilian, shape-changing Spoilers who bridge segments of the story and provide a global threat that requires all of the teens’ skills. Quiet moments of sweetness peek through, as when Lance reveals his crush on Mia only to find her asleep (“He wondered if she heard anything he said, because it would be awhile before he got the courage to say it again”).

A smart and sunny all-ages romp in a forbidding world.