The Dark Beneath the Ice

The Dark Beneath the Ice by Amelinda Bérubé The Dark Beneath the Ice is blurbed as Black Swan meets Paranormal Activity, and honestly, I think that's about accurate. I have to do a full disclaimer I do not often read young adult books and found that the cover really caught my attention that I had to give it a chance, I found the writing style rather poetic and it made it easy to follow. This is one of those spooky stories you should pick up on Halloween. While the blurb is correct in the two-movie comparison it is on a much tamer scale then I expected. Like I stayed in the beginning this was just not my cup of tea. I have recommended it to a few people that have found it enjoyable. Not bad for my first read by this author may continue with her work in the future.

More like 4 and a half. This was completely, utterly “readable”. I mean it. Berube's voice sucked me in from page one, threw me right into the storytelling trance and did not let go until I finished. The pages could not turn fast enough and it's so funny because Berube has a way of teasing you with something (plot point, character development, etc) and then explaining it a page or two later releasing the tension but still retaining the reader's interest. I can't think of anyone else who pulls that off.
There are some definitely chilling moments in the book. Not gross chilling, but turn the lights on and check your room thoroughly when you wake up in the middle of the night chilling. For me the question that had me racing through the book was not the what or the why but the HOW in the hell is Marianne going to escape this?????
I can't wait to read what this author writes next. Even if it's not horror, if it is told in the same voice, I know I'll enjoy it already.

(Originally posted on

This was a pleasantly spooky surprise. I think it'd be a perfect Halloween read, when the trees are turning, and there's a crispness to the air, and the days get shorter. I sped through his like it was a 100 meter dash.

Marianne was a very real character to me, fleshed out and flawed while also being deeply relatable. I genuinely worried about her and, while I knew what was plaguing her early on, I wanted to know how she would overcome it. Her unreliability as a narrator made the story all the more tense.

The Dark Beneath the Ice has a lot of layers to it, not just a suspenseful popcorn read. It's a story about a girl's relationship with her mother, her growing feelings for another girl, her insecurities about herself and her self-worth. It resonated with me and I'm really glad I had the opportunity to read it early.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with the comparisons between Black Swan and Paranormal Activity. It was far more atmospheric and internalized than anything and wasn't necessarily what I would consider horror.

I definitely recommend it for fans of Maggie Stiefvater's flare of magic and eeriness. Overall I give The Dark Beneath the Ice four stars.

Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire for taking a chance on a little book blog and giving me an ARC.