Under the Surface

Ruby wants an adventure before college. Her best friend, Sean, wants a break before West Point. Luckily, their French class takes a trip to Paris in their senior year—and as everyone knows, Paris promises the best of times and the worst, in the tradition of Dickens. Ruby is an amateur YouTuber with dreams of traveling the world. She knows the only way to make it big is to go somewhere unique in Paris, not just the top of the Eiffel Tower. Sean has liked Ruby forever, so all he wants is to spend time with her, no matter where they end up.  

On their first day, their mutual friend Val gets an invitation from a stranger to a secret party and convinces Ruby to tag along without telling Sean. After all, what kind of explorer refuses a trip into the forbidden section of the Paris catacombs? The problem: the prohibited sections of the Paris catacombs are extremely dangerous and prone to collapse, and, without a guide, death by dehydration or starvation is almost a guarantee. Notoriously, those known as cataphiles like to throw exclusive parties in the catacombs, but those often end in arrest, injury, or death. Val’s mysterious stranger, Julien, is a Paris local and promises that no harm will come to any of them. Of course, they get lost soon after they arrive.  

Back at the hotel, Sean is the first to realize his classmates are missing. Since he was the last to see Ruby, he becomes the Parisian authorities’ first suspect and may be the only person capable of tracking them down. Once he discovers where they are, he thinks all he has to do is beat the clock and find them before a cave-in or they succumb to dehydration. Little does he know, there are people in the catacombs who know Ruby and her friends are there and are dead set on hunting them down and killing them. The tension builds steadily, driven by a propulsive plot and accessible prose that quickly hooks the reader. 

The enigmatic catacombs and iconic city provide an irresistible backdrop for this thriller. Layer in a citywide investigation and an insidious cult, and the result is genuinely gripping entertainment that never lets the reader settle. Ruby and Sean are talented and ambitious protagonists whose resourcefulness makes them easy to root for, even when their initial naivety lands them in deeper trouble. Watching two high schoolers rise to meet genuinely life-threatening circumstances is one of the novel’s strengths—their growth feels earned rather than convenient. The few moments of French dialogue, helpfully translated, add an authentic texture to the Parisian setting without slowing the pace.  

Readers who enjoy adrenaline-fueled stories, morbid and historical settings, and tough, resilient characters will love Ruby and Sean’s determination, quick thinking, and sweet romantic tension in Under the Surface. The book builds tension and includes somewhat unpredictable twists, leaving the reader constantly guessing what will happen next. Sean’s perspective offers a desperate, caring lens through which the mystery unfolds, while Ruby’s perspective creates a complex, thrilling narrative of high schoolers connecting through their shared trauma. The message of Under the Surface is clear: in extreme emergencies, trust your instincts and keep your enemies close. 

Sexual Content  

• In a flashback, Ruby talks to her friend Selena’s crush, Tyler. Tyler kisses Ruby. “He must’ve noticed my focus shift, because suddenly he was staring at my lips, trailing a finger along my cheek. I basically stopped breathing. . . I knew it was wrong to kiss the boy my best friend liked. But I wanted to know what she was so willing to stomp all over our friendship to get. So when he touched his lips to mine, I didn’t stop him. I even kissed him back. Mistake number two. A minute later, I got the sense to back away. But it was too late. I’d felt the way my lips parted, the way the tip of his tongue swept across mine, the way I’d clung to the back of his neck, holding him close.”   

• When Selena is rescued and brought back to her hotel, Selena’s girlfriend, Aliyah, kisses her. “When Selena sees her and calls her name, Aliyah bounds over and throws her arms around her. ‘Ew, you reek.’ But she kisses Selena anyway.” 

• After Ruby is rescued and wakes up in the hospital, Sean confesses that he has always liked her. “[Sean] lets out a husky chuckle, then sits on the edge of [Ruby’s] bed and cups [her] face, staring into [her] eyes for another long moment before gently touching his lips to [hers]. Despite the lightness of his touch, sparks ignite inside [Ruby] so intensely. . . [she slides] a hand around his neck, over his cropped hair that feels like silk under [her] fingertips, and pull[s] him closer, deepening [their] kiss. His lips are warm and soft, and they mold against [hers], moving in perfect unison like [they’ve] both imagined this countless times, and now it’s finally happening.” 

Violence  

• While stuck in the catacombs, Ruby and her friends accidentally bump into a cultist. The cultist is wearing a skull mask and brandishing a knife at Ruby. She realizes “[the cultist was] trying to sneak up on [her]. They want to stab [her].” 

• Running from the cultist, Ruby and her friends happen upon a dead body. The person died from starvation, not direct violence, but was put in that position after running from the cultists. “The person died in the fetal position and seems to be dressed in men’s hiking clothes: cargo pants, boots, and a black nylon jacket, all covered in some sort of white mold.” 

• After a long night in the catacombs, Ruby wakes up with a knife at her throat. Ruby describes the experience, “There’s cold steel at my throat. I don’t have time to cry out. But I don’t need to—the scuffling wakes Val and Selena. Whoever’s got me, they have a light, and its beam bounces all over the girls as Val scrambles for a flashlight and Selena shrieks. Their grip on my hair forces up my gaze, and I can’t look down to find Julien. My cheek is pressed against some ridged latex material. The skull mask.” Ruby walks away without a scratch because Julien, their guide to the catacombs, knocks the attacker out with a stone slab. 

• The stranger who woke Ruby up with a knife soon recovers and attacks Julien. The stranger grabs a bone as a weapon and cuts Julien on his ankle. Ruby throws the man off Julien. While he’s helpless on the ground, Julien attacks the stranger. “Julien throws himself on top of the stranger and tears his mask off. I think he’s about to demand answers, but instead he pummels his face, alternating fists, letting out a gravelly growl with each wallop. The man’s head snaps back like a punching bag, propped up by his pack, and Julien’s rage possesses him, visceral and raw. I can feel waves of it coursing off him as he delivers blow after blow.” Julien kills him.  

• Almost out of the catacombs, Ruby and her friends are tracked down by the leader of the cult, Stefan. Stefan slaps Julien, and Selena has a revelation. “They want to kill us, [Selena] silently mouths [at Ruby].” From context clues, Selena and Ruby realize they were brought into the catacombs to be sacrificed. 

• As Ruby and Selena try to play along with the cultists, Val (the friend who convinced them to go to the catacombs) doesn’t pick up the hint to cooperate. Val laughs and makes fun of Stefan. “Stefan sweeps around [Ruby] and stands directly in front of Val, his silence more terrifying than anything he’s said yet. Her expression falls, and her hazel eyes widen in fear. Then he chuckles lightly. Her posture relaxes, and her lips curl into a slight smile. Without warning, he grabs the side of her head and slams it hard into the stone wall, knocking her glasses clean off her face. Her skull makes a sickening crack, and she crumples to the ground.” Val dies. 

• To buy Selena time to escape, Ruby attacks Stefan. “[Ruby lunges] forward and clamp[s] Stefan’s ankle, then plunge[s] the knife as hard as [she] can into his calf. The blade sinks through cloth and flesh and muscle, and Stefan lets out a howl of surprise and pain. . . He curses and jerks around like he’s trying to twist and point the gun at [Ruby], but the space is too cramped. He changes tacks, kicking furiously. [She] burrow[s] against stone and bur[ies] [her] head in [her] arms, trying to protect it. One kick lands on [her] left wrist, and [she] yelp[s] as pain shoots up [her] arm.” They are both injured and treated in the hospital for their injuries.  

• In her delirium after being injected with a sedative, Ruby hears a loud bang but doesn’t register it. In the hospital, the lead investigator in the case informs Ruby that “Julien suffered a gunshot wound.” At the end of the book, he’s in a coma, and it’s unclear if he survives.  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• After their first day in Paris, a couple of the teens throw a party, and since they’re eighteen, they have alcohol. As Ruby tries to leave the hotel to find Val, she runs into Selena outside the party. Selena asks, “Where the hell are you going?” Ruby notes how “[Selena’s] words slur a bit, and a hint of pink blushes across her tawny cheeks. She must’ve downed booze before [the party] ran out.” 

• In a flashback to an earlier party, Ruby remembers “[sitting] alone on [a] couch nursing a Solo cup of fruity God-knows-what while Selena spread her wings, barely recognizable in a vibrant, colorful crop top and sultry eyeliner, gyrating her hips to the beat as Aliyah, Lisa, and their posse buzzed around her and Tyler played beer pong nearby.” Ruby doesn’t know all of the teens at the party. 

• Waiting for more information from the Parisian authorities, the parents of the missing kids have wine. Sean observes, “Val’s mother pass by and offer [Ruby’s dad] a glass of wine, but he turns it down with a quick headshake. Ruby once mentioned he binge drinks when his grief is too much to bear, but he’s not an alcoholic—he’s not chemically dependent on booze.” 

• After Ruby attacks Stefan so Selena can get free, Stefan injects her with an unknown substance. Ruby describes her experience, “strong arms loop around my waist from behind and tug me back. I yelp as something sharp pierces my neck over Olivia’s scarf. . . I clasp my neck as he sets a syringe on a nearby shelf. It feels like icicles are radiating through my throat. It’s hard to breathe.” 

Language    

• Language is often used, including ass, crap, shit, and fuck. 

• There are also occasional swears in French, including shit and bitch.

Supernatural  

• None

Spiritual Content  

• The cult Ruby and her friends encounter in the catacombs believes that “bones are vessels for [spirits]. Once [the bones] weaken, so does their protective energy and their ability to commune with [Stefan and the cult].” They believe the bones protect the city and grant special powers to those who worship them.  

by Kate Schuyler