• Age: 12 to 18
• Grade: 7 to 12

Selected for the Forest of Reading Teen Committee's Summer Reading pick!

Finalist for SYRCA 2018

Following the events of Pulse Point, 12-year old Ama and the other Underlanders living in a world of darkness dig for brine, the City's real energy source. Underland is a dangerous place: cave-ins, starvation and illness are constant threats. When their leader deserts them, Ama goes looking for him and stumbles on two Citizens. Neither knew the other existed.

18-year old Sari lives in the City, blissfully unaware of what goes on beneath her feet. The disappearance of her best friend, Kaia, has left her feeling isolated. A chance encounter with her sister leads her to join a group called the Resistance who are on a secret mission to reveal the secrets the Council keeps hidden.

When Kaia mounts an attack on the City, Sari and Ama are thrown together in a battle that will decide their futures and the fate of the City.

[ Underland ] convincingly portrays the human instinct to resist change opposed to the resilient values of compassion, justice and freedom. . . Underland could be read as a standalone and will be enjoyed by anyone who likes dystopian fiction. - CM: Canadian Review of Materials

Underland inspires faith that a few good people can make the difference and that redemption is possible through transformation - CanLit for LittleCanadians

An author and junior high school teacher who also enjoyed many years of teaching kindergarten, Colleen Nelson earned her Bachelor of Education from the University of Manitoba in her hometown of Winnipeg. Her previous works include the critically-acclaimed middle-grade novels Harvey Comes Home and Harvey Holds His Own; Sadia, which won the 2019 Ruth and Sylvia Schwartz Award; and Blood Brothers, which was selected as the 2018 McNally Robinson Book of the Year for Young People. Colleen writes daily in between appearances at hockey rinks and soccer fields in support of her two sports-loving sons. The family’s West Highland Terrier Rosie adds an extra-loveable dose of liveliness, squirrel-chasing, and shoe-chewing to their lives.

Colleen Nelson's profile page

"The story works to illustrate the modern world's Faustian bargain of great comfort and security at the expense of the environment and the unprivileged. It convincingly portrays the human instinct to resist change opposed to the resilient values of compassion, justice and freedom." - CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"Underland inspires faith that a few good people can make the difference and that redemption is possible through transformation" - CanLit for LittleCanadians

"Ama is a resourceful, brave and admirable character" - Winnipeg Free Press