Into the Sublime

Today's post is on Into the Sublime by Kate A. Boorman. It is 359 pages long and is published by Henry Holt and Company. The cover has  girl half submerged in a cave with light behind her. The intended reader is someone who likes young adult horror novels and coming of age novels. There is some foul language, no sex, and some violence in this novel. The story is told from first person perspective of the main character, Amelie. There Be Spoilers Ahead.

From the dust jacket- Amelie Desmarai's story begins with believably enough: Four girls from a now-defunct thrill-seeking group planned an epic adventure to find a subterranean lake that Colorado locals call the Sublime. Legend has it that the lake has the power to change things for those who risk- and survive- the descent. Each of the girls had her own reason for going. For Amelie, it was a promise kept to beloved cousin, who recently suffered a tragic accident during one of the group's dares.
But as her account unwinds, and the girls' personalities and motives are drawn, things get complicated. Amelie is hardly the thrill-seeking type, and it appears she's not the only one with the ability to deceive. Worse yet, Amelie is covered in someone's blood, but whose, exactly? And where's the fourth girl?
Is Amelie spinning a tale to cover her guilt? Or was something inexplicable waiting for the girls down there? Amelie is the only one with answers, and she's insisting on an explanation that is more horror/fantasy than reality. Maybe the truth lies something in between?
After all, strange things inhabit dark places. And sometimes we bring the dark with us.

Review- This is a great read for spooky season. Amelie wants to face herself and make peace with her cousin's accident. The other girls have similar goals but something else is down there with them as they make their way into the sublime. The story is told from two ways in the present and the past as Amelie is speaking with police after the girls are found. She is covered in blood and the only one conscious, so she is only telling the story about what happened in the dark and in the sublime. Amelie starts at the beginning with the girls arriving at the trailhead to the caves and then her story only gets stranger. The writing is strong but the characters are the real draw to this story, as all the girls have secret motives for being there and what they bring with them into the dark. A great read and I look forward to reading the next book by this author. 

I give this novel a Four out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.