Book Review: ‘Boy Underground: A Novel’ By Catherine Ryan Hyde

If I did a top-ten list of favorite books this year Boy Underground might just make the list. The book is Great! It’s a well-written character driven novel and has characters you root for and hope that things can work out for them. It’s also really good at looking at the era of when the book was written (in the early 40’s when the war started). Steven Katz, age 14, lives on the good side of the tracks in his California town. He meets Nick, Suki (both 14) and Ollie, who is 17, (who are from the other side of the tracks) and becomes fast, close friends with both. They plan a camping trip up in the mountains and leave Dec. 6th and by the time they return the world has changed. The Japanese have bombed Pearl Harbor and Nick’s father is accused of beating a man almost to death. Nick ends up being accused and arrest when people lie and he ends up hiding out in a root cellar at Steven’s house. Steven (who is in the closet) is also developing feelings for Nick (and he thinks Nick is for him as well). Ollie ends up fighting in the war and Suki and his family are taken away because they’re Japanese. The story follows Steven as the years go one, Nick vanishes from Steven, only sending a few letters to him. And Steven is confused and hurt and decides to find Nick and figure out what’s going on and will learn about what life can really be like.

You can pick up Boy Underground in stores on Tuesday, December 7th.