Thursday, 8 August 2013

In Too Deep by Coort Voorhees

About the book
In Too Deep is a contemporary young adult novel by Coert Voorhees. The book was published by Disney Press on 9th July and it is 324 pages long. I received an e-book for review through NetGalley.

Plot Synopsis
Annie Fleet knows she’s a bit of a nerd. She loves history and is a master scuba diver, two things that don’t always get attention she thinks they should. Annie is proud of the things she enjoys but her crush Josh doesn’t seem to see how amazing she is because of the things she does. On a school trip to Mexico, Annie plans to show Josh that there is more to life than being the son of someone famous. While on the trip, their teacher has other plans though. Knowing that Annie is an amazing diver, he plans to use her to help find Cortez’s lost treasure.

One crazy event leads to another and puts Annie right in the middle of a long lost treasure adventure, along with Josh. They’re not the only ones searching for this treasure and soon they find themselves running from a group who are willing to go to any lengths to find it, even if it means hurting people in their way. Will Annie and Josh be able to find what they’re looking for, and realise they’re perfect for each other at the same time?

What I thought
I can’t say that I have ever read a book, young adult or not, about diving and long-lost treasure. I requested this one from NetGalley because it sounded so different but also fun and quite summery at the same time.

To start with, I absolutely loved Annie. She’s comfortable with herself, knows what she likes and isn’t afraid to show that. Going to a private school with kids with a lot of money could have meant a lot of bullying and teasing for Annie but luckily, her friends accept that she has different hobbies to them. Annie also knows that she comes across as a bit of a nerd because of her hobbies but she can have a laugh and a joke about it with her friends which was nice to see. I also really enjoyed seeing a character with such passion for something, other than a boy. Yes, there is a romance to this book as well but the plot outshines that by far.

Speaking of romance, Annie’s crush is Josh who is the son of a famous actress. Everyone seems to love Josh but it was never clear if this was because of him or because of his status which was a bit of a shame. It was shown that he didn’t particularly mind having to do a lot of publicity etc. because he was doing it to help his family, which was a really sweet thing. He did also just want a normal life though and to be left alone at times which I could understand. Although to begin with, I thought Josh was going to be a bit stuck up, once I got to know his character more throughout the book, I realised he was really sweet and nice.

I absolutely loved the plot of In Too Deep. Coert Voorhees has come up with something that I have never seen done before and in a great way. She is able to mix wonderful characters in with a super exciting story. Annie, Josh and a couple of others go to Mexico on a school trip, thinking they’re there to help out after a natural disaster but really, their teacher is a treasure hunter. As stated before, Annie loves diving and history so her teacher knows she’s the best person to have helping him out. But, the treasure hunt turns into a disaster after someone tries to kill Annie in the water. She isn’t one to be discouraged though and after finding something exciting, she knows she has to carry on the hunt. The plot has a blend of thrilling chases, intense mystery and an exciting outcome. I was desperate to find out more about the treasure being hunted, the background to it all and who would find it in the end… if anyone. There is a lot of information put into this book about the background and history of the treasure which was a great thing to discover over the course of the story.

Due to the nature of the plot, there are also quite a few changes in scenery. One minute the characters are in Mexico, then back home, then Hawaii and back home again. I enjoyed all of the different locations because they brought out both new things in the Annie and Josh as well as the plot. The different locations also gave this book a quite exotic feel which I liked. It made a change to have so much going on and for a book to not be set in just one place.


I really enjoyed this book and would definitely read others by this author again. 

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