Impressed by setting and the storytelling. Great to see characters talking about big things like belief systems, capitalism v socialism. And gripping, too! ( )

In The She Even, was young when his parents died in a boating accident - and I mean a freighter, not a little boat - and now that he's 17, he finds he hasn't coped with it. His ever-so-logical brother is telling him a version of the events he can't stomach. And then of course, there's this popular girl... If you've read Carol Plum-Ucci's award wining (and deservedly so) The Body of Christopher Creed, you can imagine what is coming.

The She is a decent book, but compared to The Body of Christopher Creed it's a let down. It travels some of the same themes as Christopher, but the characters are not as engaging or likable. ( )

‘The she’ is a book that takes place along the South Jersey shore. There are many people that believe in Ella Diablo, also called ‘the she’, who is a kind of monster in the sea that eats boats. A boy called Evan Barrett, 17 years old, is trying to find out the truth about his parents when they suddenly disappeared in sea. He doesn’t know whether to believe that ‘the she’ devoured his parents or that his parents were doing illegal things. Evan believes he can sometimes hear 'the she', he hears a weird sort of shrieking noise. Evan is sent to visit Grey who is one of his classmates who just had a boating accident. She thinks that talking to him might help her recover because Evan’s parents had disappeared out in sea. They help each other by charring personal things and slowly Evan finds out more about his parents sudden disappearance.

The She is thriller that takes place along and off the South Jersey shore. Something called Ella Diablo Agujero (she-devil of the hole) has been eating boats to freighter ships for over a century. Since Evan Barrett was a child he can sense and hear when The She is present. "My dad says he believes in something out there, though he doesn't say it when Mom's around, because she starts in on him. I don't talk about The She, but I'm always listening, waiting." (page 8) One night when Evan is nine he hears his parents on the ship to shore radio as something takes their freighter and sucks it under. The story does a fast forward to Evan, who is now seventeen, and living with his older brother Emmett. Evan is sent to visit Grey, a classmate who has checked herself in to a mental-health facility after a boating accident. Evan and Grey begin to help each other with their personal demons and nightmarish experiences. The She treads a creepy line between reality and the unexplained and possibly supernatural. Is there a rational explanation for The She, or is there a hungry and jealous being in the deep sea? ( )

I've read The Body of Christopher Creed and What Happened to Lani Garver by Carol Plum-Ucci, and I have to say I liked this one about the same.

Plum-Ucci has a way of mixing teen problems with almost-supernatural mysteries. I've long ceased expecting any definite conclusions to come from her work. While there was A LOT of talking in this book, I give props to the characters. The characters in this book, particularly Grey, and complex and endearing. The plot was a little slow, and I wasn't at the edge of my seat, but by the end of the book I was certainly absored. And I still have oh so many questions.

If you liked other books by the author, than you will like this one. ( )