Downsiders
Readers rate it 3.3 (13 on Hardcover)
198 pages · Released Feb 21, 2012 · Simon and Schuster
Content report card
Downsiders parent’s guide: what’s inside
Language
Sexual content
LGBTQ+ themes
Substance use
What it offers
Educational value
A note for parents
Downsiders is a thoughtful science fiction adventure about two teens from different worlds who challenge the status quo through curiosity and honesty. The story explores themes of prejudice, loyalty, and truth-telling with minimal content concerns—no profanity, sexual content, or graphic violence. While there is some peril (a construction accident, illness) and the revelation of a difficult truth about the Downside's origins, these are handled at an age-appropriate level for middle-grade and early teen readers.
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From the publisher
Beneath the sewer grates and manholes of the city lies a strange and secret world called the Downside. Every Downsider knows that it's forbidden to go Topside, and most fear a collision of the two worlds. But fourteen-year-old Talon is curious about what goes on above ground, and one day he ventures out in search of me... Beneath the sewer grates and manholes of the city lies a strange and secret world called the Downside. Every Downsider knows that it's forbidden to go Topside, and most fear a collision of the two worlds. But fourteen-year-old Talon is curious about what goes on above ground, and one day he ventures out in search of medicine for his ailing sister. There he meets Lindsay, who is as curious about Talon's world as he is about hers. When Lindsay visits the Downside for the first time, she marvels at the spirit of the Downsiders, and the way they create works of art from topside "trash," like old subway tokens and forgotten earrings. As awed as she is by the Downside, however, she also questions its origins, and when she finds out that this fantastic world is not all it appears to be, she is determined to tell Talon the truth. Then a construction accident threatens to crush Talon's world, and his loyalty is put to the test. Can the truth save the Downside, or will it destroy an entire civilization? Neal Shusterman takes readers on an amazing journey into a place that's only a few steps away, yet beyond their wildest dreams.
Shelved under
- Young Adult Fiction
- Fiction
- Young Adult
- Adventure
- Science Fiction
- Dystopian
- Juvenile Fiction
- Fantasy
- Friendship
- Subways
- Reading Level-Grade 7
- Reading Level-Grade 6
Books in the Downsiders series
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ISBN 9781439115350 · Simon and Schuster