by Kathi Appelt
ages: 11+
First sentence: “There is nothing lonelier than a cat who has been loved, at least for a while, and then abandoned on the side of the road.”

I wrote this back in December, in the middle of the Cybils shortlist discussion, but didn’t post it. I figured it was safe, now that it’s won a Newbery Honor. I admit that I’m not feeling the love that others have for this book, though I also think that Sarah might be on to something… perhaps it’s one (like The Tale of Despereaux) that really should be read aloud, and maybe if I got a copy of the audio book (or read it aloud to C), I would feel differently.

On with the review…

There are some books that intellectually I get: I can understand why it’s a good book, I can see the craft that went into it, and can understand why it’s getting the buzz it’s getting. But on a visceral, emotional, story-enjoying level, I find myself wondering if the book is all about the hype, the craft, the buzz. Because I couldn’t stand it.

The Underneath is one of those books. Done in a series of short prose-poems, hauntingly done, it tells the story of the friendship between one hound dog, a mother cat and her two kittens. And their trials brought about at the hands of a very disturbed, evil individual named Gar Face. There’s also a sub-plot about Grandmother Moccasin, a water moccasin-changeling, who is engulfed in hatred because her daughter, 1,000 years ago, chose love with a man over her mother. It’s a journey and discovery for both of the stories, enveloped in sorrow and adventure.

Unfortunately, even though I could recognize it’s beauty and sense where Appelt was going, and know that this one will at least get a Newbery Honor [I was right… wow!], I didn’t like it. At all. In fact, I found myself rolling my eyes and yawning. I was bored. Stiff. The pacing was horrible, and even though the language was beautiful, it wasn’t enough to keep me from cringing every time Grandmother Moccasin showed up. “Go back a thousand years…” Um. Let’s not and just say we did. The plot kept jumping between Gar Face’s past, the present with the dog and kittens and the long past with Grandmother Moccasin, which is all fine and good, but after about 100 or so pages of it, I’d had enough. Then there was the animal cruelty. This is not a book for weak stomachs. Or sensitive readers. Don’t give it to the girl who loves her kitty. Or, probably, the boy who’s a bit mean to the dog.

But, I’ve heard it’s a good read-aloud. So, maybe someday, I’ll get an audio version of this book and then decide I really like it. It’s happened before. It could happen again.

We’ll see.