Tunnels is a book by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams. I bought this right after Christmas at the Borders near Sawgrass Mills. It was an unintended purchase. As is my wont, I was walking through the bookstore and the title, for obvious reasons, struck me. I picked it up and found it was set in London.
Tunnels + London = Eric Nirvana.It turns out to not be much about London at all. This is the first in series, and a sequel is coming Summer 2009, and a movie of this first book as well. And that’s a good thing, too.
It didn’t start off so well. I wasn’t sure if I’d be interested or not, and thought this could be a grand misstep: always bad when you’re on an 8 hour flight from Newark to Paris and have no backup book. As it turns out, it was a page turner. I really enjoyed it because the characters are well developed (eventually) and the forging of a solid friendship is always something that I find satisfying when well done. Plus, it has a twist that would make M. Night Shyamalan jealous.
There’s some nice messages on what makes family and what doesn’t. It also shows that not all teens are idiots. Chester, Will, Cal, and Rebecca are all very memorable characters that will stick with you long after you’ve finished the book.
If you’re looking for a satisfying ending, you won’t get one. It ends, but it’s clear they knew there was another book coming so they just sort of leave you hanging, which is okay in this case. You’ll just have to trust me on this. A definite BUY!