The Undercurrent

by Paula Weston

Eighteen-year-old Julianne De Marchi is different. As in: she has an electrical undercurrent beneath her skin that stings and surges like a live wire. She can use it—to spark a fire, maybe even end a life—but she doesn’t understand what it is. And she can barely control it, especially when she’s anxious.

Ryan Walsh was on track for a stellar football career when his knee blew out. Now he’s a soldier—part of an experimental privatised military unit that has identified Jules De Marchi as a threat. Is it because of the weird undercurrent she’s tried so hard to hide? Or because of her mother Angie’s history as an activist against bio-engineering and big business?

It’s no coincidence that Ryan and Jules are in the same place at the same time—he’s under orders to follow her, after all. But then an explosive attack on a city building by an unknown enemy throws them together in the most violent and unexpected way.

The Undercurrent by Paula Weston is set in Australia with greedy monopolised corporations, military goons with unknown intentions, uncontrollable protestors, and in the middle of all that, a teen, Julienne DeMarchi, who's electricity current inside of her is literally off the charts! 

Julienne DeMarchi is well aware of her abnormality, but not knowing the why, what, when and how, made life a daily struggle. She does not have any control of her current, therefore, she doesn't really live.  She is in constant fear of hurting others or being found out. When she is accosted at school, and in a panic-state she shows her ability to her perpetrator, her family's life is turned upside down.

Angela DeMarchi is Julienne's mother, an investigative journalist and the leader of a protest team; The Agitators. The family finds themselves in a bad predicament when someone threatens to expose Julienne to the public. In exchange for the blackmailer's silence, Angela relinquishes her leadership at the Agitators, however, for someone this doesn't seem to be enough...

The Undercurrent really begins with a lot of action. From the first page we soon realise that there are people going heavily out of their way to rid the world of the DeMarchis, and as my brain ticked to the why, what, how and when, I found myself flipping through the pages, eager to find the answers to the constant questions being thrown my way. 

I found myself thoroughly engrossed in the plot and storyline,  but I lacked a strong connection with the characters. The secondary love story between Ryan and Julienne didn't feel authentic to me, and the pacing for their story seemed somewhat rushed. I also felt that the second quarter of the book dragged on a bit for me, and there were plenty of scenes that I didn't feel necessary for the progression of the plot. In saying that I did still enjoy the other parts of this book; the strong plot and the great writing kept me there till it's last page.

The Undercurrent is an action-packed and thrilling ride. This will have you questioning every character's moves and motives, with exciting and explosive scenes. It contains a cast of strong characters, and it definitely keeps the readers at the edge of their seats, whilst they try to navigate the good and the bad, and the ever changing motives behind every character's actions. This is truly the highlight of this book for me.