Review of The Wild Beneath by Kelly Anderson

I have always been the biggest fan of anything magical realism and this didn’t disappoint. The story feels like the modern retelling of a myth, winding ordinary lives and unknown magic together into a plot and characters. Each character is so gentle and tender, they felt like baby birds or fragile seashells.

The story focusses on Annie as she navigates the deaths of her parents from a natural disaster. Her life is bent out of shape as she struggles to reconcile the volatility of nature with the pull that the sea has upon her. During this struggle a strange boy, Walker, joins her life, helping ease her back in and back towards the boy who has always been by her side, Evan.

This book reminded me so much of A Lull in the Sea and Song of the Sea. The story itself felt passionate about nature, the planet and the ocean, and all of that came across through the characters. It moved me greatly and I couldn’t stop thinking about it, long after I’d put it down.

Published on 27.08.2026 by HQ

Reviewed by Rebecca