I have a thing for subterranean stories. I don’t know why really, but I guess the sturdy metaphor of escaping into the dirt, becoming a troglodyte to hide from the world’s troubles rings true to me somehow. I’ve used the image myself in at least one of my plays. True, the theme doesn’t come with that many variations, but I always approach a book with a subterranean setting with great interest.

In this slim YA novel (beautiful in format and it’s simple design) a group of teenagers in a poor Buenos Aires neighborhood get fed up with gang violence and being scared. Starting under the floorboards of Ariadne’s kitchen, they create an underground home for themselves, a secret and serene place called Otroso. But the Boots, the local gang, are onto them. If they could only find the way down there… Soon Otroso is on the brink on invasion, and it’s inhabitants have to start creating defences.

This story, very straight (too straight) is told by a local new reporter several years afterwards. And really, this is the best thing about the book. The main characters are perhaps not the kids going underground themselves, but the adult witnesses on the block, who know the place exists, but have never been there themselves. How the locals react to the fact that there’s an underground world underneath their feet that they have no access to is boldly captured, without overstating. Those who think Otroso is a threat and an insults, the gossips who love to speculate, and the “spy network” of adults who decide to try and help the kids keep Otroso secret.

Montes throws a bit of labyrinth mythology into this story, adding another shade of complexity. But it isn’t quite enough. I find myself closing the book with a small shrug. Otroso is an enjoyable read, but it lacks teeth. ( )