Burrowed is a sci-fi novel about a world divided due to genetic terrorism. Above ground, you have healthy, strong people who are stupid. Below ground, you have sick, fragile geniuses. 

 

The book kept me engaged. I was sucked in by the unique world and the developed characters, at least at first. But it was early in the book that I noticed things I found concerning. I will address them later. 

 

Burrowed, to the best of my knowledge, is supposed to be adult science fiction. However, it reads more like young adult. The main character is just shy of adulthood. The plot and love interest follow a very YA pattern. If YA is not your thing, then you probably won’t enjoy this book. 

 

Ultimately the book is about diversity and acceptance. People from different cultures have separated and now need to use the power of love to come back together. Except the book lacks any actual diversity. The people on the surface are all presumably white. The people under the surface are all albino white. The use of albino characters in science fiction/fantasy is problematic enough, and I do not know enough to speak for the accuracy of the representation. But the book is about accepting differences but lacks any real representation. 

 

Not just racially, but it is very hetero and cis as well. As a non-binary person, I cringe when people feel the need to separate boys and girls, but it’s common, so I moved on. Except that the author made a point to keep referring to gender as a binary. Instead of saying they, the author frequently used “he or she.” It got to a point where it felt like the author was trying to make their views on gender known. Although they had no problem calling ghosts and the mysterious people “they.” 

 

Also, there are hate groups in this book. Hate groups are spoken of a little too fondly for my taste. Especially since there is no actual rebuttal to them except some vague one-dimensional sentiment by the main character.