Everything was normal, until one day, the Alphas, sea creatures, came on land. They took over the beach on Coney Island and began attending human schools. Before this, there were about 20 Alphas that were sent to land to start a family. No one would know they’re Alphas, except for their new family members. One by one each of those families disappeared, until Lyric and her family are the only original Alpha families left. Lyric is assigned to meet with Fathom, an Alpha at her school. At first, she thought what everyone else thought about Alphas, disgusting killing machines, but the killing machine part is just because of their culture and the way they’re used to living. Even though, her mother is Alpha, and she’s part Alpha, she’s still not really okay with the idea of them. Later on, she figures out that he’s ordinary, just like every other person at her school. Bex and Shadow are two of Lyric’s best friends, Svetlana is a member of the Niners that dies, and Bumper is the Alpha that killed Svetlana. The Niners are a group of people that are against the Alphas. Michael Buckley proves that looks can be deceiving and people aren’t always what they seem to be throughout the novel, Undertow. He portrays this through characters, choices, and challenges.
The characters help prove that people aren’t always what they seem. You should get to know them before you judge them. Some people are against Alphas, and the fact that they are going to school with humans. They sometimes respond to these things in violence. One day was a shooter in the school, so Bonnie, a bodyguard, made Fathom and Lyric hide in a closet. Lyric was freaking out, she was completely frightened when he said, “‘I will not allow you to be harmed, Lyric Walker,’ he whispers.” (p.194) In this quote, he is being protective, affectionate, and sympathetic to his new and only human friend. People should take the time to get to know each other, and not pay attention to their label or the way they look, just how Lyric and Fathom had. Lyric and Fathom help Michael Buckley prove that looks can be deceiving.
The choices made play a major role in Undertow. If people in this novel weren’t as prejudiced, they’d notice that humans and Alphas are practically the same. It’s almost just like saying you shouldn’t judge anyone by their skin color, or you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. Svetlana was harassing Bumper, she kept on saying offensive things and punching Bumper in the face. Whenever there’s someone fighting one of the Alphas, they take it as a challenge and fight back. It’s just the way their culture is. After a couple of punches to the face, Bumper said, “‘I will not tolerate any more human,’ she says. ‘If you continue I will understand it to be a challenge and I will fight back.’” (p. 275) Shadow and Bex were hanging out together when the Niners jumped Shadow. He died, for no reason. Shadow was an innocent boy that didn’t deserve to die. “‘The government will catch you, or the same gang that just beat Shadow to death will.’” (p. 268) Shadow was doing nothing, and a human gang just killed him. They could’ve spared his innocent life, but they chose not to and to kill them instead. Alphas and humans make both great and poor choices, it doesn’t matter whether they’re Alpha or human. Svetlana and the gang’s lousy choices show that people aren’t always what they seem and looks are deceiving.