The Sky Beneath Her by Mary Ellen Taylor (published 2026) was a short impulse read for me, a historical fiction mixed with contemporary fiction novel that I normally wouldn’t pick up. It alternates between Tula in the modern day and a number of characters in 1942 who are on board the Oceanus ship, hoping to make it to New York City before a U-boat torpedoes them. Tula, on the other hand, is back at the Outer Banks hoping to overcome her fear and trauma by diving the Oceanus wreck, the place where her mother died while diving seven years ago.
The character of Tula was likeable. She had understandable PTSD about her mother’s diving death, and her anxiety was therefore relatable. If anything, she got over it too quickly in the book! But, it has been seven years chronologically, so it probably was reasonable. The characters from 1942 were complex, and the author left enough unknowns in the story that, even though we know the Oceanus is going to be bombed, it still felt a bit of a question as to who and what would happen.
The Sky Beneath Her was not written extreme well. It was very straight-forward and dull. I also did not like the narration style for the characters in 1942. Supposedly, modern-day Tula is reading a mysterious manuscript about the people on the Oceanus, but it doesn’t feel like the 1942 narrations are this document. It felt awkward that the narrations shifted among the characters. While it was nice to get different perspectives, it didn’t feel like a coherent novel.
The Sky Beneath Her was a nice impulse read, but I wouldn’t read it again, and I didn’t find it extremely memorable.
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