49 pages • 1 hour read
Kat FallsDark Life
Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2010A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
What is the role of the romance between Ty and Gemma? How does it affect the story and its themes?
What view of the ocean does the novel argue for? What kind of relationship between nature and humanity does Dark Life suggest?
How does Dark Life draw on modern-day conversations around climate change and environmental issues? Does it provide any solutions or direct commentary on these issues?
What do you think the threat is that Shade references in Chapter 26? What textual clues point you in that direction? How does this threat tie into the novel’s themes and established antagonists?
How does the Seablite Gang handle the issue of Morality Versus Government Abuses? Explore their role as antagonistic anti-heroes.
How does Ty’s relationship with his family and birth circumstances affect his self-worth? Why has Fall given Ty such an important place in the Benthic Territory community?
How does the choice of pioneers to settle in the ocean rather than somewhere in space, as in other science fiction novels, affect the story?
Why is the lack of children in Benthic Territory significant? How does the lack of other teenagers affect Ty?
How does Dark Life represent secrets and the effects of keeping secrets on individuals and relationships?
How does Dark Life represent mental health and trauma? How are these depictions used within the novel’s central themes?
