In R. Morello's Upside Down, Caleb is a young man whose life unravels after the death of his sister, Shelly. Overwhelmed by grief, Caleb is tormented by thoughts of the accident that took her life. As the story progresses, it is revealed that he's stuck in a strange, limbo-like dream world that echoes his unresolved inner pain. Reality in this "upside down" realm is very distorted. He encounters friends, family members, and his ex-girlfriend, Maddy, in this strange world—all of whom are also struggling to overcome their own traumas. Sadly, Caleb and Maddy do not know how to truly connect because this requires Caleb to be completely honest and vulnerable, which are qualities that many people stuck in this world fear the most. Caleb soon discovers that a sinister threat looms over them all. Can they defeat the forces trying to trap them in the Upside Down?

Part urban fantasy and part drama, Upside Down is a captivating story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It meticulously highlights what happens when lingering trauma imprisons a person in their own mind to the point where the individual feels immobilized and completely powerless. What makes this story even more moving and thought-provoking is its realism. The dialogues between Caleb and Maddy are sometimes intense, but raw and immersive, nonetheless. R. Morello skillfully paints them as two hurting people trying their best to navigate a formidable situation without genuinely knowing how to do this. The author doesn’t define emotional healing as a quick and painless procedure. It took some characters a lot of introspective moments to arrive at a point of closure, and that's what drew me into the story even more. If you enjoy stories about overcoming obstacles and resilience, you'll connect deeply with this one.

Upside Down by R. Morello follows Caleb, a young man trapped between the real world and a mirrored, inverted dimension where distorted versions of people and memories exist. After his sister Shelly’s death, he finds himself suspended in this “upside-down” space, observing mirrored versions of his family and friends who continue living above. Through interactions with others who are also split between both realms—Maddy, Jason, Dominic, Ayla, and the menacing Sebastian—Caleb begins uncovering the tangled history of abuse, secrecy, and inherited pain within his family. As he moves deeper through both realities, the boundaries between the living and the mirrored blur, forcing him to meet those who’ve hurt him, face the truth of Shelly’s death, and decide whether he can emerge from the inverted world or remain defined by it.

Upside Down by R. Morello is a uniquely intense and really imaginative story, and Morello does exceptionally well in contrasting Caleb's need to understand with what will be required to do that. Caleb’s clash with Sebastian, the fabulously chilling counterpart who feeds on guilt and regret, leans into the very real danger of self-blame and denial. Their meetings reflect the battle between truth and illusion that runs through the mirrored world. Maddy, Jason, and Ayla are as fully fleshed out as Calen and Sebastian, and provide a grounding presence as Caleb faces memories he has long tried to bury. Morello's settings are textured and near cinematic. Upside Down stands as a metaphor for facing darkness to rediscover one’s capacity for forgiveness and connection. Recommended.