Beneath the surface is a young adult historical novel,that takes place in the height of great depression It portrays a story of a fifteen year old boy who leaves home with his younger brother because his family have nothing to eat or cater for themselves.This is a powerful and disturbing story of one such family. What will happen when the two boys are forced to strike on their own? What kindness and savagery they met on the road, and how their determined struggle to survive taught them tolerance and tenderness.