Upside Down
R. Morello
Independently Published (2025)
ISBN: 979-8296073051
Reviewed by Jill Rey for Reader Views (11/2025)
Opening in the upside-down state, at the funeral of his sister with Down Syndrome, Caleb is broken in two. Not fully there, the world above him is muffled and unclear. As readers quickly become acquainted with this upside-down counterpart, we feel the weight of depression and emptiness. Author R. Morello does an exceptional job creating a world reflecting depression, fear, loneliness, emptiness, and the shell we hide from the outside world in his novel Upside Down. Seemingly just below our feet, these upside-down versions of ourselves lurk, hiding our true reality, the pain ever-present under the surface.
Everyone in the upside-down world is there for different reasons, though none of them are there without pain. Split in two, Caleb is surprised by those he encounters in this counter-reality. Caleb runs into many individuals he never expected to have been broken. Whether his best friends, his own family members, or the bully from so long ago, each character has a dark past that has brought them there for various reasons.
Even those who appear whole on the surface may be hiding their upside-down selves from the world. I found the concept of brokenness and the number of those afflicted to be unsurprising and yet still shocking, as Morello’s portrayal brought all the pain and suffering to life. We’ve all been through something, but many don’t know quite the extent of others’ suffering.
Yet as “Upside Down” so gracefully highlights, one’s presence in this upside-down world validates what we may have spent our entire lives trying to hide or repress. The world is a dark place, many are broken, and yet we still remain upright while a part of us is lost beneath the surface.
As readers oscillate between the world as we know it and this upside-down reality, we become aware of Maddy. Caleb and Maddy have history, a past that pulls them together, and yet as they struggle to encourage their counterparts to engage in one another’s presence, it’s community and communication that make it necessary to evolve from this world. The themes, messages, portrayal of loss and depression are so evident within Upside Down. Morello’s writing and storyline bring these concepts to the surface in the most relatable ways. These characters have been through the unimaginable, and yet Morello opens our eyes to the counter-realities many of us face, below the mask we put on for the public.