The psychological surrealist novella Upside Down recently received a deeply thoughtful and enthusiastic review from Reedsy Discovery, written by reviewer Hayley Morse. Her reflections highlight the novel’s emotional intensity, immersive prose, and the powerful way it blends human vulnerability with surreal world building.
In the Reedsy review, Hayley praised how Upside Down unfolds through raw, intimate, journal like narration. Rather than explaining its rules upfront, the book reveals its strange inverted world through character experience allowing readers to learn the logic, threats, and emotional weight of the Upside Down at the same pace as the protagonist.
This approach gives the setting a visceral realism, making the metaphysical elements feel grounded, personal, and emotionally charged.
The review emphasizes the novel’s exploration of grief, guilt, and buried emotion. After the death of his sister, Caleb is forced to confront the emotional wreckage he has long avoided. In the Upside Down, these unspoken struggles manifest physically, and every interaction pushes him closer to truths he’s resisted facing.
Hayley highlighted the relationship between Caleb and Maddy as especially impactful. Their shared history and fractured connection come through in subtle gestures and restrained dialogue, offering a portrait of emotional honesty that feels painfully real.
According to the review, one of the book’s greatest strengths is its writing style. Hayley described the prose as unfiltered and deeply human, carrying emotion without tipping into melodrama. Even during its most surreal moments, the narration remains rooted in genuine feeling.
She noted that the author excels at “show, don’t tell,” revealing character motivation through movement, silence, hesitation, and atmosphere rather than explicit explanation. This creates a reading experience that feels intimate and resonant.
Hayley concluded that Upside Down succeeds because it’s ultimately a story about the selves people repress and the emotional truths they fear confronting. The book’s surreal landscape becomes a mirror for trauma, vulnerability, and the ache of unresolved connection.
She described the novel as “unsettling, emotionally rich, and told with a voice that feels genuinely lived-in,” noting that it lingers long after the final page.
The Reedsy Discovery evaluation paints Upside Down as a standout in psychological and surreal fictionm an intimate, emotionally charged journey that blends magical realism with raw human experience. Readers drawn to stories of grief, identity, and emotional transformation will find much to connect with in Hayley Morse’s heartfelt review.
Read the full review on Reedsy Discovery
