Waterfall

Waterfall (2014) is the second novel in the Teardrop series of young adult romances written by Lauren Kate. It was preceded by Teardrop (2013) and a prequel novella entitled The Last Day of Love (2013). As of 2018, no third book in the series has been released or announced. Several novels in Kate’s previous series Fallen reached number one on the New York Times Best Seller List, with Torment debuting in the spot in 2010.

Waterfall is a direct continuation of Teardrop. In the first novel of the series, the main character Eureka is left reeling in the wake of her mother’s death. Her place in an ancient prophecy forbids her from shedding tears, and so she has been forced to grieve for her mother in silence. She also begins to fall for Ander, a handsome young man who has a connection to the prophecy of Eureka’s bloodline. Ander is destined to kill Eureka to prevent her from raising the ancient city of Atlantis, but in the end, he chooses his feelings for Eureka. Teardrop ends as Eureka sheds a single tear, causing terrible floods to strike the world as Atlantis begins to rise.

Waterfall begins in the aftermath of the flood. The Seedbearers – a secret society dedicated to keeping Atlantis from rising – meet to discuss the situation. They know that Eureka has not yet shed the three tears required to completely flood the world, but that she must shed the third before the subsequent full moon. They also know that Atlas, the king of Atlantis, will use his ability to possess the bodies of those closest to Eureka to provoke her into crying.



Determined to stop Atlas, Eureka sets out with her best friend, Cat, her romantic interest, Ander, her father, and her two younger siblings on a quest to learn how she can fight Atlas. The group climbs away from the rising floodwaters, and during the escape, Eureka’s father is wounded. The others stay behind to care for him while Eureka and Ander go on ahead. Ander tries to remember the way to the cave of Solon, a sage and a former Seedbearer who may know how to stop Atlas.

Along the way, they are stopped by three Gossipwitches, magical beings from Atlantis who know all people’s secrets. The Gossipwitches assist Eureka, healing her father and pointing the group in the direction of Solon’s home. When they finally meet the sage, he warns Eureka that she must be careful because Atlas will use the body of her old friend Brooks, whom he possessed in the previous book, in order to attack her. He also warns Anders that he should not fall in love with Eureka since falling in love ages the men of their line prematurely.

Meanwhile, the local people get wind that Eureka is in the area. They have not had access to fresh water or food since the flooding started, and so a mob attempts to storm Solon’s home. Eureka’s father is killed in the attack and Eureka kills a person in retribution. The ghost of Eureka’s father continues to haunt the cave, and Solon reveals that this is also part of Atlas’s plan. When Atlantis rises, he plans to use the ghosts of the dead as slave labor to rebuild the world.



Solon tells Eureka that she must allow Atlantis to rise so that the souls that are trapped on earth by Atlas can be released. Before Eureka can act, the Seedbearers arrive to kill her. Solon stops them, sacrificing himself in the process, but freeing Eureka and her friends to travel to the Marais where she will confront Atlas.

Atlas, in the form of Brooks, takes Eureka to Atlantis where she encounters Atlas in his true form, as well as Delphine, the ancient progenitor of Eureka’s family line. The Gossipwitches aid her by giving her an artifact that will allow her to possess Atlas’s body the way he has possessed Brooks. Eureka uses the artifact and then fights her way to the forefront of Atlas’s conscious. She overwhelms Atlas’s emotions, forcing him to self-destruct, freeing the souls that are trapped in limbo in the process.

Eureka realizes her own body is dead and she only has Atlas’s body. Brooks – now freed from Atlas’s possession – attacks Eureka. She convinces him of her identity, and Brooks uses the dagger to also take possession of Atlas’s body, lending Eureka help when she needs it. Eureka is so glad to be reunited with him that she begins to cry. Her tears complete the ritual, causing Atlantis to rise, but without Atlas to control it, the ghosts that populate the city are free.



Eureka dies, but as she does, she sees the spirits of all the people who died helping her on her journey back in the world.