Atlantia
Written by Ally Condie
Fantasy, Mythology
Published November 6th 2014
320 Pages
Thank you to Penguin Australia
Can you hear Atlantia breathing?For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamt of the sand and sky Above, of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all her plans for the future are thwarted when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected decision, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self, and the powerful siren voice she has long hidden, she has nothing left to lose.
Guided by a dangerous and unlikely mentor, Rio formulates a plan that leads to increasingly treacherous questions about her mother’s death, her own destiny, and the complex system constructed to govern the divide between land and sea. Her life and her city depend on Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long hidden truths.
Fraternal twins Rio and Bay have always been inseparable, they are all each other has left. It's been six months since their mother died, found on her estranged sister's doorstep and who is the only living relative the girls have left. Rio has always dreamed of going Above, those in Atlantia have never seen the stars. They live within the ocean's depths, a series of self sustained airtight pods that interconnect and breathe life to the thousands that live Below.
Bay loves Atlantia, a trait she had in common with their mother and convinces Rio to stay below. But when Bay and her secret boyfriend choose to leave without warning, Rio begins searching for answers. She enlists the help of True Beck, a boy who has also just lost his best friend to Above. Their search will uncover the sorrowful secrets of Atlantia, and a society that is on the verge of dying.
Bay loves Atlantia, a trait she had in common with their mother and convinces Rio to stay below. But when Bay and her secret boyfriend choose to leave without warning, Rio begins searching for answers. She enlists the help of True Beck, a boy who has also just lost his best friend to Above. Their search will uncover the sorrowful secrets of Atlantia, and a society that is on the verge of dying.
My Thoughts
Atlantia was a quick and entertaining read that follows the story of Rio, a fraternal twin, orphan and a secret Siren that society deems as dangerous. After the death of their mother, Rio and sister Bay come to an arrangement that when the time of the choosing, both will stay Below. A sacrifice Rio is willing to make to remain with her sister. But without warning, Bay chooses to go Above and offers no explanation as to why. Rio needs answers and discovers that Bay hasn't gone alone. A secret romance, midnight rendezvous and half truths have all lead to the conclusion that she had meticulously planned her escape. But why?
Rio was a capable young woman, who really took her sister's decision in her stride considering she was the one who had always dreamed of escaping Atlantia. The mystery deepens when she meets True Beck, and that is in fact his real name, and tries to solve the mystery of why the young couple left. Rio can't tell him her true identity, but True also hides a secret of his own. Both characters were likable, but I felt I couldn't invest in either. Rio was underdeveloped as a main protectionist and and didn't offer much more than a vessel to share the story of Atlantia. The draw card of Atlantia is the world itself.
The underground domes are serviced by oxygen that is fed into the underwater world. They live by artificial lights that rise and set each day and pray to the God's that are mere earth animals. Trees are constructed with metal and mining metals are sent Above, in exchange for keeping the submerged civilisation alive. The story varies throughout the generations, the surface was polluted and loved ones were sent Below to survive in the hope that one day they could return Above again. But where it seems as though the two worlds rely on one another for survival, the underwater society seems to have been built on myths and half truths. Unlike other young adult novels based on the Atlantis mythology, the community are nothing more than mere mortals with a small group of Sirens who are on the verge of extinction. It's loosely based on the lost city of Atlantis, but rebuilt to withstand a new society in a post apocalyptic era.
Atlantia is a mild, but entertainingly quick read suited for the teen audience. Being a standalone, the ending poses more questions than answers unfortunately and perhaps a novella may be needed to tie up lose ends.
Atlantia is a mild, but entertainingly quick read suited for the teen audience. Being a standalone, the ending poses more questions than answers unfortunately and perhaps a novella may be needed to tie up lose ends.
Hmm...your review makes me curious about this one, Kelly. I have a copy to review, but I just can't motivate myself enough to pick it up at the moment, unfortunately. I think the world sounds interesting and if there was more emphasis on the world-building, I think it would be more enjoyable, based on what I've heard so far. Though, being a standalone, I guess fantastic world-building shouldn't be expected. Thanks for a wonderful review, Kel!
ReplyDeleteThe actual world of Atlantia is the best part. I would have liked to have seen it turn into a duology even, and have some of the open ending aspects of the storyline wrapped up. It's really entertaining though and looking forward to seeing what you think of it poppet.
DeleteOh, is this a standalone? Gah, I never knew that...Honestly, I think I may skip this one. I think in my mind I want something that explores the whole Atlantis idea more deeply (great use of the english language, Jess haha). I just never expected this one to be more of a dystopia, you know? Plus the name True Beck really turns me off. It sounds so weird to me. I don't know how I feel about all these names in the YA lately. They're getting worse and worse, to be honest.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the fabulous and honest review, Kelly! You've really helped me out of a pickle with this one :) x
It's definitely aimed more at the early teen market, but it's still really entertaining and worth the quick read. Must admit, True Beck is the most ridiculous name I've ever seen in young adult, and there's been some real doozies.
DeleteOnce I finish this NaNo novel and school assessments, I actually really want to read this one. The reviews have been kind of meh, but it does sound interesting!
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice quick read that kept my attention and I enjoyed it for the most part. But it really needs a novella to make up for the lack of solid ending. Looking forward to seeing what you think of it poppet.
DeleteNOT ABOUT MERMAIDSSSS. KELLY NOOOOOO. Hahaha but this does sound pretty interesting. I have Atlantia on my shelf, but I have no idea when I'll get to it.
ReplyDeleteIt's not. I was so hoping it would be too. Just one even, even a merman would have sufficed. It was entertaining though and well worth the read, regardless of the lack of merpeople.
DeleteThanks for explaining to me about the underwater domes, I totally missed that part when I was reading the book because I was so bored while reading it. I do agree that the drawcard was definitely the world of Atlantia, but thought the world building was pretty poor unfortunately. Plus as you said, Rio was hard to connect to. Ah wells, back to the drawing board with underwater books!
ReplyDeleteI know exactly what you mean Jeann, I've yet to find one that's been able to blow me away. Most of them feel a little underdone or the balance between character development and world building is really askew.
DeleteOh, I thought this was part of a series which was why I avoided it in the first place. But now that you said that it's a stand-alone with unanswered questions in the end, I don't know what to do. Should I read it? Will I not be wasting my time?
ReplyDeleteIt's a quick read, so even if it doesn't turn out to be your type of read, you've only wasted a few hours really. But as many issues as the storyline and characters have, I still found it entertaining. It wasn't horrible by any means, but more so dull and more targeted towards the young teen market, much the same way that Matched was. Take a chance though, you may really enjoy it too.
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