Atlantia by Ally Condie

Atlantia

Written by Ally Condie

Fantasy, Mythology

Published November 6th 2014

320 Pages

Thank you to Penguin Australia

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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.

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.