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.
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.
I saw this book on the new releases shelf at the library. It sounded interesting, so I thought I would give it a shot. I have read a couple of Ally Condie's books in the past (Matched and Crossed), and while I really liked Matched, the story just kind of fell apart with Crossed and I couldn't find the desire to finish the series. So I was a little hesitant to read this for that reason, but I figured I would give it a shot.
Well... I believe I would have been okay skipping this one. It was not at all what I was expecting, and at times I was confused by what this story was really all about. There was just something about Condie's writing style that left me feeling frustrated. I think the story could have been so much more, but I guess it wasn't meant to be.
Let me sum it up for you - Atlantia is an underwater city built in a dystopian future where the air above water is highly polluted so it was considered desirable to live underwater. Some people remained above, working to provide needed resources for the people of Atlantia to ensure their survival. However, someone who lives in the polluted "Above" was destined to live a short, unhealthy life due to the pollution. At a certain age, teenagers in Atlantia are given the choice to either remain "Below" in Atlantia or go "Above". Rio and her twin sister, Bay, end up being separated and the story details Rio's desire and attempts to get "Above" and be with her sister.
Honestly, I did not like the main character of Rio. She seemed boring and a little bit whiny. There was nothing that drew me to her or made me root for her. There was also another element in the story that I won't go into but was kind of weird and not explained very well at all, leading to a lot of the confusion I experienced reading this. I guess Ally Condie and I are just meant to have a bad book relationship - sorry, Ally!
Rating: 2/5
*this was not part of my 2015 Reading Challenge, just something to read for "fun" (except it wasn't fun)
3 comments:
I didn't even know you'd read this. Must have missed that. This book was suggested as a book club choice for us last year, but I had no desire to read it.
You didn't miss much by not finished the Crossed trilogy. I actually ended up selling those books because I was over them after I finished reading them.
Sad days that this book wasn't good. I probably won't read much more by this author.
Love the last line of your review, too. ;)
Where did you sell them, Camille? I have the first two books and would be a-okay with selling them. ;)
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