Atlanita by Ally Condie | Book Review #70

‘Can you hear Atlanita breathing?

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamy of the sand and sky Above–of life beyond her underwater city of Atlanita. But in a single moment, all of 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 of Rio to listen to the voices of the past and to speak long-hidden truths.’

I was not expecting that, within this book.

The setting in Atlantia is nothing short of beautiful. The descriptions in this book; which are described by Rio, is nothing short of breath-taking. Atlantia is such a beautiful book.

I gotta say that Atlantia was a beautiful take on the siren myths. Atlantia is a beautiful book that I won’t forget for a long while. The story has a huge focus on family, and personal loss.

Rio, the main character, has lost so much; it’s crazy. Rio is such a strong character. She’s so resilient. Seriously! She’s put through so many tests, and has been told what to do for her whole life. To be wary of people. When she feels like she’s lost everything, something changes in her, and Rio becomes a stronger person. Ultimately, Rio ends up trusting people she never thought she would have trusted before. I feel like Rio also learns to trust herself. She no longer has to worry about what may or may not happen. She doesn’t have to be so guarded all the time now.

I love the almost-ending. If the book had stopped there though, I feel like a lot of people would have been mad because it would have just ended. Without us knowing what had happened to Rio! So I really appreciate how the ending actually happened.

To discuss a little of the almost-ending though: that part is seriously so beautiful that when I was typing this up, I almost started crying again at how selfless Rio is. I want to borrow this book from the library again just to read that part all over.

Atlantia is a great stand alone that everyone should read! – And you can click the cover above to be led to Atlantia on GoodReads!

Have you read Atlantia, yet? If you have, what do you think of it?

Thanks for reading! Until next time,
Adele