Title: Atlantia

Author: Ally Condie

Publisher: Dutton Books 2014

Genre: YA Fantasy

Pages: 298

Rating: 4/5 stars

Reading Challenges: Popsugar - Mythical Creature; Fairytale Retelling; I Love Libraries

For as long as she can remember, Rio has dreamed of the sand and sky Above—of life beyond her underwater city of Atlantia. But in a single moment, all Rio’s hopes for the future are shattered when her twin sister, Bay, makes an unexpected choice, stranding Rio Below. Alone, ripped away from the last person who knew Rio’s true self—and the powerful siren voice she has long silenced—she has nothing left to lose.

I love it when random library picks actually turn out to be good books. I read Condie's first book series, Matched, but ended up loosing interest by the end of book two. I think it would have been better has a duo instead of trilogy. I'm even more thankful that this one is just a single book. I could see where some authors would want to stretch this story out into a series dragging characters and plots along at a snail's pace. Thankfully this story is told in less than 300 pages. We get a clear arch of characters and plot. I love the world building with Atlantia and the Above. I loved the little details about the temple and the trees. I loved that we got to spend some time with characters before things sped up too much. My issues really come with the last 30 pages. As often happens, the conclusion of the book felt a bit rushed. I would have liked another 30 or so pages to slowly come to the end instead of hurtling at a dizzying speed. But overall, I really enjoyed this book.