Atlantia

By: Ally Condie

Narrated by: Rebecca Soler

Length: 9 hrs and 7 mins

Publisher's Summary

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.

©2014 Ally Condie (P)2014 Penguin Audio

Critic Reviews

“Utterly captivating. A heroine unlike any I’d met before, a setting I’d never glimpsed, a story I’d never imagined. Atlantia is fresh, wild, and engrossing. I love Ally Condie.” (Shannon Hale, award-winning, best-selling author of Austenland and Dangerous) 

"Condie's enthralling and twisty dystopian plot is well served by her intriguing characters and fine writing.... Cassia's metamorphosis is gripping and satisfying." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)

"Condie’s prose is immediate and unadorned, with sudden pings of lush lyricism [and] reveals seeming to arrive on almost every page." (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)

very compelling

I enjoyed the plot, definitely would recommend this as a good read. The performance felt natural. A clean read, no cursing, no gratuitous sex, just a compelling story.

lackluster

it was a very slow and lose end story. many repetitive details, with no point.

Atlantia

I read quite a number of reviews that stated how boring this novel was. I did not find it so. I found it intriguing and exciting. Condie styles her story in such a way as to keep her reader wondering and wanting more. Rio gathered facts and evidence in bits and pieces, and each time she got an answer or realized the truth, you wanted to know more. Of all the dystopian society tales told over the last several years, this was the one I enjoyed the most. The setting is fascinating and unique, the characters are interesting and multi layered, and the story has many elements. I enjoyed the relationship between the two sisters and appreciated that it was the heart of the story, and not the relationship between Tru and Rio.

There were several things I did not enjoy. Truthfully, all the mystery seemed unnecessary. There wasn’t a compelling reason for Rio not to be told she couldn’t live Above. Rio seemed determined to get Above without Maire’s help because she hated her, but there wasn’t a good reason to hate her. Rio seemed desperate to know how her mother died, but she didn’t ask that question until much later. She knew Maire helped her sister, but never asked why until it could move the story along. The writing felt contrived and even though I enjoyed the pacing of the story and was involved, I was aware of the ways she spun her story. There needed to be more compelling reasons for delaying so much pertinent information.
However, the story was enjoyable and I did not find it dull. A second reading is in order, I think.

Great Premise, but I wish it was more developed

What did you like best about Atlantia? What did you like least?

First and foremost, I love Rebecca Soler and this was another great reading by her and one of the main reasons why I tried Atlantia in audible format. I've listened to the Lunar Chronicles series read by Soler, which I loved, though it was funny to recognize her voice and equate it from the characters from another story.

The story:

"Atlantia" was a sweet story that, at its heart, was about sisters and the love they have for one another. I thought it was a nice spin on living under the ocean, mermaids, and sirens, etc, though I have to agree with some other reviews I've read. I picked up this book when it first came out because the cover was so beautiful. I read a few pages (maybe the first two chapters) but eventually put it down and never got back to it until now. I guess from the cover and the blurb I expected something much different, but this story was very unexpected and I'm not sure it was in the best way. No spoilers, so just in general, I felt lost and underwhelmed. There were a lot of times where the chapter ended and I thought, "where is this going?" And then the story would take a different spin than I expected. It's great to be kept on my toes during a story, but here the execution felt weak.

The biggest thing to me was that I couldn't see how this was only a one-book story. I don't think Condie is writing a sequel, and with the way the book ended, it doesn't need one, but as I was reading (listening) I kept looking at how far I'd gotten and being surprised that the story wasn't more far along. I had so many questions and wanted so many of the plot points more thought out, that I kept wondering how it was all going to make sense in the end. I found the writing to be pretty repetitive with little explanation for certain things (like characters' motivations), and the timing felt off.

Still, I did like True and wish there was more of him in the story. He became an interesting character toward the end and I would have loved to see him more involved and really helping Rio. Though Rio was harder for me to get into, I did like her character and the love she felt for her sister.

nice piece of science fiction/ fantasy

This author is good at blending reality with magic and supernatural. this is the second set of books I've read of hers. Pretty solid and easy to get sucked into the plot.

good so far....

So far it has been very compelling and l would recommend it to those who liked the matched series. It is almost ridiculously like matched though....

Meh

There were some awkward plot devices and wording. I was really hoping for better but this book just was mediocre

Meh

Which character – as performed by Rebecca Soler – was your favorite?

True and Maire

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No.

Any additional comments?

Disappointed with this book. I don't necessarily regret listening to it, but I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. The narration and the quality was spot on, but the story itself was lacking in... well, everything.

Good listen

Good listen a little hard to follow at first. Strong female lead with a hint of a love story in story.

Disappointing

A bit of a disappointment after the Matched Series. I just never fell in love with the characters enough to really root for them. Even the city didn't seem as magical as it could have.