DNF ( )

I wanted to like this book. I really did! The beginning was mediocre but not horrible. The rising action was, admittedly, slow and slightly uninteresting. I would sympathize a little with someone who had a physical copy or an ebook, but "reading" this one through an audiobook wasn't difficult. Then came the part when Rio and the sirens came to the surface. It was revealing and exciting, which should be a good thing except for the fact that reading it felt like I was being given a sudden and unceremonious dousing of water over the head. With barely any warning at all, Atlantia had gone from a nice middle grade retelling of The Little Mermaid to a Hunger Games-esque nightmare in the matter of a chapter. On one hand, I want to say that the twist was creative and that it made up for the relative dullness of all the previous chapters. On the other hand, Condie didn't drop enough hints of Nevio's evilness for the reveal to have been a full effect. Still, the lesson warning us not to be susceptible like the sirens were susceptible was haunting and effective.

Overall, the first half of the story reminded me a little of Kiera Cass's [b:The Siren|6618272|The Siren|Kiera Cass|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1348131642l/6618272._SY75_.jpg|6812394] and Sara Ella's [b:Coral|42772077|Coral|Sara Ella|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1542145415l/42772077._SY75_.jpg|66460469], with the romance being more subdued like Coral was. Atlantia as a whole reminded me strongly of Jennifer A. Nielsen's [b:The Scourge|28669595|The Scourge|Jennifer A. Nielsen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455173211l/28669595._SY75_.jpg|48858923], with there being many parallels between the two. If you are a fan of the dystopia of [b:The Hunger Games|2767052|The Hunger Games (The Hunger Games, #1)|Suzanne Collins|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1586722975l/2767052._SY75_.jpg|2792775] or the mystery and plot of [b:The Scourge|28669595|The Scourge|Jennifer A. Nielsen|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1455173211l/28669595._SY75_.jpg|48858923], Atlantia might be worth a try. ( )

DNF@60%

I liked the history of the sirens, but everything else was boring and slow as hell. ( )

00015625

A great world-building, character driven read for teens who enjoy strong female protagonists who grapple with relationships and making sense of their culture's religious/political landscape. Atlantia, an underwater world is the "Under" in this version of Earth. "Above" are those who continue to live in the polluted, and struggling planet. Rio and her sister Bay lived with their priestess mother, the late Minister, in the below, devoting themselves to temple work, helping their mother, and preparing to live a life forever below OR choosing to go above. When the choosing ceremony occurs, Rio is stunned when Bay chooses to leave her behind -even though their mother recently died- and go Above without her. the book takes off from there as Rio struggles with the loss of her sister, as well as her mother, struggles to contain her "siren" voice (now seen as dangerous or forbidden) & find out the truth about her mother's death, her mysterious aunt Maire's disappearance, and what her role should be to best serve Atlantia. True Beck, a thoughtful, handsome boy reaches out to her, and together they begin to uncover more secrets than they realized about the Council, the new lead Minister Nevio, and what they may be able to do to help save their crumbling Atlantia. Gets pretty complicated & the ending is even more convoluted but Rio emerges triumphant if changed. ( )