Atlantia by Ally Condie | Audiobook Review

I received this book for free from Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

“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.” â€”Shannon Hale, award-winning, bestselling author of Austenland and DangerousA New York Times Best Seller! Can you hear Atlantia breathing?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.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 corrupted 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.

Why Did I Listen To This Book?

I had decided to listen to Atlantia by Ally Condie because I quite enjoyed Matched, her debut novel, and sort of enjoyed Crossed and Reached. Out of all the audiobooks on my list it had appealed to me the most because it was different. I am used to reading about fantasy worlds, sure, but not many of the fantasy worlds I read about take place under the sea. Also? Atlantis is so cool and I wish more YA books would take advantage of that setting.

What’s The Story Here?

Rio lives in a colony under the sea, like a snork (REMEMBER THE SNORKS YOU GUYS!) with her sister, Bay not Bae. Their mom is dead. The book opens with pretty much choosing day and they decide if they are dauntless, amity, candor, or erudite – JK JK JK – actually Rio and Bay have to decide between living in Atlantia or living on the surface. Rio is pretty sure that her sister will pick Atlantia and so, she goes ahead and decides to stay in Atlantia with her sister. However, Bay makes the sacrifice and choose to live above – and is taken away for Rio to never see again to the surface. Alas, Rio, main character of Atlantia does not take this loss of her sister laying down. Instead, she begins to plot and form a plan to get to the surface world.

How Is Rio As A Character?

Rio is the sort of character who has built up these constructs around her person where people underestimate her. This works to her advantage. She speaks in a flat affect because her real voice would mark her as a siren and cause some issues for her. So, because of her flat affect and disguised voice, people think that she is dumb. She is very committed to her sister and protecting her. Furthermore, she has this aunt who is their only other living relative who is also a siren. She doesn’t quite trust her aunt, but when it comes to reaching the surface, Rio will take whatever help she can get.

How’s The World Building?

There’s a fairly complex religion in Atlantia by Ally Condie. Rio and Bay’s mom was the leader in the religion, but again, she died. The religion does not really allow for sirens because you know sirens have that power to make people do things with their voice. So, Rio tries to be a little bit involved with the church because her mom was, but she can’t really rise in the ranks, so instead, she is sent to the mines to work — you see, the people in Atlantia exchange materials with the people on the surface and view it is a sort of beneficial relationship — only they believe the surface is not as nice or inhabitable as Atlantia, and so think that the surface people resent them. It’s an interesting paradigm.

What About The Romance?

It has been like two weeks since I listened to the audiobook. I remember Rio’s love interest made things and he accompanied Rio on her um, adventure. Aside from that, I don’t remember much so the romance is indeed not super memorable.

How’s The Narration?

Rebecca Soler is the narrator of Atlantia. Her narration does Ally Condie’s book justice. She has a well modulated voice. She’s got a normal accent, like a TV accent. The book goes by fast and feels fairly action packed. I do not think I would have liked the book to the point that I did if I had read it physically instead of listened to it. If you want to read this story, I definitely recommend you go the audiobook route.

Sum It Up With A GIF:

My imaginings of Atlantia in GIF form.

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April (Books&Wine)

April is in her 30s and created Good Books And Good Wine. She works for a non-profit. April always has a book on hand. In her free time she can be found binge watching The Office with her husband and toddler, spending way too much time on Pinterest or exploring her neighborhood.

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