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.
I honestly believe that each one of Ms. Condie's novels is better than the last. It makes me wonder how long she can keep this up.
"Atlantia" has the same strengths as the "Matched" trilogy, and more. It has the same elegant, minimalist writing style. There are loving but complicated relationships between family and lovers (you don't need a hero vs. villain divide to write good conflict). There are strong, but subtle messages: don't hide your talents; have a say in how your community runs; question everything; treat outsiders with respect.
However, anyone who's read the "Matched" books might remember a certain vagueness about the world building. We never did find out how Cassia "sorts". In this area, Ms. Condie has decidedly improved. J. K. Rowling she is not, but we know that Atlantia is built in the form of interconnected bubbles; that they mine ore in exchange for food sent down by their counterpart city Above; that Rio, the heroine, is a mechanic who fixes the mining drones. We know that living underwater caused strange mutations, the sirens and the blue-winged bats, and that these "miracles" helped to inspire a religion that both inspires people and is used by their leaders to control them. We know that Rio solders back the leaves that fall from the metal trees around the temple. We know the different social classes, that wood is a status symbol because it has to be imported, that one marketplace is more disorganized than the other, that you can buy scented air there like candy - cinnamon, lavender, saffron - and illegal night races take place. The general and the specific - both are important for a fictional world to feel real, and this one does.
Besides the world, I also really liked Rio. As a siren, a mutant with a voice that can control minds, she's had to keep her true nature a secret all her life to avoid being used as a tool by the government. Even as it is, her deliberately flat voice makes people think of her as stupid. When her mother dies and her twin sister Bay leaves her behind, she's left alone without anyone who knows who she really is. I don't think Ms. Condie meant this deliberately, but it reminded me of people on the autism spectrum - how people think of them as geniuses, freaks or both. "Sirens are miracles, not people," Rio once heard a city council member say. Her mother replies: "How can anyone think that? People can be miracles."
Anyone who's ever felt lonely or marginalized will relate to Rio, but she's more than that. She has business sense, which sadly, not many YA heroines have. When Bay leaves, she is understandably heartbroken, but pulls herself together to investigate the truth. Needing lots of money to buy an air tank to swim to the surface, she overcomes her shy, secretive nature to become a star performer at the swimming races. With the help of True Beck, a handsome fellow mechanic, and her aunt Maire's instructions on how to use her siren power, she turns herself into an escape artist, an underwater Houdini. She does take serious risks, but that's understandable, since the person offering her help is Maire, who may not be trustworthy. Learning to trust True, control her gift, and help to free her society from centuries of bigotry and hate, Rio becomes a heroine to be proud of.
Maire, the only other "free" siren and too powerful for their leaders to control, was the last person to see Rio's mother Oceana alive. Fingers point to her as Oceana's killer. Did she do it, and if so, why? Rio fears her, but no one else can teach her how to use her gift. Maire's power shows in the way she can not only control people, but hear the voices of those long gone caught inside the city's walls. She tells Rio an alternative version of the history she's been taught in school and the temple. But which version is true? I can't say too much about her because of spoilers, but to me, she was the most fascinating character in the book.
Bay is another character I liked, even though she's not there for so much of the book. She comes alive in Rio's memories as Rio struggles to figure out the reasons for her betrayal. All their lives, Bay was considered the "good" sister: gentle, soft-spoken, pious and patriotic, following in their mother's footsteps as future leader. Until she sold their mother's precious ring, left the money with Maire of all people, and disappeared. As Maire points out, there is no such thing as a good twin and an evil twin. No matter how much people love each other, they can still cause pain and misunderstanding. It's up to Rio to find out the truth.
The only reason I didn't give this book five stars was because of Atlantia's politicians, who could have been better developed. I know Ms. Condie was trying to make a point about how easy it is to abuse power, and how many people don't question it, just like the Society Officials in "Matched". But I would have liked to see three-dimensional human beings, even corrupt ones, rather than faceless obstacles to freedom.
Another minor flaw is the romance. True is a sweet young man and perfect for Rio; not only do they have their mechanical talent in common, but he respects her enough to let her make her own decisions, even if they might put her in danger - but not without speaking his mind about them. He also has secrets of his own, which make him empathize with her need to keep hers; a nice change from the "You lied to me! I'll never forgive you!" scenario we get in other books. However, he was just a little too perfect to seem real. As for the kissing, Salt Lake City-born Ms. Condie does leave a little too much to the imagination. Honestly, I've read sexier scenes in Dickens.
Still, I really recommend this book. It may not be as fast-paced or graphic as "The Hunger Games", "The Mortal Instruments" or other bestsellers, but it has its own subtle, quiet beauty. Also, no love triangles - which, for all I loved "Matched", I found really refreshing.
Also published on Goodreads.
