Above World(Above World, #1)
by Jenn Reese
Hardcover, 356 p.
Synopsis
A suspenseful sci-fi escapade plucks two children out of the ocean for a thrilling adventure.
Thirteen-year-old Aluna has lived her entire life under the ocean with the Coral Kampii in the City of Shifting Tides. But after centuries spent hidden from the Above World, her colony’s survival is in doubt. The Kampii’s breathing necklaces are failing, but the elders are unwilling to venture above water to seek answers. Only headstrong Aluna and her friend Hoku are stubborn and bold enough to face the terrors of land to search for way to save their people.
But can Aluna’s warrior spirit and Hoku’s tech-savvy keep them safe? Set in a world where overcrowding has led humans to adapt—growing tails to live under the ocean or wings to live on mountains—here is a ride through a future where greed and cruelty have gone unchecked, but the loyalty of friends remains true.
My Review
For some reason, when picking up this book, I thought it was about Hawaii. I mean, look at that cover! Blue waters, lots of tropical fish, it seemed like some type of natives vs. invaders book.
Boy, was I wrong. First of all, it's set in the FUTURE, where people are surviving using lots of gadget-y gadgets, and have biologically adapted to some pretty extreme environments. There's the Kampii (mermaid-people, although they take offense at "mermaid"), the Deepfell (shark-people), the Aviars (bird-people, all female), the Equians (horse-people), and assorted other varieties. However, all these "clans" have broken off ties from each other, and for many years, they have been stuck in the ruts of tradition. This probably would've stayed stagnate for a while more, except for one small problem.
The Kampii's breathing shells, which keep them alive, are failing.
So of course the elders are all like TRADITIONMEANSNOABOVEWATER, while Aluna and Hoku are all like RATHERGOABOVEWATERTHANDIE, and the two end uprunning swimming away. Then they manage to befriend at least one person in every race. Calli(ope) the Aviar, Dash the Equian, and some Deepfell dude. Oh, and end up saving the Kampii.
I had a bit of a problem with the plot because of this reason. The plot seemed to be constructed upon a lot of coincidences, and it seemed every time the author needed them to move on, BAM! Insta-attack by the bad guys. And it seemed that the different races were hiding in the woodworks of the story, just in case the heroes would pass by, so that they could join the team. That aspect read pretty much like an RPG, which is good in video games, but not so much in books. Also, there was this one part that really bothered me in the plot, involving Dash and the broken arm he gets. So when The Heroes meet Dash, they meet him in this really creepy place that's all run down and stuff, and they think he's some creepy murder evil person, so they attack him. And somehow or other, his arm gets broken. Then they apologize and patch him up with a piece of plastic and some twine as a makeshift cast.
They seem to want to make sure that you don't forget this part. There's a lot of this type of stuff:
Behind her, Dash slid easily of the rhinebra, even with just one good arm, and looped the animal's reins around a tree branch. ~234
EVEN WITH ONLY ONE GOOD ARM. That is written I don't know how many times, and it really makes me kind of irritated. We get it! Now if you'd just show how this affects him, it'd be that much better!
I have to say, though, Reese did a fantabulous job creating the characters and the cultures of the different races. I really loved the Aviars. They're basically Amazon warriors (minus the whole cut-off-right-breast yuck), except they have wings and different weapons--these things called "talons", which are claws attached to long, thin chains, stored in a silver canister, used in pairs. Although this also means that they are extremely stuck-up, it was so much fun reading about their fighting styles.
My Rating
Although the plot read a lot like an RPG, I have to say that I liked the world that Jenn Reese managed to conjure. It was a semi-plausible future, what with the way technology is advancing, and has potential to be really awesome in the future. So, with lots of deliberation, I'd have to give this...
Happy reading!
For some reason, when picking up this book, I thought it was about Hawaii. I mean, look at that cover! Blue waters, lots of tropical fish, it seemed like some type of natives vs. invaders book.
Boy, was I wrong. First of all, it's set in the FUTURE, where people are surviving using lots of gadget-y gadgets, and have biologically adapted to some pretty extreme environments. There's the Kampii (mermaid-people, although they take offense at "mermaid"), the Deepfell (shark-people), the Aviars (bird-people, all female), the Equians (horse-people), and assorted other varieties. However, all these "clans" have broken off ties from each other, and for many years, they have been stuck in the ruts of tradition. This probably would've stayed stagnate for a while more, except for one small problem.
The Kampii's breathing shells, which keep them alive, are failing.
So of course the elders are all like TRADITIONMEANSNOABOVEWATER, while Aluna and Hoku are all like RATHERGOABOVEWATERTHANDIE, and the two end up
I had a bit of a problem with the plot because of this reason. The plot seemed to be constructed upon a lot of coincidences, and it seemed every time the author needed them to move on, BAM! Insta-attack by the bad guys. And it seemed that the different races were hiding in the woodworks of the story, just in case the heroes would pass by, so that they could join the team. That aspect read pretty much like an RPG, which is good in video games, but not so much in books. Also, there was this one part that really bothered me in the plot, involving Dash and the broken arm he gets. So when The Heroes meet Dash, they meet him in this really creepy place that's all run down and stuff, and they think he's some creepy murder evil person, so they attack him. And somehow or other, his arm gets broken. Then they apologize and patch him up with a piece of plastic and some twine as a makeshift cast.
They seem to want to make sure that you don't forget this part. There's a lot of this type of stuff:
Behind her, Dash slid easily of the rhinebra, even with just one good arm, and looped the animal's reins around a tree branch. ~234
EVEN WITH ONLY ONE GOOD ARM. That is written I don't know how many times, and it really makes me kind of irritated. We get it! Now if you'd just show how this affects him, it'd be that much better!
I have to say, though, Reese did a fantabulous job creating the characters and the cultures of the different races. I really loved the Aviars. They're basically Amazon warriors (minus the whole cut-off-right-breast yuck), except they have wings and different weapons--these things called "talons", which are claws attached to long, thin chains, stored in a silver canister, used in pairs. Although this also means that they are extremely stuck-up, it was so much fun reading about their fighting styles.
My Rating
Although the plot read a lot like an RPG, I have to say that I liked the world that Jenn Reese managed to conjure. It was a semi-plausible future, what with the way technology is advancing, and has potential to be really awesome in the future. So, with lots of deliberation, I'd have to give this...
3 out of 5 stars
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