In Ally Condie's (the Matched trilogy) stand-alone novel Atlantia, she creates a world with secrets as deep as the ocean it inhabits, where trust is a luxury not all can afford.
Fifteen-year-old narrator Rio and her twin sister, Bey, have never been Above. Humanity created Atlantia, an underwater haven where people live long, healthy, happy lives, when the world Above became too polluted to inhabit. Those remaining on land have chosen to sacrifice themselves to short, brutal lives of suffering in order to keep Atlantia thriving. But Rio wants to see the trees and sky, and longs for the day when she can choose the world Above. After the sudden, suspicious death of their mother, the Minister of Atlantia, Bey makes Rio promise to remain Below with her. But Bey turns the tables and elects to go Above. As Rio struggles to accept her sister's apparent betrayal, Maire, her mother's mysterious and estranged sister and a known siren, appears with offers of assistance. Rio's secret, which only her mother and sister know, is that she is herself a siren. When Rio meets True, whose best friend Fen also unexpectedly chose the Above, she wonders if there's a connection between Bey and Fen. At what cost will Rio find the answers to her sister's departure?
Condie's thorough world-building includes the history of Atlantia, its architecture, governance, cultural practices and religious history. Rio makes a fascinating heroine, along with captivatingly mysterious Bey and Maire. Each mystery leads into another, and Condie keeps readers guessing to the end. --Kyla Paterno