BOOKLIFE.COM 63PAID REVIEWSMIDDLE GRADE
Alessia in Atlantis
Nathalie Laine
318p, trade paper, $7.99, ISBN 978-1-
736-17047-2
In Laine’s debut middle grade
fantasy, Scottish 12-year-old
Alessia Cogner is unexpectedly
sucked underwater to Atlantis,
where she discovers that her
family—whom she believes to be
dead—hails from the lost city.
Alessia is surprised to learn how
seamlessly she fits into Atlantide
society, from her now-unremark-
able pale skin to her grasp of the language. As she becomes more
immersed in the city, Alessia begins to seek out information on her
parents, even as the elders, including her new guardians Wimmi
and Felthor, seem reluctant to share any stories. Alessia soon
uncovers secrets that link her family to Atlantis’s tyrannical
leader, Emperor Oscor, and the mystical five Sensate Powers—
bringing her closer to finding her history, and, in turn, herself.
Laine’s artfuly ties together a complex plot. Each character and
event has purpose, with the threads expertly woven, all feeling
clever, not contrived. Alessia’s
support system is no different;
her classmate crew-turned
good-guy-posse and budding
relationship with a mysterious
boy each ultimately aid in the
quest for the truth while adding
sweet and humorous side
stories. Laine crafts picturesque
prose and realistic dialogue.
A message of acceptance
comes through in both world-
building and plot: Emperor
Oscor believes Atlantis’s indig-
enous population to be
“second-class citizens.” When
Alessia befriends a blue person
of Minch, she realizes the need
for acceptance and equality.
Drawn in by Alessia’s determi-
nation and empathy, as well as
the draw of Atlantis, fantasy
readers will be wrapped up in
this underwater tale.MYSTERY/THRILLER
The Tree of Knowledge
Daniel G. Miller
306p, ebook, $14.95, ISBN 978-0-578-
75320-1
In this quirky and engaging
debut thriller, a delightfully
oddball team of academics relies
as much on brains as brawn in
challenging a powerful
“Society” with mysterious aims.
Princeton mathematics
professor Albert Puddles finds
his blissfully ordered life thrown
into confusion after he helps the
police make sense of a clue at a murder scene: a “game tree”
used in logic theory. Puddles and his graduate assistant, Ying
Koh, consult Puddles’s brilliant mentor Angus Turner, who
reveals he created a logic system—the Tree of Knowledge—that
allows its user to manipulate anyone. Now, a mysterious woman
named “Eva” has stolen it and Puddles et al. must stop her from
delivering it into the “wrong hands.”
Miller has created a wonderfully loopy world where there’s
almost no line between the physical and the mental—Turner’s
study in logic has helped make him a formidable fighter.The
novel teems with historical, scientific, and literary surprises:
Miller slips in fun facts about ciphers from ancient Rome to the
Civil War and connects the Tree
of Knowledge system with the
biblical tree of knowledge.
These good-natured twists
come again and again, so
readers are likely to forgive the
occasionally fantastic plot and
the rather abrupt ending.
The protagonists are an
unusual bunch: Puddles and
Ying function outside of
academia with limited success,
and Albert is mystified when
his colleagues are astonished
by his eating habits--nothing
but protein bars. With offbeat
characters, brain teasers, and
imaginative action, readers will
be eager to see what trouble
Puddles and Ying get into next.
BookLife Reviews
BookLife Reviews are paid reviews of independently published books. Each review
contains the honest opinion of a professional Publishers Weekly reviewer. A lightning
bolt ( ) indicates an Editor’s Pick, a book of outstanding quality.
Alessia’s magical
journey to Atlantis
and the discovery
of her family’s
history will enrap-
ture middle grade
fantasy readers.Production grades
Cover: A-
Design & typography: B+
Illustrations: A-
Editing: A-
Marketing copy: A-
Production grades
Cover: B
Design & typography: A
Illustrations: –
Editing: A
Marketing copy: BVividly eccentric
characters who rely
on intellect as much
as weapons make
this a thriller fans
are likely to
remember.
Great for fans of
Dan Brown, Umberto
Eco.Great for fans of
Shannon Messenger’s
Keeper of the Lost
Cities series, Kali
Wallace’s City of
Islands.