Review: Fun and unique YA novel
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 04 20, 2014
The story opens on a rite of passage known to generations of redblooded American males: the summer roadtrip. Theo and his friends are off to Atlantic City with nothing more on their minds than a well deserved getaway filled with sand and surf. Oh, and girls. Definitely girls. Enter Kylee and her friends, also headed for the Jersey Shore. With thoughts of summer flings dancing in their heads, the boys and girls soon find themselves pairing off as they travel together.Everything is going great at first. The weather is beautiful, the water is fine, and everyone is getting along swimmingly. That is, until a bizarre phenomenon shatters the peace and tranquility of the Shore, reshaping its very geography in the process. The Event changes everything about life on what comes to be known as Atlantic Island — including, most subtly, the balance of power. Slowly but surely, in the absence of any authority greater than themselves, the former municipal government takes increasingly drastic measures to maintain order. Theo, Kylee, and their friends witness these changes firsthand. With each new edict they’re drawn deeper and deeper into the coming struggle to shape the future of Atlantic Island. Will it be a totalitarian police-state, or a beacon of freedom and civility?Atlantic Island is a fast-paced, action-packed adventure about the bonds of friendship and the importance of standing together under even the most extreme and unpredictable circumstances. As there is a good deal of violence, I’d recommend this book for teenagers and up.