INTERMEDIATE FICTION
Mone, Gregory

Atlantis: The Accidental Invasion

(2) 4-6 Lewis's scientist father has long been discredited for his theory that inhabitants of the underwater city Atlantis have been sending tsunamis to destroy American coasts, an Atlantean retaliation for the pollution of the ocean. When one of the tsunamis carries father and son, along with talented engineer Hanna, far undersea in their subsphere vehicle, they learn that the theory was ­absolutely right. Meanwhile Kaya, an Atlantean, has always been told that there are no "People of the Sun" dwelling near ocean surfaces: to suggest otherwise is treason. When Kaya encounters the three from the surface, she knows they're doomed if she doesn't help them evade Atlantis's ­surveillance squad, the "Erasers." This steampunkish sci-fi/fantasy ­adventure is quickly paced, an inventive, if far-fetched, engagement of plastics pollution and ­climate change--as well as a diverting vision of Atlantis's underwater technology. Lewis's middle-grade wackiness is quietly funny and realistic; he is blinkered by his own cultural formation but is a fount of imaginative diversions. With the book's conclusion perched on the eve of the travelers' return, Mone seems to be promising a sequel. An afterword discusses Atlantis's lore and the current crisis of plastics pollution in Earth's oceans.

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