Official Review: Atlantis Child by KL Watkins

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 27 Dec 2016, 21:56

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Atlantis Child" by KL Watkins.]

4 out of 4 stars

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Nallan Ino has trained hard and long for a chance to enter the School – a place that allows only a selected few to enter and become Protectors of their territory. In a world that has been ravaged by nuclear war, Nallan knows that becoming stronger is the only way for her to survive and make her mark on the world. She must battle with other competitors for her place in the School, but Nallan is not afraid of losing. She’s afraid of going too far, or seriously injuring her competition. There is something inside her that she is trying to stamp out – something that can control the elements and gives her abilities that frighten her.

K.L. Watkins’ Atlantis Child is the story of Nallan’s adventure. Nallan -- who can barely trust herself, much less strangers – must integrate herself into a team. She makes friends, makes enemies, and even finds someone who accepts her descriptions of crazed dreams without batting an eye. However, the stronger she becomes, the less control she has over the power inside her. The last time she lost control… Well, she doesn’t want that to happen to her teammates.

Atlantis Child is the perfect blend of many different genres. It’s as if Watkins studied world-famous YA series such as The Hunger Games, Naruto, and The Maze Runner and incorporated the best elements from each. The reader follows Nallan throughout all of her trials, learning as she learns, and is tricked just as she is. I honestly loved watching Nallan grow as a person. The moments where she nailed a move in practice or shared a heartfelt moment with her teammates honestly put a smile on my face.

The tone of the novel changes over time as Nallan and her teammates experience personal growth. This was what I enjoyed most about the novel. While I was reading, I sometimes had to remind myself that I was still reading the same book. Watkins packed so much into one 400-page book, and yet the pacing was always perfect. Nothing ever felt rushed or drawn-out. At times I looked down at the page numbers in dread, feeling like I had to pace myself so I could enjoy the novel without ending too quickly, despite wanting to read faster so I could drown myself in Nallan’s world.

My one major complaint with the novel is the lack of editing. It is very obvious that the novel was not professionally checked, because there are minor mistakes on every other page. The biggest culprits are improper use of punctuation, typos, and the misspelling of homonyms. For example, “composer” was used at least twice in place of “composure.” Also, there were many sentences where key words had been left out. While Watkins’ writing style kept my eyes glued to the story, that just meant that these mistakes stood out even more than usual.

Overall, I give Atlantis Child 3 out of 4 stars. I honestly wanted to give it four stars, but the grammar and spelling mistakes were too numerous. The world Watkins has created is addicting and fascinating, and I was disappointed to find out that Atlantis Child is a standalone book. I genuinely want to read more of Nallan’s adventure, and I hope Watkins has plans to release more of her books in the future.

I recommend Atlantis Child to fans of YA action/adventure, especially those with an interest in ninjas or alternate worlds. Honestly, anyone who read and enjoyed The Hunger Games or The Maze Runner will definitely enjoy this book as well. Even with all of the grammar mistakes, it was a fantastic read. I would definitely rank it in one of my top reads for 2016, and the year is almost over!

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Atlantis Child
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clairesthilaire · Post by **clairesthilaire** » 28 Dec 2016, 12:58

I also loved this book! I agree the world is so easy to lose yourself in.

Your review is also excellent. I love how you describe Nallan's development over time, this is so important in character development, and makes a good story great.

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 28 Dec 2016, 19:30

clairesthilaire wrote:I also loved this book! I agree the world is so easy to lose yourself in.

Your review is also excellent. I love how you describe Nallan's development over time, this is so important in character development, and makes a good story great.

Thank you for the kind words!

If you don't mind me asking, how did you find the novel by yourself?

Momlovesbooks · Post by **Momlovesbooks** » 28 Dec 2016, 20:40

Excellent review! I love YA novels, such as The Hunger Games and Maze Runner. This seems similar to those and something I would really enjoy.

CrescentMoon · Post by **CrescentMoon** » 29 Dec 2016, 17:51

This book sounds so good. I was debating about whether or not to review it for the longest time but now I'm thinking about picking it up. I love Hunger Games and Maze Runner so the fact this book is similar but the main character is trying to be a ninja just sounds so awesome! Thanks for the great review!

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 29 Dec 2016, 22:00

Momlovesbooks wrote:Excellent review! I love YA novels, such as The Hunger Games and Maze Runner. This seems similar to those and something I would really enjoy.

Thank you! If you decide to give the book a try, please link me to your own review!

I love to hear what others think as well!

-- 29 Dec 2016, 22:01 --

CrescentMoon wrote:This book sounds so good. I was debating about whether or not to review it for the longest time but now I'm thinking about picking it up. I love Hunger Games and Maze Runner so the fact this book is similar but the main character is trying to be a ninja just sounds so awesome! Thanks for the great review!

No offense, but I'm glad you hesitated on reviewing it so I had the opportunity!

If you do decide to give it a try, let me know what you think of it!

Silvermoon · Post by **Silvermoon** » 30 Dec 2016, 15:30

The book sounds like a fantastic YA book. I love reading books where the characters grow, that is what makes a book worth reading. It is too bad about the errors. Good job on the review.

FangirlAhead · Post by **FangirlAhead** » 31 Dec 2016, 21:51

Wow, this book sounds amazing katiesquilts! I agree, it's always so interesting to see how characters change and grow as the book goes on. Definitely going on my TBR!

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 02 Jan 2017, 01:12

FangirlAhead wrote:Wow, this book sounds amazing katiesquilts! I agree, it's always so interesting to see how characters change and grow as the book goes on. Definitely going on my TBR!

Awesome! Whenever you get around to reading it, I'd love to hear what you think of it!
Also, I love your username.

Wasif Ahmed · Post by **Wasif Ahmed** » 02 Jan 2017, 01:30

Thanks for the great and thorough review. This seems like a really interesting read. I loved The hunger games and The Maze Runner series so, hopefully I will like this as well. Too bad about the grammatical errors though. Congratulations to the author for getting such a great review. This book is going into my To Read Shelf.

FangirlAhead · Post by **FangirlAhead** » 02 Jan 2017, 20:09

katiesquilts wrote:Awesome! Whenever you get around to reading it, I'd love to hear what you think of it!
Also, I love your username.

Haha, thanks! And I love your profile picture <3 so cute!

LivreAmour217 · Post by **LivreAmour217** » 02 Jan 2017, 20:48

This sounds like an excellent story, and I hope that the author is able to get the book professionally edited. I usually shy away from poorly-edited books, but you have made me curious! I enjoyed reading your review!

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 04 Jan 2017, 07:10

FangirlAhead wrote:
katiesquilts wrote:Awesome! Whenever you get around to reading it, I'd love to hear what you think of it!
Also, I love your username.
Haha, thanks! And I love your profile picture <3 so cute!

Much appreciated!

Not only were those pandas cute, they were also mighty tasty!

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 05 Jan 2017, 23:15

Sounds like a very enjoyable book. I read both The Hunger Games and the Maze Runner series and I enjoyed them a lot, so I think I'm going to enjoy this one. Too bad, though, about the errors. Great job on the review. Anyway, I just noticed that the rating under the cover photo of the book is different from the one that you gave on your review.

katiesquilts · Post by **katiesquilts** » 06 Jan 2017, 22:06

kimmyschemy06 wrote:Sounds like a very enjoyable book. I read both The Hunger Games and the Maze Runner series and I enjoyed them a lot, so I think I'm going to enjoy this one. Too bad, though, about the errors. Great job on the review. Anyway, I just noticed that the rating under the cover photo of the book is different from the one that you gave on your review.

Oh my goodness, you're right! I wonder how that happened?
Maybe I can @Scott so he can take a look at it?