Princesses of Atlantis Book

Twelve-year-old best friends Carly and Arlene write about the final, cataclysmic days of Atlantis in a story that parallels the growing tensions between the girls. The heroines of their fantasy novel are twin princesses destined for sacrifice to the Rain God. In real life, Carly develops a crush on a boy and Arlene feels betrayed; in Atlantis, Princess Eva is imprisoned in a tower while Princess Lydia falls in love. As the floods threaten to destroy Atlantis, the princesses are separated and each must find a way to escape. Carly and Arlene realize that their lives are taking different and unexpected directions, too. A satisfying read for Atlantis fans, this novel by award-winning author Lisa Williams Kline offers romance, magic, and a race against time.

Betty Hicks - Children's Literature

Carly and Arlene are seventh grade girls whose friendship is being put to the test by all the normal pitfalls of being twelve. Worried that she doesn't feel part of any of the usual middle school groups athletes, cheerleaders, kids in the school play, weirdoes Carly wishes she could have been descended from mermaid royalty. Instead, she settles for trying out new friends who only get her into trouble. All of this would indicate a standard middle grade plot, except for one thing. Together, Carly and Arlene are writing a fantasy novel about Eva and Lydia, two heroines from Atlantis who are racing against time to escape from being sacrificed to Driz the Rain God. Author Kline alternates the girls' Atlantis writing with their own modern story, and does a noteworthy job of keeping readers involved in both. As Carly and Arlene dream up wildly imaginative scenarios for their characters, the predicaments of the twin princesses closely parallel their own actions and problems. Though some of the vocabulary and fantasy writing seem precocious for twelve-year-olds, the result is a creative and thoroughly entertaining story, or, more accurately, stories. 2002, Cricket,