Aja Hannah

I received a copy of Zarconian Island courtesy of Netgalley and the publisher.

When I read the synopsis for Zarconian Island, I was intrigued. I love anything to do with Atlantis, and this sounded like a winner. Attie is a descendant of the Zarconians, who have been hunted to extinction, and there aren't many left. While on a class trip, she keeps getting weird vibes while on the ship. She then finds out they are off course, and her intuition kicks in when she realizes there is something wrong, and the boat is going down. She gets her friend and a couple other kids to believe her and she ends up getting them safely off the boat by way of parasail. The island they land on is anything but safe tho, and the adventure just begins when they are fighting to stay alive from the islands inhabitants and a traitor in their group.

I enjoyed Zarconian Island for the most part. Parts of it reminded me of the Titanic, while other parts reminded me of Jurassic Park. At times Attie seemed really mature, and I wondered how she was able to keep calm, but then there were times I wanted to shake her. I guess I forget what it's like to be a teenager tho. Doug and her chemistry was pretty interesting, esp when we find out his secret. Overall, the adventure factor was great, and it made me think of what my reactions would be like had I been thrust into survivor mode. I can honestly say, I wouldn't fare as well as these kids. That's why I like to leave the fun and adventures to my fictional characters.… (mehr)

This was amazing reading, I think Hanna did such a good job if you think that this is her 1st book. I really looking forward to the next book and other things she is going to write.
It is fast reading with a lot of action, very strong and defined characters. From the beginning with the sinking boat to the island with his prehistoric creatures to the straggle to survive.The underlying message of unity formed in spite of the differences that exist in life. The elements of friendship, trust, and new love unfolding satisfied my romantic desires.
On the other hand, as a 1st book there are some confusing and unclear subjects like: The cruise/school trip cause in the beginning was really weird,The way the deck hands got really mad and ran after Attie and Doug also, made no sense and the way that Hanna got read from Michel wasn't clear enough. I also except that the combination of strong headiness of Attie and the all situation somehow didn't let her learn properly about her heritage, even though Doge could enlighten her a little bit more.

In sum I will recommend it very easily.… (mehr)