By Rick Riordan
Los Angeles: Disney-Hyperion, 2021. Fiction.
Ana Dakkar is a freshman at the prestigious Harding-Pencroft Academy, whose graduates go on to become the best marine biologists, naval commanders, and ocean explorers in the world. The school and its coursework are rigorous, especially the freshman end-of-year trials that involve a weekend field trip and a lot of secrecy. As soon as Ana and her classmates depart for this trial, the receive the horrifying news that Harding-Pencroft Academy has been destroyed by a rival school -- the dubious Land Institute. Now, Ana and her freshman classmates are the only survivors and the new guardians of a secret legacy. Ana and her friends soon learn that the events depicted in Jules Verne's 19th-century novel 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea were all true, and Ana herself is descended from the legendary Captain Nemo.
This standalone science-fiction novel from Rick Riordan has immediate appeal to readers who have enjoyed other Riordan books. Though some readers may be disappointed to learn that there is no planned series, as the book ends with an opening for more adventures. Plenty of exposition ensures that young readers do not need to be familiar with Jules Verne's source material before beginning this book, but will likely be eager to seek them out after. The diverse cast of characters is authentic and well-depicted, and local readers will appreciate that a major character is a native of Provo, Utah.
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