A. R. Alexander

A unique tale for upper middle-grade readers featuring magic and myths, friendship, and trust.

Vibrations: Children of Atlantis by A.R. Alexander is a unique adventure for older middle-grade to younger young adult readers featuring magical realism and two determined teen protagonists tasked with defending the world against an ancient enemy. Incorporating elements from several mythologies, Nada Gilbride and Kani Kakoa are all that stand between their world and complete destruction.

The author show more has created a pair of unique main characters in Nada and Kani. Nada is deaf but can see sound waves. She learned to speak by mimicking the pattern of the waves she observes from others. Kani, while able to hear, can see the vibrations of energy and has learned to manipulate them. Urged from a young age to hide their unusual abilities from others, both are naturally full of questions about their gifts. Since the adults in their lives refuse to talk about it, they are desperate for answers, especially when their abilities seem to be attracting creatures only found in myths and legends and even affecting their physical well-being in public. Their confusion and need for clarity are well portrayed, and I was drawn to their situation and anxiety over not knowing what was “wrong” with them.

The story’s suspense builds quickly with the appearance of supernatural creatures and the subsequent attention of a mysterious trio who seem to know more about their situation than they do followed by an involuntary stay with the FBI at a secret research facility. But a simple field trip to a museum where an ancient artifact awakens and causes both Nada and Kani to blackout brings things to the attention of someone close by that can finally deliver the answers the teens crave. Unfortunately, the explanation of what was behind their abilities and reactions was not clearly explained enough for me, and I was left feeling I didn’t really have a better understanding of what was going on or the magic system in play than what I’d gotten from the book’s blurb and the kids’ own suppositions. I enjoyed the growth in the relationship between the two main characters, leading to the trust they would need to complete their trials later, as well as the budding, sweet romance (which kept this story appropriate for younger readers.) However, their pairing as a team during their training and the training itself is glossed over, while much more story is expended on a rivalry with another couple to be the champions who will defend the world from destruction.

The link to Atlantis, which given its prominence by appearing in the title, was only given a superficial explanation, leaving me wondering how all these teenagers with special abilities were connected to it. There were other instances of plot points suddenly popping up without explanation. I enjoyed that some inanimate objects were sentient, so there were some fun moments where a plane was complimented to keep her happy, and a platform was thanked for allowing their back to be used as a training surface, but there wasn’t an explanation of why these objects were aware, and others weren’t. Also, it just pops up that Auntie apparently had a rival from her past who is now the director at the island where the teens are undergoing their training. On the other hand, the various settings were diverse and vividly described, so I always had a clear picture in my mind of where the action was taking place.

I recommend VIBRATIONS: CHILDREN OF ATLANTIS to upper middle-grade readers.

I voluntarily reviewed this after receiving an Advanced Review Copy from Reedsy Discovery. show less

This is an incredibly ambitious book. 17 new worlds are a lot. And unfortunately this does make things a bit difficult to keep track of. I admire the universe that the author has created and how much thought and care was put into everything, but it was confusing at times. Since this is going t be a series, I think it might have been better if the author started smaller and built things up over time.

Now, An important point. I am not sure how many of these issues arose as a result of the show more translation. I am not sure how much of this is because of the original text and how much is because of the translator, but the writing often reads as being from a less experienced author. There are odd phrasings and at times it can be a little repetitive. I suspect that the story could become easier to follow just through an edit to improve the writing quality as I wasn't as immersed as I could have been.

I wish the author the best of luck with the rest of the series. I suggest you look for reviews in Italian if you speak it so that you can see if the issues exist in the original or if they are due to translation. show less

Finished early review copy received from LibraryThing Early Reviewers today.
- Strong point-world building scifi story with strong female protagonist.
- Weak point- english translation needs to be edited.

9/4 Update: My more thorough summary:
This story revolves around a strong female lead in an intricate political background. She is darn near invincible and has impeccable strategy and gadgets in hand to meet her goals. Her goals, of course, are to facilitate the greater good for the solar show more system. One of the planets is up to no good, mind control... resource guarding... weapon stockpiling... and she is going to figure out how to make the royalty and political parties involved do what’s right from the shadows... mostly. She's sexy, dangerous, and does what she wants.

It’s an exciting premise but the execution wasn't for me. Too much focus on politics, though that is what I signed up for when I selected the beginnings of a space opera. This judgement might be more of a taste issue.

The writing needs help. It was originally written in Italian, and I've read the English translation. There was a point where I started highlighting the grammar errors. I swear there was more at the beginning of the book than the end, which I found interesting. This work needs more attention from an editor. I would assume this falls on the translator more than the author.

Based on my reading experience, I would not recommend this title. show less

This book appears to be intended as the first in a series of many. I found the plot to be well maintained throughout with enough left at the conclusion to continue in a space opera. The book has the feel of a comic book in the way the scenes evolve which adds a different dimension to the reading experience. There were a lot of characters introduced and hopefully they will be developed as the series grows but the initial treatment was superficial. I enjoyed the story but I was tempted to just show more give up on this book because of the dialogue; there is a lot of dialogue! I found the dialogue stilted and unnatural (comic book style without dialogue bubbles) and it just drove me nuts! Using dialogue to further a plot is a difficult narrative device to master and in this case it detracted rather than enhanced. I am disappointed to have to say that because I admire what A.R. Alexander has accomplished. show less