Finished The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson. I received a copy from the publisher at BEA. This is the first book in a series.
Summary (from Goodreads):
“What is oldest will be new, what was lost shall be found.
The ozone is ravaged, ocean levels have risen, and the sun is a daily enemy.
But global climate change is not something new in the Earth’s history.
No one will know this better than less-than-ordinary Owen Parker, who is about to discover that he is the descendant of a highly advanced ancient race–a race that took their technology too far and almost destroyed the Earth in the process.
Now it is Owen’s turn to make right in his world what went wrong thousands of years ago. If Owen can unlock the lost code in his very genes, he may rediscover the forgotten knowledge of his ancestry . . . and that “less-than-ordinary” can evolve into “extraordinary.”
Kevin Emerson’s thrilling novel is Book One of the Atlanteans series–perilous adventures in a grimly plausible dystopian future, fueled by high-stakes action, budding romance, and a provoc-ative question: What would you do if you had the power to save humanity from its own self-destruction?”
This is an entertaining book and one that’s hard to quantify. Obviously it’s paranormal (as Owen is descended from the people who lived on Atlantis) but it’s also very clearly dystopian (no ozone layer, sun will kill you without the strongest sunscreen possible). And it’s also got a bit of a love story in it. (Although most YA novels do, so it’s not like I’m really making the case for it being classified as a love story.)
I loved Owen. He’s your average guy—I pictured him as being a little like Lloyd Dobler in terms of not being the traditional heartthrob. (Although since I say that, I did picture him as cute and cool, just not what teen girls typically think of as cute and cool.) And, of course, I loved Lilly. I pictured her as Emma Stone, although I am totally mixing my generations now.
Anyway. :) I really enjoyed this novel. It’s over 400 pages but reads very quickly and I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.
Recommended.
