ALA Booklist

Plunging directly into the action, this first book in the Above World series takes readers into the life of a girl named Aluna who lives beneath the ocean in the City of Shifting Tides. Centuries ago, warfare decimated the planet. Aided by technology that allowed them to breathe underwater, the Coral Kampii people fled the surface to build a new undersea home. When the breathing mechanisms begin to fail and Kampii start to die, 13-year-old Aluna is determined to figure out why. Aided by her geeky friend Hoku, Aluna sets off for the Above World, a perilous and marvelous new universe where they find humans with wings, a new way of life, and more questions than answers. Plucky and resourceful, if at times willful to her own detriment, Aluna is a heroine most readers will easily identify with as she explores a complex and challenging world on the cusp of change. With well-drawn characters, appropriate plot twists, and steady writing geared to the age level, this will appeal to those interested in dystopic science fiction.

Horn Book

When the mermaid-like Kampii's breathing technology begins to fail, thirteen-year-old Aluna, an aspiring warrior, and her tech-savvy friend, Hoku, journey to the Above World to see if the other hybrid human cultures can help them save their people. The creative world-building, vivid descriptions of landscapes, and a diverse cast of sympathetic characters will please fans of post-apocalyptic fiction.

Kirkus Reviews

In a future world in which habitable space has been exhausted, Humans have physically modified to survive in the skies, oceans and deserts. Living in the hidden City of Shifting Tides, 13-year-old Aluna heroically strives to save the ocean-dwelling Coral Kampii when their lives are threatened by destructive forces in the Above World. Feisty Aluna and her techie pal Hoku have the Kampii's "thick bones and tough skin, adaptable vision, [and] breathing necklaces." Even though Aluna will soon trade her legs for a swimming tail, she doesn't fit with the isolated Kampii and defies them by secretly training to be a hunter. When their breathing necklaces mysteriously fail, causing Kampii to die, Aluna opts to leave before receiving her tail and journeys with Hoku to the Above World to try to find some answers. Along the way, Aluna and Hoku encounter deadly Dragonfliers, aquatic Deepfell demons, winged female Aviars, half-horse Equians and brutal Upgraders. Fighting every step of her perilous quest, Aluna enlists help from creatures of the air, land and sea. A warrior heroine with a caring heart, stalwart friends, an edgy futurist subtext and the suggestion of a possible sequel make this a thrilling sci-fi adventure. Imaginative and riveting. (Science fiction. 10-14)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

First-time author Reese takes mermaids (and other mythological hybrid creatures) into postapocalyptic territory in a straightforward but exciting adventure. Aluna, a hotheaded 13-year-old Kampii who is just about to trade her legs for a tail in a coming-of-age ceremony, has discovered that the poorly understood mechanisms that support her isolated, underwater community are beginning to break down. Defying the Elders and accompanied by her loyal sidekick, technophilic Hoku, Aluna sets out to find HydroTek, the long-lost source of her people-s technology. Aluna and Hoku are determined and resourceful protagonists, and the novel-s hybrid species are fun and cleverly imagined (the birdlike Avians factor heavily into this installment); the Upgraders, who murder other post-humans for their body parts, are sadistic, one-dimensional monsters that owe a thing or two to the Borg of Star Trek. Action-seeking readers should enjoy the many revelations, twists, and hand-to-claw battle sequences, and fierce, take-charge Aluna is the kind of heroine who is easy to get behind. An open-ended conclusion leaves the door to Reese-s futuristic world wide open for future adventures. Ages 10-up. Agent: Joe Monti, Barry Goldblatt Literary. (Feb.)

School Library Journal

Gr 5-8 Above World is a fish-out-of-water fantasy that could have been great, but ultimately barely stays afloat. There are a multitude of plot contrivances and too many well-intended life lessons. Readers might be able to root for the likable yet naive characters if they weren't so busy deflecting the skepticism surrounding all the happy resolutions to the protagonists' problems. Aluna, a 13-year-old who has yet to grow her mermaid tail, and her best guy pal, Hoku, swim off to save the Kampii. Conveniently armed with a box containing the secrets they'll need, they go ashore to find out why their breathing necklaces, without which the Kampii cannot exist underwater, are failing. Too coincidentally, except for the evil ruler behind the attempt to destroy the Kampii, all the other evil creatures they meet along the way turn out to be honorable and aid the friends as the twosome swells to four, plus a friendly robotic raccoon. There's even a romance between the battles. It's all just too neat and nice. The tale is cluttered as it simultaneously tries to address gender roles and environmental issues and show readers that ordinary people can achieve the impossible if they are honorable, strong, and true to themselves. This is a burden too heavy to allow the appealing characters and action-driven plot to prevail. Cindy Wall, Southington Library &; Museum, CT