The Lost Code (Atlanteans Series #1)

by Kevin Emerson

Overview

Kevin Emerson’s The Lost Code, first in the Alanteans series, tells the story of a near-future earth ravaged by global climate change. Owen Parker is about to learn that it isn’t the first time the planet has been near destruction. Owen’s ancestors were part of an ancient race whose advanced technology once almost destroyed the world.

With the help of a mysterious, enchanting girl named Lily, Owen will have to understand his history and his genetic code to prevent global annihilation. He will also have to leave the bio-dome that keeps him safe and brave the post-apocalyptic wasteland beyond.

Teens fascinated by the dark dystopian world of Divergent and mythology of the Percy Jackson series will want to read The Lost Code.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062062819
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	05/22/2012
Series:	Atlanteans Series , #1
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	464
Sales rank:	599,070
File size:	1 MB
Age Range:	13 - 17 Years

About the Author

Kevin Emerson is the author of the acclaimed novel Last Day on Mars and its sequels in the Chronicle of the Dark Star. He has written thirteen middle grade novels, including The Fellowship for Alien Detection, the Oliver Nocturne Series, and Lost in Space: Return to Yesterday (based on the Netflix series), as well as eight young adult novels, including The Atlanteans trilogy and Any Second. A former science teacher, Kevin is also a drummer and singer, most recently with his band Model Shop. He lives with his family in Seattle, Washington. You can visit him online at www.kevinemerson.net.

What People are Saying About This

Peter Lerangis

“The Lost Code will stop your heart with scenes of passion and power, as it draws you in to a group of kids who are the only hope in a dying world of artifice and desperation. What happens to them is like nothing you’ve ever read.”

Michael Grant

“A smart dystopian adventure packed with mind-blowing fantasy and characters you’ll love.”

Editorial Reviews

Gr 8–10—In a postapocalyptic world in which water is scarce and sunlight kills, privileged teenagers still enjoy the opportunity to attend summer camps. These camps are set up in giant domes that protect the inhabitants from radioactivity and allow everyone within to pretend that everything is fine. Owen is a poor kid from Hub whose father entered him into a drawing, and Owen won. During a swim on his second day of camp, Owen drowns… but he doesn't die. Instead, he begins to change in unexplainable ways, and he soon learns that he's not the only one. When he begins to talk to some of the other campers, he learns that over the years, students have vanished and their disappearances have been conveniently explained by the staff. He also learns that the dome is beginning to fail. This book examines a postapocalyptic world from a different perspective, because all the action takes place in a setting that closely resembles any summer camp one might visit today. However, underneath the varnish of swimming holes, archery ranges, and mess halls, there is the truth that the Earth is dying. Owen is an awkward teen-not a natural hero. Even though his body is metamorphosing into something strange and he's being called to fulfill an ancient quest, he's still a self-conscious guy, trying to get the girl to like him. The ending of the book leaves plenty of room for the sequel, and readers will likely be intrigued enough to continue.—Heather M. Campbell, formerly at Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO

School Library Journal

Emerson (Carlos Is Gonna Get It) launches the Atlanteans series with a novel that blends post-apocalyptic, SF, and paranormal elements into a summer camp story. In a future in which climate change has rendered most of the planet uninhabitable, teenage Owen has gotten a rare scholarship to Camp Eden, where privileged kids and survivors of cryogenic freezing can experience a simulation of the biosphere of old. When he almost drowns, he discovers the camp's hidden secret: Owen and a handful of others (including his crush, Lilly) have developed gills and can breathe underwater. Owen is thrilled by his new abilities and sense of belonging, but when a child at the camp dies under mysterious circumstances, it becomes apparent that something sinister is occurring at Camp Eden. As Owen and friends attempt to figure out who to trust, they uncover more conspiracies about both the camp and the state of the world. Emerson throws perhaps a little too much into the book, but the high-stakes narrative moves forward with momentum, and a romance between Owen and Lilly is gracefully unveiled. Ages 13–up. Agent: George Nicholson, Sterling Lord Literistic. (May)

Publishers Weekly

The high-stakes narrative moves forward with momentum, and a romance between Owen and Lilly is gracefully unveiled.” — Publishers Weekly

“The Lost Code will satisfy teens’ thirst for post-apocalyptic dystopian novels with just the right amount of suspense, adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and romance, but without the brutal violence found in other stories. Readers will eagerly devour Owen’s tale and look forward to its continuation.” — Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

“The ending of the book leaves plenty of room for the sequel, and readers will likely be intrigued enough to continue.” — School Library Journal

“A smart dystopian adventure packed with mind-blowing fantasy and characters you’ll love.” — Michael Grant, New York Times Bestselling Author of the Gone series

“The Lost Code will stop your heart with scenes of passion and power, as it draws you in to a group of kids who are the only hope in a dying world of artifice and desperation. What happens to them is like nothing you’ve ever read.” — Peter Lerangis, NYT Bestselling author of two books in the 39 Clues series, and co-author of Somebody, Please Tell Me Who I Am

“The broad strokes of conflict and characterization make this a movie-ready action flick at heart...an accessible entree to the dystopia trend.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

The broad strokes of conflict and characterization make this a movie-ready action flick at heart...an accessible entree to the dystopia trend.

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

The Lost Code will stop your heart with scenes of passion and power, as it draws you in to a group of kids who are the only hope in a dying world of artifice and desperation. What happens to them is like nothing you’ve ever read.

Peter Lerangis

The Lost Code will satisfy teens’ thirst for post-apocalyptic dystopian novels with just the right amount of suspense, adventure, science fiction, fantasy, and romance, but without the brutal violence found in other stories. Readers will eagerly devour Owen’s tale and look forward to its continuation.

Voice of Youth Advocates (VOYA)

A smart dystopian adventure packed with mind-blowing fantasy and characters you’ll love.

Michael Grant

The broad strokes of conflict and characterization make this a movie-ready action flick at heart...an accessible entree to the dystopia trend.

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

The broad strokes of conflict and characterization make this a movie-ready action flick at heart...an accessible entree to the dystopia trend.

The Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

Coming-of-age story meets conspiracy thriller at a summer camp in a post–climate-catastrophe world. During his first full day at Camp Eden Owen drowns. In the 10 minutes he's underwater before lifeguard (and Owen's crush) Lilly rescues him, he survives by sprouting gills. Camp Eden exists in a distant future wrecked so severely by global warming that it must be contained in climate-controlled BioDome. Owen's disastrous introduction to the camp is normal for him--he isn't a privileged full-time dome resident, but a kid who won a lottery to attend camp, socially awkward and physically weak. Lilly warns him not to reveal his gills to the staff and invites him into the counselor-in-training clique for secret swims with their shared mutations. Investigating the camp--why would letting the camp director know about the gills be dangerous?--leads to his discovery that the dome is close to failing, as well as hints at a larger scheme that will doom or save the world. The conspiracy hinges on Owen. Minor social conflicts fail to ramp up enough tension until the long-awaited main plot begins in earnest--more than halfway through--bringing high stakes. The plot suffers from the pacing, but it ends with a big finish. Between Owen, likable in his thoughtfully awkward way while evolving into a hero, and the lovingly crafted setting, Camp Eden offers summer escapism. (Science fiction. 11-17)

Kirkus Reviews