RETURN TO ATLANTIS

Ex-Atlanteans make a desperate bid to return to their hidden home in the Bermuda Triangle after finding nothing but cold hearts and violence in Denver.

Shortly after leading an Escape From Atlantis (2021) with her cousin, Alfie, and a small group of formerly human island residents who were transformed into talking animals, Riley is regretting her flight. This is partly because her companions are permanently stuck hiding from suspicious authorities in her mom’s house; partly because her former school friends have turned mean, cruelly ostracizing and bullying secretive new student Jill for being ragged and unwashed; and partly because a vicious punk’s terrifying assault during a rare nighttime outing has escalated into vengeful stalking. More worrisomely, the longer Riley and her companions are away from Atlantis, the more mysteriously ill they are becoming. Violent events spur a hasty departure for Florida with parentally abandoned Jill and her five siblings in tow. But Atlantis, once finally reached, turns out to be far from the utopian community of Riley’s rosy memories: Hardly have the arrivals settled in than she takes on the role of savior, surviving a murder attempt before insisting on critical reforms. O’Hearn assumes readers will be familiar with the opener, but though the pacing sometimes drags in this long sequel, she continues to keep both the issues and the characterizations simple—and adds a cute baby unicorn to the White-presenting human cast and large menagerie.

A second volume that drags a little but will please returning fans.