Green Books Campaign: Journey to Atlantis

This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

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Author: Philip Roy
Released: August 2009 by Ronsdale Press
Green Qualities: Published on recycled and FSC-certified paper
Copy Provided By: Publisher for Green Books Campaign
Summary from GoodReads:

In this sequel to his best-selling novel Submarine Outlaw from 2008, Alfred, the intrepid young submarine outlaw, once again sets out to sea in his homemade submarine. In Journey to Atlantis, Alfred and his crew (his dog Hollie and his second mate the seagull Seaweed) sail across the Atlantic and enter the Mediterranean in search of the fabled lost island of Atlantis. Alfred must be both practical and trust his premonitions on many occasions to stay safe on this ambitious and far-reaching adventure. From a daring rescue of drowning fishermen to becoming involved in a skirmish between Canadian coastguard ships and Spanish fishing trawlers, from escaping an exploding WWII sea mine to colliding with a partially submerged container filled with toys, from turning the chase on bumbling pirates to an unscheduled camel trek into the desert, Alfred's submarine voyage brings him closer and closer to the legendary island until one moonless night he finds himself a little too close for comfort.

This delightful novel begins with something I have always believed:

"The thing is, people have never stopped talking about it (Atlantis). That doesn't make sense. Why would people talk about something for so long if it never existed."

I must admit that I was very impressed with this novel. It was fast paced, and really fun to read. Al is a very insightful and curious lead character who seems to have this natural ability to get himself in (and out of) trouble. While some of his perils were a tad over the top, I still loved reading about them. Each event is full of suspense that will keep you on the edge of your seat. All in all, Roy creates a wonderful tale that is sure to delight any child, while teaching them a valuable lesson or two.