Nere has never understood why she feels so much more comfortable and confident in water than on land, but everything falls into place when Nere learns that she is one of a group of kids who --unbeknownst to them -- have been genetically altered to survive in the ocean. These products of "The Neptune Project" will be able to build a better future under the sea, safe from the barren country's famine, wars, and harsh laws. But there are some very big problems: no one asked Nere if she wanted to be a science experiment, the other Neptune kids aren't exactly the friendliest bunch, and in order to reach the safe haven of the Neptune colony, Nere and her fellow mutates must swim through hundreds of miles of dangerous waters, relying only on their wits, dolphins, and each other to evade terrifying undersea creatures and a government that will stop at nothing to capture the Neptune kids . . . dead or alive. Fierce battles and daring escapes abound as Nere and her friends race to safety in this action-packed aquatic adventure.

Danger lurks beneath. . . . Genetically engineered to survive in the ocean, Nere and her friends are recovering from their treacherous journey to Safety Harbor, an undersea refuge founded by the scientists of the Neptune Project. But plenty of enemies prowl just outside the colony's boundaries, and when two of the children are kidnapped, Nere, her loyal dolphins, and the other Neptune kids must set out on an expedition even more perilous than their first. Tasked with infiltrating the kidnapper's high-tech undersea base, Nere soon discovers that rescuing the missing Neptune kids isn't all there is to her mission: the secret to saving the world's oceans is hidden somewhere deep inside this vast fortress, and she and her friends will have to risk everything to find it. With bloodthirsty shark mutates and savage kids roaming the corridors, will Nere and her companions find a way to save their friends, themselves, and their underwater world? The stakes couldn't be higher in this thrilling sequel to the award-winning The Neptune Project. Praise for The Neptune Project 2016-2017 Sunshine State Young Readers Award winner 2014-2015 Texas Bluebonnet Master List Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nominee Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year, 2014 "Holyoke keeps her prose well-pitched to her audience . . . this suspenseful, undersea dystopia should keep middle schoolers hooked." --Kirkus Reviews "The book revels in the beauty of the underwater world and the creatures that inhabit it. The relationship between the teenagers and the dolphins -- who actually become characters themselves-is especially well crafted. The Neptune Project will attract male and female readers." -- VOYA

The Neptune Project by Polly Holyoke is a brilliantly pacy survival story. Readers who loved The Hunger Games or Gone will be thrilled by it. Land is shrinking. The sea is rising. Time is running out. Nere has always felt at home in the sea. But she never imagined she'd have to leave the land behind forever, until she finds out she's part of the Neptune Conspiracy. She has been adapted to survive underwater. Under the careful watch of the enigmatic Dai, Nere is nominated to lead a group of kids across miles of ocean. Her survival skills will be put to the ultimate test. Guided by their faithful dolphin pod, they face the ocean's deadliest creatures, and close behind the government's savage dive team are determined to capture them, dead or alive . . . PRAISE FOR THE NEPTUNE CONSPIRACY: 'It takes a skillful author to bring readers into an unfamiliar world and make them feel secure. The detail has to be just right, without overpowering the story; the characters have to be grounded in reality, to give us something to identify with; and even the nonhuman creatures have to resonate warmth and personality. Polly Holyoke has done all this and more with her fabulous debut, The Neptune Project.' - reader, GOODREADS

In a compelling story of the installation and operation of U.S. bases in the Caribbean colony of Trinidad during World War II, Harvey Neptune examines how the people of this British island contended with the colossal force of American empire-building at a critical time in the island's history. The U.S. military occupation between 1941 and 1947 came at the same time that Trinidadian nationalist politics sought to project an image of a distinct, independent, and particularly un-British cultural landscape. The American intervention, Neptune shows, contributed to a tempestuous scene as Trinidadians deliberately engaged Yankee personnel, paychecks, and practices flooding the island. He explores the military-based economy, relationships between U.S. servicemen and Trinidadian women, and the influence of American culture on local music (especially calypso), fashion, labor practices, and everyday racial politics. Tracing the debates about change among ordinary and privileged Trinidadians, he argues that it was the poor, the women, and the youth who found the most utility in and moved most avidly to make something new out of the American presence. Neptune also places this history of Trinidad's modern times into a wider Caribbean and Latin American perspective, highlighting how Caribbean peoples sometimes wield "America" and "American ways" as part of their localized struggles.

Underwater explorer and journalist Eric Rayner hasnt written a word since his wife Sara died almost one year ago. Instead, hes been drowning in self-pity and alcohol since the crash of the Boeing 747 that took Saras life and that of 237 others. A marine biologist, she was traveling to Raja Ampat in Indonesia to study the sea life. It was the sea that cemented Eric and Saras relationship. Now, Eric only drinks and sleeps. But when Proteus Marine Research contacts him, he is intrigued. Th is mysterious marine research foundation located in Vero Beach, Florida, was founded by sixty-six-year-old Thomas Chandley, a cryptozoologist. Although skeptical, Eric learns about Chandleys unique connection to his late wife, and he agrees to become part of the Neptune project that will explore what might be the lost city of Atlantis. As Eric fi nds himself once again thrust beneath the surface of the sea in search of adventure among the diverse coral reefs, he learns that the real adventure lies in finding himself.

As the importance of the oceans to society grows, so does the need to understand their variation on many temporal and spatial scales. This need to understand ocean change is compelling scientists to move beyond traditional expeditionary modes of investigation. Observing systems will enable the study of processes in the ocean basins over varying timescales and spatial scales, providing the scientific basis for addressing important societal concerns such as climate change, natural hazards, and the health and viability of living and non-living resources along our coasts and in the open ocean. The book evaluates the scientific and technical readiness to move ahead with the establishment of a research-driven ocean observatory network, and highlights outstanding issues. These issues include the status of planning and development, factors that affect the timing of construction and installation, the cost and requirements for maintenance and operations, needs for sensor development and data management, the impact on availability of ships and deep submergence facilities, and the role of research-based observatories within national and international operational ocean observing systems being developed and implemented.