The Neptune Challenge

The Neptune Project #2

by Polly Holyoke

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 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 Project2016-2017 Sunshine State Young Readers Award winner 2014-2015 Texas Bluebonnet Master ListMaryland Black-Eyed Susan Book Award nomineeBank 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

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia, Middle Grade, Fantasy, Young Adult, Romance, Adventure

352 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2015

About the author

Polly Holyoke is the author of adventurous fiction for kids. SKYRIDERS, her new series about brave young couriers on their talking flying horses, along with its sequel THE SKY KING, are available now from Viking Children's Books. SKYRIDERS was named one of Bank Street's Best Children's Books of 2024. Her books published by Disney/Hyperion include THE NEPTUNE CHALLENGE (2015) and THE NEPTUNE PROJECT (2013). They have been named to state reading lists in TX, MD, FL, HI and OH. THE NEPTUNE PROJECT won Florida's Sunshine State Young Reader's Award. The last book in the Neptune Trilogy, THE NEPTUNE PROMISE, is available on Amazon and BN.

A former teacher, Polly loves doing school visits and conducting writing workshops.

She currently lives in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Learn more at www.pollyholyoke.com.

Reviews

[Deana Dick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the author and Texas Bloggers for Texas Authors for an honest review.

After being genetically altered to to survive in the ocean, Nere, her family and others have succeed in living in a place called Safety Harbor. Nere has a special bond with the Dolphins and are a vital part of her life. Everything seems to be going smooth in this new enchanted place she calls home. But tranquility is not to last for long.

A kidnapping has occurred and Nere and her friends want to go rescue her friends. But there is one very big obstacle standing in their way. They must first pass an intense test called the SPA or Simulated Patrol Challenge. This is a mock trial to see how they handle a mission while under extreme pressure. Can they pass the test? Will the challenge be to much for them?

As the team discovers why their friends were kidnapped, there is a sense of urgency to rescue them and stop someone from developing his own species that could be so powerful, they could take over the sea. Nere will encounter deadly sharks , and other creatures that will do anything to stop the team.

The author has written a great undersea adventure that has you on the edge of your seat. The action is fast and leaves you wanting to read faster so you can continue the journey. I am amazed at the detail of the sea and the majestic creatures the author vividly describes. As I read the book, I felt myself in a tank watching fish swim by and then Nere and her team racing furiously past me as they take on their biggest threat to their world. As you come to the last few pages you begin to hope that there will be another book to continue the adventure you have been in.

I don't usually read science fiction books and tend to overlook them when picking out books to read. My opinion of science fiction has now been changed thanks to Polly Holyoke. Thank you for introducing me to a genre that I now have a fondness for. I will be eagerly be awaiting another book from Polly.

[Pam Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fantastic, fast paced adventure from Polly Holyoke. It kept me on the edge of my seat. Surely, Mrs. Holyoke, there will be a third book. Right?! Looking forward to sharing it with all my kids!

A special thank you to Mrs. Holyoke for giving away copies at TLA before the release date. It was the highlight of the conference for me.

[Cathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bravo Poly Holyoke on a fantastic sequel to Neptune Project! This was a fast paced read that kept me riveted to the book! I can't wait to share this book with my friends and students!

[Maymay · Rating 5 out of 5]

there’s just something about this book/series that makes it so addictive to me. why am i so invested even after like six years?? how do i still find all of the characters so enjoyable?? i need to study for finals but i will not bc i need to reread the third book immediately

[julia L · Rating 5 out of 5]

guilty pleasure

[Scott S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book The Neptune Challenge by Polly Holyoke is a riveting story of Nere Hanson saving her friends. The book starts with Nere, a teenage girl, friends being kidnapped. Nere and the remainder of her friends plan to set off on a dangerous journey to find her friends, but first she must pass a test showing she is capable of taking care of herself. Holyoke’s main message is if you can take it you can make it. Nere goes through many challenges throughout the book, hence the title, The Neptune CHALLENGE, but she is able to take it knowing that if she makes she will save her friends. Nere also realizes she cannot give up on people that believe in her, especially when she is their only hope. If she were to do this she may as well leave them to die. After reading this book I took away that You should always be their for your friends and never abandon them. This book will not really impact our society, but it can educate everyone who reads it, and give them a better sense of friendship.

The Neptune Challenge is filled with action, moral messages, and instances of Nere over coming adversities. One example of action is when Nere and her friends are being ambushed, “I grip my speargun tightly and ignore the blood pounding in my ears as we swim up into the entry bay” (108). This depicts action which is very common in this book. There is rarely zero action per chapter, and I rarely wanted tot put the book down. Overcoming adversity and a moral message is shown when Nere is selected to rescue her friends, “I hold my breath as I wait for her to read out the list, Thom,Lena,Tobin,Penn,Kalli,Ree,Rohan,Janni,Seth, and nere please report to the briefing cave”(70). This demonstrates Nere was able to over come this adversity to be selected. She had to give it everything she had to make it. This also displays that she is willing to fight for her friends, at any cost. Nere overall is a model friend for people in our world today, she does not give up on them, and she believes in them. I would recommend this as a must read for anyone, especially people who like sea life.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable sequel. The first book led well into this book. Even the villains were fleshed out and rounded characters. Everything ties up at the end, but not too neatly. The ultimate villain gets away. I like how the dangerous mutants in the previous book were the allies and friends in this one.

Nere's relationship with her father was realistic. I like how things aren't just wonderful between them even at the end. Relationships are hard, and when trust is damaged so badly, it takes time to repair them.

[cupidsvivace · Rating 5 out of 5]

yassss <3

holyoke has blessed us again! time to reread the third book!!!

[ElsaMakotoRenge · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid dystopian sci-fi novel. I remember checking The Neptune Project out from the library when it was brand-new LOL. I had read it since then, but not since 2018 I believe. It was fun to revisit Nere and her friends again in this installment, but the negatives I thought the first one had remain here: far too many characters and not enough depth for most of them to actually connect with any besides Nere herself. And I still think many of the names are silly/ridiculous haha. (Whitey? Sham? seriously...?)

I still enjoyed The Neptune Challenge though. Would recommend if you’re looking for a fast-paced “older MG” underwater dystopian sci-fi book. 3.5 stars rounded to 4.

[ImFromJaJaLand · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went downhill fast after the first book

[Niki Symkoviak · Rating 5 out of 5]

me simping for dai the whole time may or may not be a big reason why I gave this 5 stars

[Nicole Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought this was a great book. I loved finding out more about Kuron and his neck of the woods. I want to find out what happened to Idaine, though. Did Kuron kill her or what? I loved meeting all the new characters. I thought it was interesting how they were all part different animals. I really liked Shadow. I thought Dai being part shark was really obvious, I don't know why Nere was surprised. I hope that they will be able to use the C-plankton. I REALLY WANT TO SEE CAM IN BOOK THREE! If there is a third book, I think the Neptune legacy would be a great title. I also think she should write a prequel about Mark and Gillian called The Neptune Theory. That would be really interesting.

[Miranda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't like this one as well as the first. I'm not a big fan of Lo/High books (I know they work great with some readers, but they drive me crazy), and this reads similar to one of those. I didn't get a lot of character developement, and the action didn't quite work for me. Overall, I know there are those who will really enjoy this, but it wasn't for me.

[Cade Bingham · Rating 5 out of 5]

I haven't read the full book but I have read the sample for financial reasons ( I'm 11 years old ) so if you know how to read it for free online, tell me. is very fastpaced and I loved the neptune project so hopefully the sequel is better than the prequel

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books ever but will never forgive the author for killing Mako. RIP.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wish there had been a little more backstory before launching into this one, because I was fuzzy on the details of the last one. I remember it being hard to keep up with the myriad of underwater kids, but this was just impossible. I was completely lost at the very beginning of the book and knew I had no hope of keeping all of them straight. There are way too many people here. We had enough with the Neptune group, now the Safety Harbor and if that wasn’t enough the Atlantea.

Using blankets underwater doesn’t make any sense. There’s some things I just don’t see having a purpose underwater.

It’s so annoying the way Nere worries that people don’t like her. Janni, this girl at Safety Harbor, isn’t nice to her and Nere is wondering what’s up with her. I’m like who cares, you have more things to worry about than being Ms. Popular. Sometimes she’ll say she doesn’t care about it, or she has other things to worry about, but why bring it up in the first place if you truly don’t care what she thinks? We had Lena and her bullcrap the last book, she was mad at Nere because Nere’s mom changed her or something. We’ve already been down the road of a girl being mad at her, but here we are in the second book with another girl having problems with Nere because of who she is. The petty little feelings have no place here.

I can’t believe after everything they’ve went through they’re at this institution following orders and going to class like it’s school and teaching people to handle dolphins. Her brother James is injured and needs help and she’s saying please to her dad to let them go. Janni says she needs to inspect their spear guns and sea packs before they go. “Thom, Tobin, and I glanced at one another. Does she really think we don’t know how to take care of our equipment? James might not have time for this! Biting back a protest, I hand her my speargun.”
Why bite back the protest? Stand up for yourself. It’s stuff like this that drives me crazy in these books. She lets people say whatever they want about her, do whatever they want, and she doesn’t say anything. And if she does say anything it’s so lame, not a putdown at all but something just pathetic.

For example:
“Nere Hanson, tell your daddy that if he wants your sweet little friends back alive, he has to send a bunch of you to Atlantea to get them. Ta-ta for now. Oh, and by the way, Dai says hi.
Her casual mention of Dai makes me more furious. “Don’t do this!” I shout at Wasp mentally. “Don’t take them. They’ll be so frightened.”

That’s her reply to Wasp. And it’s a very smart one, on top of being very strong, telling your enemy that they’ll be afraid. Do you expect her to care? That was such a wimpy and stupid thing to say.

Bria and Robry are kidnapped by Wasp, that girl with the stinging tentacles that Dai knew. Her dad says his staff are planning a rescue mission. The Sea Rangers are going to plan for a few days and they’re going to conduct it. “The moment Dad finishes with this announcement, my friends and I look at one another in dismay. I know they all to be on that rescue mission as much as I do, but we aren’t Sea Rangers.”

Then just give up, you big baby. Are you just going to listen to their rules? How freakin annoying to have a wimpy character that follows all the rules. That’s the most annoying thing about young main characters; parents are an issue and they have to do what they’re told and go through the parents before they can do anything.

I liked the simulated patrol challenge and how they handled themselves being tested to become Sea Rangers. I thought that was a really cool idea that this scenario was simulated where they had fake-injured people they were trying to save while avoiding the Marine Guard and getting out of the channel before the charges were thrown. Dav and Rohan are pretending to be hurt, and it was funny when Nere said that Dav was complaining about his arm but they all ignored him. They used the sonar disrupter of Penn’s and Nere read the thoughts of the mock Marine Guard to see how they could escape. With the help of the dolphins they avoided detection.

“We don’t want to hurt anyone, but we’re taking Robry with us,” I tell them all.
“Oh really?” Wasp looks bored. “Just how do you plan to accomplish that?”
“For starters, that boy with the white hair is going to let go of Robry, and if he doesn’t, we’ll shoot him.”

That started out pretty lame, telling them she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but I liked the last line. There needs to be more strength like that from her.

Mako says “Hey, Ice, this is Nere, right? I don’t get why you’re so gone on her.” He says she’s just okay looking though, and he guesses he likes her eyes, they’re the color of a clear sky and her yellow hair is kind of pretty. Thanks for the reminder of what she looks like, I had no idea.

When Mako takes her to his greenhouse after 20 minutes she gets dizzy and hot. He says “Ice’d kill me if I let something happen to you.”

Idk what “he’s gone” or “she’s gone” is supposed to mean. Mako or someone says Dai is gone on Nere, someone says Wasp is gone on Dai. Wth does that even mean? There’s about a hundred other ways to say this that would sound so much better, namely he likes you that is very normal and actually makes some semblance of sense. Idk if it’s the author’s attempt to sound young or if this is an old expression but ain’t workin.

I liked how Dai distracted one of the shark kids from hurting Tobin by challenging him to an arm wrestle. Dai got hurt and couldn’t use his arm that day.

Dai had to deliver a message to Safety Harbor, and made Shadow and them promise to look out for her, which was nice, but I actually got sick of the fact that Nere constantly needed to be protected and helped. Everyone was helping her out, she was always calling out to someone to help her and just waiting around for them to do something and didn’t do one thing for herself. Wasp locks her up in a closet knowing she’s claustrophobic and Tobin volunteers to stay with her. He holds her and Nere sleeps with her head on his chest. She gets jealous of Shadow, when Tobin agrees that she’s beautiful and nice. And I’m like what are you doing getting jealous of another girl, you don’t need every guy out there wanting you. You get one guy and that’s it. When Dai gets back he busts the door open and sees them together. He’s mad and hurt and leaves them, even after Wasp stings Tobin.

After that it got really annoying, they go along with what his dad wants, going into the submarine, Nere lets everyone else do the work while she stands there waiting. I hated that the author had Mako die, and Ocho lost an arm. I didn’t agree with the death at all. If anyone should’ve died it should’ve been the bad guys. It was so lame, there was no big fight, the Sea Rangers blow the place up. It’s clear that Dai wasn’t dead, he actually comes back at the end of the book bringing what little tension there was to an end. They don’t touch or kiss or say anything romantic or meaningful either. He asks if he’s welcome, she says yeah, takes his hand and is going to show him around. Really great stuff. There wasn’t nearly enough interaction between Nere and Dai. It was so tame. He kisses her before he goes back to get her dad but there’s no detail. The author has this need to match everyone up and couple everyone off, her brother James likes Roni, Rad likes Ree, everyone has someone, except for Nere who has Tobin and Dai liking her and yet is worthy of neither. She is such a baby and is one of the weakest main characters I’ve ever read about.


It was so predictable, when they would be attacked, that Kuron is Dai’s dad, that Wasp likes Dai. There were so few surprises in here, and the writing being so simple just made it worse. It's not an enjoyable read, it's very juvenile. I'm way too old to be reading this, but I thought I could stand it because of the promise of a little romance from the first book. If I would've known this would have none of that I wouldn't have bothered reading. I kept reading to find out what would happen, but they never got together. I couldn't picture anyone, their hair, eye, skin color, etc. was not given. I couldn't picture the skimmers they use with the handlebars or something, I really didn't get a visual on anything and certainly didn't understand how their underwater world works, what with sea toilets and everything. What distinguishes a sea toilet from a regular toilet, aside from it being in the sea? You can't just call a toilet a sea toilet and leave it at that. And the juvenile names really brought it down further, Whitey because someone is a great white shark. I mean, the level totally needs to be upped here.

Nere was always crying or too close to crying. Her first night there she “bursts into tears” Then 3 more times she either wants to “burst into tears,” about to “burst into tears,” and actually does “burst into tears.” Every time she cried the author described it as “burst into tears.” Find another way to address crying instead of using the same phrase every single time. Burst into tears. Burst into tears. Burst into tears. Burst into tears. Isn’t that annoying?

There were so many times when Nere should've displayed an emotion, but made herself bury it down and just went along with whatever else someone had planned. It drove me crazy the way she had no backbone. For ex:

Pg. 16 “Biting back a protest, I hand her my speargun.”
Pg. 45 “I swallow my rising frustration.”
Pg. 48 “Fighting back an angry reply, I try to focus on her words.”
Pg. 58 “Gulping down by disappointment, I lead my friends away.”
Pg. 145 “Seething, I stifle an urge to hit her.”

It also annoyed me the way she said ‘Kay. Idk if the author was trying to sound like a young teenager, or what, but it came off wrong to me. “Rohan meets my gaze. “I say we go for it. The way shredders react to blood, I don’t know how we’ll get past them without a fight.”
“’Kay,” I say.

“Dai looks at me. “There’s something I’d like to show you down there.”
“’Kay, I’ll tell everyone.”
Is that something you say ‘kay to? And you idiot, you say that he’s clueless, how clueless could you get? He clearly wanted to be alone.

“I know you’ll like what I want to show you down here.”
“’Kay.”

“I can’t use my speed against him while I’m dragging you around out here.”
“’Kay.”

“And she’s cute,too.”
“I hadn’t noticed,” James says with such a straight face, I crack up.
“’Kay, well, I really need to talk to Dad.”
Why would you say ‘kay there? That doesn’t even make sense. And stop freaking saying ‘kay.

Kay just sounds like you’re responding to someone that asked you to pick milk up at the store. And I don't even know her age! I had no idea how old she was, I know she had a birthday in the last one but the author never deigned to remind readers the age of their main character. What an oversight.

[Emily Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read was the Neptune challenge by Polly Holyoke. This is the second book of the Neptune Project series. The main character is Nere and her friends that she meets along the way. This book is about these kids who were genetically engineered in a way so they would be able to live under the water. These kids have already escaped the government swimming thousands of miles of water to their Safety Harbor or a place that they will live. They have gone through many difficult tasks facing ocean animals and human mutants that are like them but not controlled.
Once they get to the Safety Harbor they aren’t really safe as two of their people got taken away from sea mutants kind of like them. The Neptune kids go through tests to go into the team that goes off to search for them. They bring their loyal dolphins which Nere can talk to which helps them look out for animals and people ahead of them. As they head over on their journey they have a plan to steal a scientific secret that could save the world and oceans. This could help from not overheating and killing off the plants and all their food in the oceans. And as they go through many new daunting tasks, they meet new people and who they can trust and who they cannot.
I would recommend this book to anyone who likes action and realistic fiction. This is one of those books that you can not put down. Polly Holyoke does a good job of creating the characters throughout the book and making you feel what they are going through with her words. This book will always keep you on your feet because eat chapter has you nervous not know what's going to happen. And she makes it very realistic in a way by being descriptive this really helps form an amazing picture for the book. Her word choice is good at describing how they travel miles and mile throughout the sea. I didn’t really dislike anything about the book, I enjoyed it very much.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

*Spoilers*

I felt like this series was trying very hard to be the Hunger Games, and it certainly felt that way in some instances. In fact, because of that, I've wanted very badly to enjoy this series, but I won't be continuing it. Sadly. Despite the strong similarities to the Hunger Games and Dark Life, it fell flat.

I dislike how YA authors insist on glamorizing borderline abusive relationships. Dai was aggressive with Nere and nearly hurt her in the first book and all throughout that book and this one, he invades her privacy even after she tells him not to, time and time again. This is not a good example to youth and this type of relationship needs to be done away with in YA.

I never truly felt the terror of the kids, which is something you need in order to feel connected to a book of this genre. Even when my favorite character died, I didn't really feel all that sad. It was more disappointing than anything because now I have one less reason to enjoy the book.

The story had such promise, but it didn't live up to my expectations.

[Candy_ Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

Admito que esta séquela me decepcionó. Si bien me gustaron mucho los nuevos personajes, los aspectos que hicieron que me gustara el primer libro no estuvieron presente en este. La resiliencia de Nere y su capacidad de liderazgo natural simplemente desaparecía cada vez más a medida que avanzaba la historia, si bien al final Nere si tuvo resiliencia pues no dejó que la cambiara Atlantea a lo largo del libro nunca tomó esas decisiones astutas como líder que la caracterizaron en el primer libro, y llegó al punto de solo esperar que Dai la salvara y protegiera; fue como si esa fortaleza interna ante el peligro en The Neptune Project ya no la tuviera.

Otra cosa que también falló fue ese sentido de aventura y peligro, después de todo cuando las amenazas se repiten una y otra vez sin algún tipo de cumplimiento se pierde ese sentido y ya las situaciones no parecen realmente peligrosas.

En verdad hubiera sido una historia maravillosa si Polly la hubiera manejado de otra forma.

[Stacy-ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly? A sequel that I also consider 5 stars is amazing. The suspense, the adventure, bits of angsty romance, all is great. My only complaint: Didn't Dai already mention who his father was in the first book? Was definitely confused by the "hurt surprise" in this second book at a revelation I thought we already knew about. A the love triangle is super cheesy at times, but I like the resolution here and the new additions. Hoping the third one is a solid end. You don't get much action above sea so let's see.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a good book because it is how Nere and here friends suvive in the ocean. They come across other people from other groups and doge potroll people that are trying to kill them. When they do make it to her dad's colony where they will live the rest of her life she is happy to see her dad. She had missed him and so it is a happy part of the book. This book does leave off at a cliff hanger.

[Meredith Fowler · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored this book. I absolutely LOVED the first one, it's one of my favourite books of all time, and this sequel definitely lived up to my expectations. I loved everything about this book. The characters, the relationships between the characters, the descriptions and writing style. Polly Holyoke is an amazing author, and her and her books are so high up on my favourites. I can't wait to read The Neptune Promise!

[Elizabeth · Rating 2 out of 5]

The first book in the series was good. Not the most amazing book ever, but good. It had an interesting concept, some decent action, and a compelling enough plot that I wanted to read the second book.

This one was just BORING. It took 200 pages for anything to happen, I didn't feel any connection to most of the characters, and I was really ready for it to end well before it did. Two stars for the fact that none of the main characters died. I think I'm done with this series.

[Emaline · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Neptune Challenge is the most amazing , creative and suspenseful book I have ever read. Seriously, people who live under the water in the future, no other plot can get more creative and unique than that.The writing is written in the perfect way to add on to the suspense. The Neptune Challenge is a awesome book with a twist of romance for all ages.

[CaitlinTobin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exciting sequel to The Neptune Project. It can be easy to mix up some of the characters in the sequel, but overall, a fun read.

Set in the future after climate change has heated the Earth's temperatures and water levels have risen, a group of teens has been scientifically engineered to live under water. Great choice for middle or high school students who like dystopian/futuristic literature.

[Cassie Bolton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE THIS BOOK ITS JUST AS GOOD AS THE FIRST WHICH IS RARE AND IM SO GRATEFUL FOR THAT LOVE LOVE LOVE EVERYTHING YESYESYES all the characters are so real and unique but they all fit together and it is the most beautiful series ever

[rach · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m just devouring this series. I really like these books. I’m so obsessed with the telepathy and the whole plot in general. This was so good after the set up of the first book. I’m excited to see how the trilogy ends. I love Dai.

[Jia Yin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read. This is my second read, and I found it as captivating as the first. One thing that was a bit irritating was how many characters were introduced but not really talked about, so I couldn't really get to know them. 4.5 stars.

[Ashleyd · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Science Fiction/Fantasy (Hopefully)
Ages: 11-14

[Christa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved It