publisher: HarperCollins
date of publication: January 3, 2012
format: eGalley
pages: 268
source: Netgalley
Amazon / IndieBound / B&N
From Goodreads:
Since she’d been on the outside, she’d survived an Aether storm, she’d had a knife held to her throat, and she’d seen men murdered. This was worse.
Exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland—known as The Death Shop—are slim. If the cannibals don’t get her, the violent, electrified energy storms will. She’s been taught that the very air she breathes can kill her. Then Aria meets an Outsider named Perry. He’s wild—a savage—and her only hope of staying alive.
A hunter for his tribe in a merciless landscape, Perry views Aria as sheltered and fragile—everything he would expect from a Dweller. But he needs Aria’s help too; she alone holds the key to his redemption. Opposites in nearly every way, Aria and Perry must accept each other to survive. Their unlikely alliance forges a bond that will determine the fate of all who live under the never sky.
In her enthralling debut, Veronica Rossi sends readers on an unforgettable adventure set in a world brimming with harshness and beauty.
What I Thought
The year is off to a great start if Under the Never Sky is any indication. I just have to try whatever book of dystopian leanings that catches my eye. Under the Never Sky, I am glad to say, did not let me down. From the very first chapter, I was caught up and taken on a thrilling journey as Aria set out to find her mother and, in the process, became exiled from the only home she had ever known. The dual view storyline was lovely and was just the right way to give the full idea as to what was going on in the world at large. Though Aria and Perry are different in many ways, they have much more in common than they might at first think, a theme that really added a nice layer to the story at the forefront. This book had it all. My only regret is that I will have to wait an entire year to find out what happens next.
Aria was a character that I truly enjoyed watching as she grew. She started out as a sheltered, naive girl who was quite content to believe everything she had been told about the world outside the pods. Her initial interactions with Perry really showed the extent of her sheltering. I definitely felt for Perry as he dealt with her misconceptions about him (though, to be honest, Perry was quite the gruff character, at first). Her education in life on the outside world was everything from riveting to thrilling. Her reactions to something so simple as a rock was both sad and lovely. Rossi did an excellent job at playing to the idea that this girl had been living her life in a virtual world. As for Perry, the character development that he goes through is both the opposite and parallel to Aria's changes. He goes from being a gruff barbarian-type to being the epitome of strength and loyalty. Overall, the characters really made the book for me.
The settings for Under the Never Sky were a study in opposites. I found myself much preferring "The Death Shop" as a setting far more than I enjoyed Reverie. Reverie exuded sterility and blandness (which is pretty much the point), whereas The Death Shop, while dangerous, held much beauty and mystery. You never knew what would come up next while Aria and Perry made their way across the wilderness, which added a great layer of spontaneity and unpredictability to the story. I love nothing more than being taken by surprise and not given enough clues to figure out the outcome of the book too early. This book is a great example of just what it is that I like out of my books.
Under the Never Sky is one of the must-reads for January 2012. If you want a riveting storyline and enjoy dystopian societies, this is definitely a book you will want to check out. The added elements of atmospheric anomalies and people with advanced capabilities just make it all the more interesting. I highly recommend Under the Never Sky as a January acquisition. You'll want to read this sooner rather than later.
Obligatory legal statement: This eGalley was provided to me free of charge by the publisher via Netgalley. No monetary compensation was received in exchange for this fair and unbiased review.
No comments:
Post a Comment