Title: “Under the
Never Sky”
Series: (Under
the Never Sky, #1)
Author: Veronica
Rossi
Publisher: Harper
Collins
Publication Date: February
7, 2012
Genre: YA,
Dystopian, Sci-Fi
Reviewed by: Books4Tomorrow
Source: Purchased
My star rating: 4/5
SUMMARY
WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.
DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.
Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.
Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.
If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.
DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.
Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.
Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.
If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.
REVIEW
Rarely
do I come across books with which I end up having a love-hate relationship. You
know those ones which you want to love and dive into a gush-fest about, but
however much you enjoyed it you just can’t overlook the things that bothered
you about the story? For me, this is one of those books. I was really looking
forward to reading this due to all the hype about it, and I’m definitely
excited that it has been optioned for film by Warner Bros, but I don’t see
myself reading it again.
It
started off really well. My interest in the story was cemented the minute Aria
was rescued by Perry, but what really intrigued me was the technology of the
realms and the Smarteye. These only get explored and explained much later in
the book, so by the end of Chapter two, I already had a dozen questions and
thus threw myself into the story, reading until my vision blurred over. I
needed answers and nothing was going to deter me from getting it. With all the
possibilities the realms and Smarteye offered, it sounded like an incredibly
exciting place to be, but when the author started explaining the workings of
these, I felt she glossed over it too much and I ended up with more questions
than I had before the explanations.
Aria
and Peregrine… Well, I’m really in two minds about them. I loved Aria’s
character and I loved Peregrine. Their characters were properly fleshed-out,
they were interesting, and it was clear the author spent a lot of time
establishing that connection between them and the reader. We are made privy to
their background, their emotions, and their thoughts, which helped me to
understand them and root for both of them. I especially liked Perry’s character
at the start of the book when he viewed Aria as someone who is a means to an
end. I loved that it wasn’t love at first sight and that their relationship
developed gradually while I was getting to know each of them. But for me, they
didn’t mesh well together as a couple. As lovely as the romance is between
them, I just didn’t feel it. I felt Aria would be more suited for Roar, as they
had a much more easygoing relationship with a natural feel to it with
friendship as a foundation, than what she has with Perry. That’s my opinion.
Secondary
characters who I hope to get to know better in the second book are Cinder,
Roar, Talon and Liv. It took me some time to warm up to Cinder (he freaked me
out the first few times I read about him), but once he started using his powers
and scared the heck out of the cannibals, I liked him more. I hope in the following
books his character will play a bigger role so I can find out what drove him
away from his home. Roar I liked from the start, and the easy camaraderie
between him and Perry was a joy to read. Not enough time was spent on Talon’s
character for me to really invest in him, so when he was abducted it didn’t
have much of an impact on me. He’s another character I’m hoping will get more
of the spotlight in the next book or the one thereafter, so I can establish
that connection with him as it seems he is an important character in the
development of the story. Liv is a character who only gets mentioned in this
book, but I already like her. This is one of the reasons why I’d want to read
book two.
Halfway
through there were a couple of chapters where I felt the story was starting to
lose my interest, as it was dragging along, but then it picked up again nearing
the last ten or so chapters. Regarding world building I think the author did a
swell job, but at the same time I feel there were some elements she could’ve
explained a little more to really give me a feel for the characters’
surroundings. Overall, I really did
enjoy this book. It’s something completely different from other dystopian
novels and it set my imagination on fire. It is filled with suspense and a few
shocking betrayals, as well as otherworldly elements. The author maintained a
good balance between a primitive dystopian world and the futuristic technology
of the pods, which should be enough to get any sci-fi fans interested. Even at
times when there were a lull between certain chapters, focus continually
remained on character development imperative to the balance of the story, so I
couldn’t (and didn’t want to) skim over it.
This really
is a fantastic book and the writing is superb. I’m happy I gave it a chance. I
want to read the second book, but because of the points I mentioned here I’m a
little hesitant. On the other hand though, I’m really curious to get answers to
all the questions I still have, so time will have to tell whether I’ll read Through the Ever Night. My
recommendation is for readers who love romance, fans of dystopian novels and
sci-fi, and bookworms with heaps of patience with slow-paced plots to give this
book a go. Although I’m not sure at this stage whether I’ll read the follow-up
to this book, I’d love to read more by Veronica Rossi.
READ more REVIEWS
Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
has 2856 reviews on Goodreads. Read it here.
PURCHASE LINKS
ABOUT the AUTHOR
Veronica
Rossi is the author of Under the Never Sky, the first book in a
post-apocalyptic trilogy for young adults. She was born in Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil. Growing up, she lived in several countries and cities around the world,
finally settling in Northern California with her husband and two sons. She completed
undergraduate studies at UCLA and then went on to study fine art at the
California College of the Arts in San Francisco. When not writing, she enjoys
reading, painting, and counting down the minutes until she can get back to
making up stories about imaginary people.
AUTHOR LINKS
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