"Under the Never Sky" Review

Date Published: January 3, 2012

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Number of Pages: 384

Publisher: HarperCollins 

First Thoughts:

So this didn’t turn out to be the book I thought it was going to be. I was actually disappointed in the end…this book had so much potential; the ideas and the world was there but I felt let down in the end…like the author wasn’t able to truly grasp the world and tell the story that was already there. It was really hard to get into the book from the first page but after a while it started to become better but it never really met my expectations. I guess this book just wasn’t meant to be for me but hopefully you’ll enjoy it more than I did.

Plot:

So as I mentioned earlier it was hard for me to get into this book from the very beginning, I don’t know why it took me almost a hundred pages to even grab my interest…I think part of the problem was that I couldn’t really connect well with Aria.  But I also think it was the way the plot building as well. Things seemed to be rushed or dragged out…some of the ideas were really strange almost to the point of too strange. Some of the concepts are really cool, like the dystopian world, it was in its own right pretty creative and cool but I didn’t like some of the new rules of the world, the powers some of the characters had were just a little ridiculous and not that fun to really read. But I did like the sky and the storms they created; not something you see in an average YA book. And I did enjoy some of the scenes between some of the outsiders; some of them were quite a riot! But I didn’t enjoy the ending; I felt it was rushed and almost too dramatic…though the very last scene was pretty interesting and it’s obvious the outcome so as far as cliffhangers there isn’t really any. The plotline was okay but just had a few snags along the way. And as far as the pace, the beginning was slow going, the middle was faster and the ending was even faster than the middle, so overall the pace was semi-fast. I didn’t really enjoy the plot all that much but it wasn’t as terrible as it could have been; there’s still potential for this series, let’s just hope in the next book things change.

Romance:

Okay so there was romance in this book and it wasn’t all that different from any other ordinary YA book but at least in this book I enjoyed one of the characters (Perry). And I liked the challenges they had to go through but it wasn’t that original and therefore didn’t really up my opinion of the book in any way. So in the end the romance was okay and it didn’t take up the main conflict but it was still unoriginal and lacked a certain spark.

Characters:

The main character Aria was a very unlikeable character to me; she had a lot of attitude that just pushed me away from her. She was hard to connect with and she really just had a mindset that didn’t change much until much later on. But she did have personality and I have to give the author credit for creating such a lively character. And as far as the other characters some of them were easier to like and connect with and I really enjoyed some of the more minor characters sense of humor and personality…I kind of wish I could have seen more of them. I didn’t see any unnecessary characters; each of them had a place in the story. So overall this aspect of the book wasn’t too bad, just wish I could have connected better with the main character.

Transformation of the Character:

There were a few transformations in this book and they were definitely needed. They weren’t that big or anything but they were a minor shift of the characters thoughts and how they responded to certain situations. I still think there’s a lot more room for growing in the books to come for this series. So I guess this aspect was good and helped the overall health of the book.

Description:

I did enjoy the description of the world; especially the sky. The author really knew how to pain attention to detail and I was able to really feel some of the emotions of the book. There were some really good scenes that the description alone really made the book worth the effort. Some of the best scenes were in the caves…they were detailed and really essential for the book. I loved the description of the landscapes; at some points in the book it really brought out the senses…I could really picture each scene that was carefully laid out. I didn’t think there was too much description; just enough to open up the readers’ imagination and allow them to see this new and somewhat disturbing world. I also enjoyed the color choices the author used; it really helped with setting up each scene and allows some of the symbols of the book to stand out. Also the description was really well used in each scene; it helped explain what was happening without words. So overall I really enjoyed this aspect of the book.

Style:

This was written in third person and that helped broaden up the perspective of the world and allowed the reader to see exactly what was happening in each scene. But I also think writing in third person hurt the book more, I think I would have been able to connect better with Aria if it was in her view; we would be able to really see in her mind. This book was also in different POV’s, I thought it really allowed the reader to understand what was happening, I agree with the author in switching back and forth; it really opened up the view of the world and characters. As far as the writing itself it was good but at times at little sketchy but overall somewhat easy to read.  Overall the style was okay just needed a few tweaks.

Quote of the book:

“A flash of blue lit up the distance. Aether dropped from the sky, whirling and twisting downward in a funnel. It struck the earth with a tremor that rattled the ground beneath her. Frenzied light spread across the empty desert. But it wasn’t empty. A human figure charged toward her.”

Goodreads Summary:

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.

Last Thoughts:

I would recommend this to YA readers, I really believe that this book had some great potential and this book would probably be better to other readers. This book just wasn’t for me…I just had a hard time connecting with the main character and when that happens it really just made the book harder to read. Would I be willing to give the second book of this series a try? Sure, I’m always open for second chances and who knows, perhaps in the next book I will finally be able to connect with Aria…maybe.

My Rating: