Review: Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

8 December, 2011 Reviews 2 comments

Review: Under The Never Sky by Veronica RossiUnder the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
Series: Under the Never Sky #1
Published by HarperCollins Children's Books on January 3rd 2012
Pages: 374
Genres: Sci-Fi, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover
Source: NetGalley
Amazon Good BooksBook Depository
Goodreads
four-stars

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.

Sometimes your book reading experience comes down to one single factor: Do you like the MC?

That character can make or break a book.

Name the biggest praise and the biggest complaint about J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye.  If you said they’re both Holden Caulfield then you get the gold star.

This book was teetering on a precipice for me.  It could either land back on solid ground or go toppling off into the deep end.  Eventually, the main characters, Aria and Perry, are what stacked it back to being a great read.

There’s a lot to like about Rossi’s futuristic dystopian novel.  The world building is fascinating and vivid, yet simplistic enough for most audiences to grasp reasonably well.  The writing is fair enough and I felt that it was reasonably tight and serviceable. It wasn’t a perfect novel but I feel that it achieved what it was meant to and that was inspiring me to invest in Aria and Perry’s story.

Mostly I’m just impressed with Rossi because she clearly is a badass.

I can just imagine how her meeting with the editor went:

“Ms. Rossi, thank you for coming.  We love your first copy but we’re concerned about this Aether thing.  What is it?  Where did it come from?  How does it work?”

Rossi sits back in her chair and kicks her feet up onto the editor’s table.  She pulls out a raw falcon egg and starts eating it.

“So?” she asks between bites.

“Well, you never clarify how it works?  Why it’s there?  How did it come to be there?”

Rossi shrugs casually.  “Meh.  I don’t give a shit. It’s there.  YA takes it for granted that a 108 year old vampire would fall in love with a teenager.  They’ll figure out this Aether shit. They have google.”

“But-” the editor tries to continue.

Rossi pins the editor with a withering gaze.  “I could devote ten boring pages to giving some lame-ass sciency explanation of the Aether or I could add in 20% more awesome.  Also, I know how to falcon punch.  I learned it from the mother of this egg I stole before I gave a right hook and uppercut to a shark.”

The editor decides that surrender is the better part of valor and everyone learns an important lesson that day. Especially the wild life.

The End.

So basically, I like this book, and even if Rossi does eat raw falcon eggs,I like her characters and I like her style.

And hopefully you will too.  If you know what’s good for you.

Kat Kennedy

Kat Kennedy

Co-blogger at Cuddlebuggery
Kat Kennedy is a book reviewer and aspiring author in the Young Adult genre. She reviews critically but humorously and get super excited about great books. Find her on GoodReads.
Kat Kennedy

2 Responses to “Review: Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi”

  1. France

    Dystopian futures are all the rage right now in the literary world, and Rossi¿s novel adds new depth and imagination to the trend. "Under the Never Sky" is a new must read for any fan of fantasy or YA fiction. Disclosure: I received my copy of this book free from Epic Reads. However, this had no impact on my opinion of the novel or my review.

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