Under The Never Sky Review

Under The Never Sky

Veronica Rossi

Harper Collins

January 2012

4/5

Quotes:

“People are more than emotions. People have thoughts and reasons for doing things.”  

“She looked up. “A world of nevers under a never sky.”
She fit in well then, he thought. A girl who never shut up.”  

"People can be cruelest to those they love."

"If there was no fear, how could there be comfort? Or courage?"

“It's hard to follow a person's logic if you don't know how they feel.”

Goodreads Description:

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.

I've heard many great things about this trilogy but I wasn't sure if I would like it. The only dystopian YA I've read is The Hunger Games and Divergent. This one actually came out before the first Divergent book, but still, I wasn't sure if I could handle the heavy and complex subject matter. I've been reading a lot of YA contemporary books lately that have been much lighter, so this was a pretty huge jump from that. However, reading this has given me the chance to fully understand what all the hype has been about.  

This book has a rather complicated plot that honestly is difficult to explain. There's a lot to this dystopian world and many different tribes. Each tribe has many different strengths and abilities that can be hard to summarize in just a paragraph or so. It's worth picking up the book for yourself if you've somehow missed this book and haven't read it yet. It's not a light book and it might take you awhile to read it so you can take everything in about the characters, tribes, and other important details.

Aria was a strong female character with a good head on her shoulders. She's constantly fighting for what she believes in and is as resourceful as possible when it comes to staying alive. Although Perry helps save her life and keep her safe, it never seemed as if Aria was a damsel in distress who needed protecting. Perry and Aria needed each other and I loved both of their personalities as individuals. I also loved Roar, who is Perry's best friend and he is in love with his missing sister that he's trying to find. I was fascinated by Roar's love for Liv and I'm glad that they have a short book of their own so we can learn more about them as a couple. Even though we didn't get to see all that much of him, I found Talon to be an adorable character. He's Perry's nephew and I loved the protection and obvious love he had for the little boy. Cinder was also a fascinating character. Even though he also wasn't in it very much, his role was extremely important. It takes awhile to warm up to him but in the end he's actually a pretty great character.

I was a huge fan of the relationship between Perry and Aria. Most of the appeal comes from the fact that it was far from being insta love. The two actually disliked each other in the beginning but slowly grew to like one another. I loved getting to watch them grow together as they figure out how to stay alive as they fight to find the two people each of them care about. There's not much to say about this couple that hasn't already been said so I'm just not even going to bother.

This was a brilliantly clever and creative book from start to finish. It had a deep and tremendously complicated plot that was beyond difficult to fully uncover, and many questions were left unanswered that will learn more about in the next two books. However, this was definitely a fascinating read and I'm glad I finally decided to read it.