Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆ 7/10

Quick Snippet (no spoilers): Under the Never Sky, the first book in the Under the Never Sky trilogy, takes place in a futuristic world in which the population is divided into those living under the nice, protective walls of government housing, entertaining themselves in an incredibly high-tech virtual reality via "Smarteyes", and those who have to fend for themselves in the wild. Aria, a member of the former group, finds herself chucked out into nature as a result of a quest for her lost mother. She meets Peregrine, "Perry", a member of the latter group, and the two become fast enemies as they search together for their respective missing pieces from their lives. Oh, did I mention that the sky has been overrun by deathly energy storms, called "Aether"? Yeah.

Recommendation: I would recommend this to fans of the Divergent and Across the Universe trilogies, as well as fans of young adult science fiction, romance, and any similar-sounding books. 

Review:

This book had caught my eye several times during my biweekly browse at the library, and I was lucky enough to find all three books to the trilogy on the shelf in my most recent visit. Really, this book wasn't that bad. There resides a place in my heart for dual-perspective novels, which is how the whole Under the Never Sky trilogy is written, and I especially like how the story is told in third-person throughout. Did anyone else find themselves happily reading along as Tris in the Allegiant, only to realize you're in Four's perspective? That's for a whole different post.


The first chapter of this book did not impress me. Maybe it was too sciencey or something, and with Rossi throwing around all of these futuristic terms known only to the trilogy (Smarteye, Aether, Ag 6), I found myself thoroughly confused and a bit uninterested. However, the book really picked up with the second chapter, told from Perry's perspective, and from there, I was hooked.

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Perry and Aria's relationship blossoms in a very, very cool way. In the beginning of the novel, the two are as different as night and day, but slowly their thoughts and feelings intertwine so that it really feels like they're made for each other. I love how Rossi brings them closer and closer, with very small steps and a few setbacks, until their first conversation held without arguing, the first time they hold hands, the first time they kiss, and all the intimate moments in between. With each minor step, the reader is wanting them to be together even more, and I think Rossi set the perfect pace for their romance to grow. 

Onto the Aether. It took me a good thirty or forty pages to really understand what the Aether actually is. From Wikipedia, 

According to ancient and medieval science, aether (Greek αἰθήρ aithēr^[1]), also spelled æther or ether, also called quintessence, is the material that fills the region of the universe above the terrestrial sphere. The concept of aether was used in several theories to explain several natural phenomena, such as the traveling of light and gravity.

In the book, the Aether is portrayed as evil bands of energy that fill the sky and come striking down at seemingly random intervals, always a lurking threat. I think Aether adds an element of terror to the book, you know, apart from the groups of cannibals that can pop out at any time, and the freaky super-human powers that belong to all of the important Outsider characters. 

Speaking of the super-human powers, I feel like the novel would have survived without that addition. With the Auds, Seers, and Scires, brings forth the idea that this society is not something foreseeable in our future. I mean, come on. Having such good hearing that you can hear someone's thoughts when you touch them? Everything else in the novel is believable, but the addition of the powers kind of breaks down that idea.

Overall, this book brings up a lot of interesting ideas for the future of the world, as well as staying close to the minds of teen readers. I found it intriguing and hard to put down at times, and the ending is both satisfying and an introduction to what is to come with the rest of the trilogy.

~Alli