Book Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under the Never Sky
Author: Veronica Rossi
Publisher: Harper Collins
Released on: January 3, 2012
Source: own paperback copy
My rating:


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.

My Thoughts:

   My gosh! It took me almost a week to finish reading this book! What’s happening to me? I can answer that, books with awful beginnings slows down my reading (because I practically fall asleep everytime I try to read it again). Anyway, this was a busy week for me too...onto the book!

   The beginning of the novel practically dragged me around. Imagine being pulled upside down across a dirt track, held by your shirt, I feel that way. There’s a blackout and I’m feeling my way around. I understand that whenever you start reading a book, everything’s a clean slate to make it original, however sometimes a lot of books have lots of similarities with other stories that some things are familiar. Though I applaud the originality and uniqueness of this new dystopian novel, I have to say the way the readers where introduced into the new environment of the story is not that good. Don’t get me wrong, I liked the novel (4 stars remember?). It’s just I was so lost in about the 1st one-thirds of the book. From then on only good stuffs happened. It was quite exciting actually. I love adventure books. The travels in forests, the danger lurking on every corner.

   “Under the Never Sky” is definitely distinctive from other dystopian novels. What I like about reading dystopian novels are the interesting and sometimes ludicrous ideas authors come up. Anyway, in “Under the Never Sky”, the world basically was destroyed sometime (this event they called “Unity”), and the sky is covered with “aethers” which I understood as some sort of a fog (dark) which is very dangerous. Aether storms are the most destructive of all. People came up with the idea of pods where they are safe from the “aethers". Aria lived in one, until she was kicked out and discovered a world far from what she knew. As we read Aria’s journey, we discover many things just the way she did. Alternating narration from Aria and Perry (a guy living in the outside world), we as readers get to become omniscient of everything about the story. I have to say though that at first, everything is so blah blah, and confusing. However, when well adjusted, I was able to visualize and understand pretty okay. Then I enjoyed the rest of the book. That was the only downplay for me for this book.

   Overall, I’m glad I pursued reading despite humps of confusion that held me when I read the first few chapters. Because if I didn’t continue reading, I wouldn’t discover the adventure that awaits. The ending was no cliffhanger, but it presented itself enough for it’s readers to watch out for the next book.

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