Book Review : Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Published January 3rd 2012 by HarperCollins

International Edition, Paperback

New copy available on:
The Book Depository (Worldwide) $9.75 USD 
Boomerang Books (Australia) $22.49 AUD

Like new second-hand copy available on:
Shop ♥ Books (Malaysia) RM 29.00

Synopsis

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. 

Review

I've been meaning to read this book for a while - ever since I saw the glowing reviews it bagged from the book-blogging community. It seems everyone is in love with this book - which makes me even excited to read it. In fact, I was already anticipating an unusual greatness even before I started reading it. 

In a way, it is good - the plot is quite fresh and the characters are likeable. I would love to see Perry in real life. I wonder what his glow-in-the-dark eyes look like. However, the concept of the Reverie (the virtual place where Aria lived in) was rather confusing. Somehow I couldn't grasp the idea of most of the things described in that place. And the futuristic terms used by the author did more to distract me rather than lure me into the story.

As opposed to the safe live in the Reverie, danger looms everywhere in the Death Shop - the place where Outsiders live. Aether storms destroy lives and things, cannibals roam the jungles, a constant lacking of food supplies... the list goes on and on. But there is one thing that it has and the Reverie doesn't: a sense of naturalism.

The story drags at certain parts, but most of the time it was interesting enough to keep me reading. I think the best part of the story would be discovering Cinder's secret ability. It was totally cool. Long story short, there are things I love about this book, but there are also certain things I wish the author had changed. However, personal feelings aside, Under The Never Sky is a pretty solid debut, and I'd certainly recommend it to fans of dystopian novels, particularly those who loved Divergent by Veronica Roth. 

Rating:

About The Author 

Veronica Rossi's debut novel, UNDER THE NEVER SKY, will be published in over twenty international markets, starting on January 3rd 2012 in the United States. Film rights to the trilogy have been optioned by Warner Bros.

When not writing, she chases after her boys, who make her laugh every day, and who teach her about love that's "a million gazillion times bigger than the ocean."