Review - Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, #1) by Veronica Rossi

Title: Under The Never Sky

Author: Veronica Rossi

Series: 1st

Pages: 384

Published: January 3rd 2012 by HarperCollins 

ISBN:  9780062072030

Source: Publisher via Netgalley

 

Description: Aria is a teenager in the enclosed city of Reverie. Like all Dwellers, she spends her time with friends in virtual environments, called Realms, accessed through an eyepiece called a Smarteye. Aria enjoys the Realms and the easy life in Reverie. When she is forced out of the pod for a crime she did not commit, she believes her death is imminent. The outside world is known as The Death Shop, with danger in every direction.  As an Outsider, Perry has always known hunger, vicious predators, and violent energy storms from the swirling electrified atmosphere called the Aether. A bit of an outcast even among his hunting tribe, Perry withstands these daily tests with his exceptional abilities, as he is gifted with powerful senses that enable him to scent danger, food and even human emotions.  They come together reluctantly, for Aria must depend on Perry, whom she considers a barbarian, to help her get back to Reverie, while Perry needs Aria to help unravel the mystery of his beloved nephew’s abduction by the Dwellers. Together they embark on a journey challenged as much by their prejudices as by encounters with cannibals and wolves. But to their surprise, Aria and Perry forge an unlikely love - one that will forever change the fate of all who live UNDER THE NEVER SKY. 

I Give This ...

 

It's so hard to write an adequate review of a book that is much more than the description.  I wasn't sure what to expect from this book, but ended up thinking it was an awesome way to wrap up my reading in 2011.  

We meet Aria in the midst of breaking the rules.  She hasn't had contact with her mother for awhile and she befriends the son of the leader of her city in hopes of gaining information.  When the fateful night goes horribly wrong, 3 people are dead.  And it's her word against the son's.  She's kicked out of enclosure, to certain death.  But, instead of dying, Aria survives and embarks on an incredible journey.

Perry comes across Aria and knows her to be a "Dweller".  He hopes she might be able to help him find who took his nephew.  What was interesting, is that these two have met before.  That fateful night in the dome, Perry broke in to harvest food.  They both blame each other from what's happened since then.  It doesn't help that years of hate and prejudice are feeding the feud.  

I liked the world that Rossi has set up here.  I was intrigued by the setup in the enclosed cities.   They've lived so long this way, the basic human nature has been driven right out of them.  The reality of the world is entirely fictional because they spend most of there time in the made up realms.  They have no idea what the outside world is really like.  I was confused by the world outside these enclosed cities.  I didn't understand what the Aether really was and how it effected the world around them.  This world did some particularly volatile.  It's more of a out for yourself type of thing.  

I think the best part was watching Aria transform in the outside world.  She learns to accept who she really is and the changes that are happening to her.  She also learns to trust Perry, even if his ways are a little unconventional.  I enjoyed all the connections between the characters and how they interacted.  By the end of the story, I really cared about each and every one of them.

There's a lot that happens in this story that I can't even begin to touch on it all.  It was a little confusing at first because the sequence of events don't feel connected.  But, I was able to catch on and fully immerse myself into the story.  Reading this so soon after reading Touch of Power by Maria V Snyder, makes me think the style is very similar.  I think fans of Snyder will like this as well!