Under the Never Sky, Book 1
Juvenile Fiction
Harpercollins Childrens Books
2012-12-04
400
When Aria is exiled from the enclosed city of Reverie, she forms an unlikely alliance with an Outsider named Perry, who could be her only chance of survival providing they can overcome their prejudices.
Review:
Before I begin the review, I have an embarrassing confession about a misconception I formed at the beginning of the book. Between the cover and the multiple mentions of Perry being shirtless and in leather pants, it became set in my mind that I was somehow reading a Harlequin Romance fantasy. Obviously, this was wrong, but nevertheless I breathed a sigh of relief once he finally put on a shirt and things got going in earnest.
The reason for the three instead of four stars in my rating is the fact that it took me a full third of the book to really get into it. Being a fan of how the worlds are built in dystopian novels, I found this one lacking. There was very little to go on at the beginning, and while this may be intentional, it made me apathetic to what happened to them one way or the other.
That being said, once the two main characters were together, things picked up quickly. The world and characters become more than one-dimensional and I began to care what happened to them and everyone else. Perry and Aria are both very interesting and complex, and the ultimate love story evolved beautifully. It was nice to see a book lacking a love triangle and keeping the complications to what they were going through, as opposed to which boy Aria should kiss.
In the end, I was so drawn into their world that I immediately ordered the next in the series and expect I will not have the difficulty getting into it that I had with this one. If you find yourself wanting to give up at the beginning, I encourage you stick with it. It’s worth it.
Content Warning:
Language, Violence, Sexual Situations
