Under the Never Sky
Under the Never Sky
By Veronica Rossi
Published by ATOM
To be Published on January 3, 2012
Summary taken from Goodreads:
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 abarbarian, 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
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 abarbarian, 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
Gritty. That is what I would describe this book as. It is a dystopian novel, but has less the feel of Delirium and Divergent, and more of a feel of Blood Red Road (Or perhaps Pandemonium and Crossed). A majority of this novel takes place outside, in camps and in the woods. This is not a very happy book for most of the story- bad things happen to these characters and constantly.
I enjoyed how different this was from other dystopians that I have read. I liked the involvement of the Aether and of the powers that the Aether caused. I thought it was an interesting twist to the story. The author doesn't dumb down the story either- the main character faces many problems that I wouldn't have imagined she would have to face, but that make sense in the context of her life.
I wish I would have gotten to see more of Aria in Reverie. The time she spends there is incredibly brief and we don't get to know much about her before her transition to the Death Shop. But what really shines in this story are the relationships between Perry and Aria (and the minor characters). The author knows how to create slow growing and intense relationships- and I appreciate that.
