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Book Reviews of Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1)

Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1)
Under the Never Sky - Under the Never Sky, Bk 1
Author: Veronica Rossi
ISBN-13: 9780062072047
ISBN-10: 0062072048
Publication Date: 1/8/2013
Pages: 400
Rating:
  • Currently 4/5 Stars.
 16

4 stars, based on 16 ratings
Publisher: HarperCollins
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

6 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

casey-sue avatar reviewed Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1) on + 53 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
The first 120 pages were slow going in my opinion. Yes a lot happened, but as with a futuristic dystopian novel, we need some explanations. I felt lost because i didn't understand the technology, the terms, the hows, and why's. I continued reading just for sheer curiosity, not 100% enthrallment and enjoyment. Finally around page 200 I was hooked and blew through the rest of the book. I will say that it is YA, and following the post-apocalyptic/dystopian trend, so its a tad predictable. That said, I ended up enjoying the story as a hole, and look forward to book two.
hannahb avatar reviewed Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1) on + 45 more book reviews
Its not very often I set a book down when Im finished and literally say aloud, Whoa. This book took me totally off guard. The dystopian genre is becoming heavily populated and I am constantly wondering when the books will all start to overlap. Under the Never Sky is definitely one that will always stand out. Veronica Rossi is, simply put, a literary genius and I totally have an author crush on her now. Not only did she create two worlds on this novel (its a daunting enough task to just create one dystopian world), but she filled these worlds with rich, lush characters.

Aria is awesome personified. She has it all: kindness, snark, wit, innocence, and a healthy dose of resilience. I loved reading about her time spent in Reverie, but I loved even more when she was banished and forced to survive in the Aether. This is one tough chick, but Rossi balances that tough exterior with a vulnerability that would make anyone fall for this girl.

Aria and Perry are going down as one of my favorite YA romances of all time. Their scenes are electric and kept me turning every page in the early morning hours. I was so desperate to know how their story ended (my only complaint is that darn cliffhanger ending!), and I couldnt get enough of them. They balanced each other so well; he made her stronger and she made him more understanding. I love when a couple can complement one another. Its so rare to find in YA books anymore; they actually made each other better.

I cannot recommend this book enough. I preordered it before I was even halfway finished. I knew I would need to own this one for myself, and so do you! I loved it allfrom the virtual realities in Reverie to the dusty, barren Aether, and all the characters in between. Rossi is a marvelous writer and youd be crazy not to buy this book ASAP.
donkeycheese avatar reviewed Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1) on + 1255 more book reviews
Aria is seventeen and has never seen the sun. She lives in a large pod, where they are self-sustained. Her mother hasn't contacted her in over a week, so Aria decides to take the situation into her own hands and try and charm the information out of Soren, the son of one of the councilmen. When they and a few friends decide to break into a neglected pod, things don't turn out quite the way Aria planned.

Waking up in a clinic, Aria tries to recollect what happened the night before. Her Smartscreen, a clear eye patch that she always wears and lets her visit the realms, a virtual reality, is missing. When Soren had attacked her the eve before, he had removed it, but not before she had recorded his actions. Unable to produce the eye, Aria is found guilty of many crimes and exiled.

Not used to the conditions in the outside, Aria believes she will die. Inside the pod, no one got sick, aged or was hurt and food was plentiful. But outside, she can't breathe and every bump and bruise is painful. Peregrine finds her and decides they can help one another.

Perry's nephew was kidnapped by the people, the dwellers, inside the pod. He means to get him back, at any cost. A hunter, Perry has lived a hard life compared to those who reside in the pods. With the Aether destroying most of their crops, he believes it is time for his tribe to move. However, his brother, who is the leader, disagrees. Perry knows he will have to kill his brother to gain control of the tribe or leave. But before he leaves, he is determined to get his nephew back.

As Perry and Aria journey to their destination, they become to know one another. Most dwellers and outsiders don't like one another at all, but they know that each of them is the other's only hope. Pebbled with danger, set in a unique and fantastic world and a touch of romance, Under the Never Sky is a phenomenal read! Highly recommend!!
donkeycheese avatar reviewed Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1) on + 1255 more book reviews
Aria is seventeen and has never seen the sun. She lives in a large pod, where they are self-sustained. Her mother hasn't contacted her in over a week, so Aria decides to take the situation into her own hands and try and charm the information out of Soren, the son of one of the councilmen. When they and a few friends decide to break into a neglected pod, things don't turn out quite the way Aria planned.

Waking up in a clinic, Aria tries to recollect what happened the night before. Her Smartscreen, a clear eye patch that she always wears and lets her visit the realms, a virtual reality, is missing. When Soren had attacked her the eve before, he had removed it, but not before she had recorded his actions. Unable to produce the eye, Aria is found guilty of many crimes and exiled.

Not used to the conditions in the outside, Aria believes she will die. Inside the pod, no one got sick, aged or was hurt and food was plentiful. But outside, she can't breathe and every bump and bruise is painful. Peregrine finds her and decides they can help one another.

Perry's nephew was kidnapped by the people, the dwellers, inside the pod. He means to get him back, at any cost. A hunter, Perry has lived a hard life compared to those who reside in the pods. With the Aether destroying most of their crops, he believes it is time for his tribe to move. However, his brother, who is the leader, disagrees. Perry knows he will have to kill his brother to gain control of the tribe or leave. But before he leaves, he is determined to get his nephew back.

As Perry and Aria journey to their destination, they become to know one another. Most dwellers and outsiders don't like one another at all, but they know that each of them is the other's only hope. Pebbled with danger, set in a unique and fantastic world and a touch of romance, Under the Never Sky is a phenomenal read! Highly recommend!!
beloved2615 avatar reviewed Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1) on
Okay.. so it did get better in the last chapters... I actually couldn't put it down... and now I do want to read the next book but it isn't available at the library yet so I will read something else and come back and will deff finish this Trilogy just to see what happens to them.

I am giving it 2 stars because to me... for the first half of the book I couldn't get into it. The way it is written, how it is written... there are things about it that I had a hard time imagining because it is not described very well... I still am not sure what the Aether is in this story... but The last part of the book did get good and keep you wanting more, a great cliff hanger but I am glad I borrowed the book from the library and didn't buy it
ophelia99 avatar reviewed Under the Never Sky (Under the Never Sky, Bk 1) on + 2527 more book reviews
I had been wanting to read this book for some time. I had heard excellent things about it, and although I am a bit burnt out on YA dystopian books, I thought it was worth giving this a shot. This was a decent post-apocalyptic/dystopia young adult story...its better than a lot of the ones out there, but not my favorite either.

I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. The narrator did an excellent job of capturing emotion and differentiating between different character voices.

Aria is exiled from her home, the enclosed city of Reverie, and sent out to the Death Shop (the outside) when she gets into an altercation with an important individual inside Reverie. Peregrine (Perry) is out hunting when he stumbles upon Aria. Perry is an Outsider, a Savage. Perry has been forced to leave his tribe because him and his brother are butting heads for rulership of the tribe. Perry and Aria strike a deal. Perry wants Aria to help him retrieve his nephew from Reverie, while Aria needs to get her Smart Eye back to Reverie in order to prove her innocence, they will help each other out until they each get what they want.

Aria and Perry travel through a wasted land where Ether storms ravage the landscape and make the Outside a very dangerous place to live. Each of them is trying to abide the other's company and struggling towards their goals.

The story is told both from Aria and Perry's perspectives. It's a pretty typical post-apocalyptic/dystopia type of story. Aria and Perry both have assumptions about the others world and of course these assumptions are not quite right.

I liked Aria and Perry as characters. Aria is obviously in a bit of shock when she is sent Outside, but she adapts well and is funny and witty. She is flexible enough to consider that what she learned in Reverie might not be the truth and tough enough to take the knowledge and make her own conclusions.

Perry I didnt like quite as much. He is just sooo intense and sooo moody. If I were Aria I would have smacked him a number of times and told him to lighten up.

The chemistry between the two is okay. I felt like there was a bit of insta-love going in here. Perry was just drawn to Arias beauty right away and wants to protect her. He does back-off and they do take the time to get to know each other before getting too involved. So it wasnt as bad as a lot of other young adult books out there.

My favorite character by far was Roar, he was funny, honest, and helpful. He added a lot of fun to the story and was an excellent character to read about.

There were a couple things I did enjoy about this world. I liked the idea of the Outsiders developing super hero like powers with one of their five senses. Perry can see in the dark and read peoples Tempers (emotions). There are other characters that have super hearing or can see super far away. The idea of humans adapting their sense to survive in a new world is interesting.

I thought the idea of a landscape covered in Ether Storms was an interesting one too and wished this had been explained better. There is also a rumor of a place where the sky is still blue. This is a hope that kind of hovers in the background of the story. There is also the idea of Rendering which is something Perry has done with his nephew. Perry has Rendered to Talon and as such is attuned to everything Talon feels or does. It makes a person super-sensitive to what another person needs.

The world building is a bit weak. Why there are Ether Storms is never well explained. The world outside of Perry and Aria's small area is never well explained either. I am hoping this is expanded upon in future books.

Overall this was a decent dystopian story. It was better than many YA dystopian novels out there but not my favorite. At this point I am unsure if I will read the next one or not. This book just has a lot of the same underlying themes that a lot of these books have. Don't get me wrong it's not a bad post-apocalyptic/dystopia series...I just wasn't really dying to know what would happen next when I got to the end of it.