Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

     Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi
          Kindle Edition: $7.59
          Print Edition: $9.99 (paperback) $9.88 (hardcover)
          Length: 389 pages
          Reading Level: older YA
          Under the Never Sky on Amazon (opens in a new window)

After struggling through the Guardian trilogy, I decided that I needed to "spoil" myself and read a clean manuscript; one published through traditional, major channels. So I picked this one. This review will probably be short and sweet, but hey, it happens.

Words cannot express how much I love the cover of this book. It is stunning. The girl is clearly meant to represent Aria, the lead female, and having her be alone on the cover is very telling of her trials as a character. And the colors are representative of the way Earth now looks, with the Aether sky churning above. The title is noticeable, so it grabs your attention when it's on a shelf (as it has done to me every time I walk past it at Target) and Rossi's name is large enough that you can decipher who wrote it. Based on the cover alone, I want to see this as a movie.

Some of you may know that I'm a gamer...in that I'm really bad at most video games and I prefer watching people play games so I can become more fully immersed in the story and the action without any risks. One of my favorite game franchises to watch is "Fallout," and, in particular, "Fallout 3." I think it is my love for this game that drew me to Under the Never Sky.

After an event called the Unity, Earth has been scorched. Most of humankind fled into partially underground structures called Domes or Pods. The rest were left to try and survive. Thousands of years later, Aria finds herself thrown into and torn between two worlds. Thanks to the dweller, Perry is too. Together the two of them set out in a fight for survival that neither of them anticipated.

Does anyone remember the first time they read something like The Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter and you were left to try and decipher words you'd never encountered, and you were pretty sure half of them were made up? Yeah, that happens here. Much of it is slang, and through context it's easy to figure out what the intended meaning is. Even better, the nature of the slang is drastically different between Aria and Perry. It's a small detail, one that irritates some people. I, however, love it. Having a unique vocabulary like that adds to the immersive nature of the story, and makes everything seem more real.

Unlike many contemporary YA novels, this is told through a switching omniscient third person point of view. Chapters alternate between Perry and Aria, and the switches are indicated each time. It is a nice touch that adds an element of situational irony, because as a reader you are privy to both character's thoughts. The fact that it sets Rossi's story apart from most other YA novels doesn't hurt, either.

Unfortunately, like most YA romance novels, the romance develops unnaturally fast between characters. It doesn't seem forced, per se, because I actually believe that Perry and Aria care for each other deeply. I just have a problem with it happening over the course of ten days or so. The two of them have undeniable chemistry, but the timeline should have been stretched out a little, maybe by a month. That's all it would take for me to accept their love.

The world that Rossi develops is fascinating. The differences between Dwellers and Outsiders, and the way they live, is so noticeable, they are clearly two different worlds. Even better is the amazing transformation Aria goes through, going from near-android status to a "modern" human. The timeline is clearly set ages ahead of ours, and the world of the Outsiders like Perry shows this even more comprehensively than the Pods. Because of science. Humans like Perry have evolved (yes, evolved) to have a dominant sense, like Sight, Smell (Scires), or Hearing (Auds). Not all of them have this, because evolution is slow, but the Marked humans are making concentrated efforts to perpetuate the senses. The strong survive. It also adds a nice bit of sci-fi to this dystopia, but hey, science!

The biggest gripe I have with the novel, even more than the speedy romance, is Perry's name. His full name is Peregrine, which is cool, and fitting. But the nickname just grates on me. It's just not a sexy name. Never mind the fact that it makes me think of Dr. Cox from "Scrubs." This might just be me, but it was bothersome all the way through.

If you're into dystopian romance, and don't mind that it's young adult (meaning lots of sexual tension that is only briefly resolved before they go back to ramping up tension) I can almost guarantee you will enjoy this book. Aria isn't a typical obnoxious female, and Perry isn't without faults. Which makes them real...ish. This story shows a lot of promise, and there's a companion novella that came out in October, along with a sequel that is due out in January. The best part? It doesn't even need the sequels. I look forward to them, don't get me wrong, but it could stand alone if need be, which is something every book should strive for in some way. So read it, and send a word my way to tell me what you think. Because I think you'll like it.

-Kayla