Review: Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

Let me start by saying that Dystopian novels are one of my favorite genres in YA literature, however I think that they are difficult to get right. They can easily beome too confusing or too similar to other Dystopian novels (one of my favorite things about Dystopian novels is how different they can be).  So I was excited, yet nervous, to read Under the Never Sky.

For the first 50 pages I was wary, I found the plot slightly confusing and I wasn't sure how I felt about the characters, but as I read on I began to fall in love with everything. I really liked the fact the story was told in dual perspectives by Aria and Perry, it allowed the reader to see the world through the eyes of someone who has lived in the Outside their whole life (Perry) and someone who has just been introduced to it (Aria). If this book had been told solely from Aria's perspective I think it would have been much less enjoyable and much more confusing.

As for the characters, they really grew on me. In the first half of the book I really didn't like Aria, I thought she was very selfish and immature and I thought her reactions to Perry were just rude. Fortunately though she matured as the book went on and I began to really enjoy reading about her character. I found Perry fascinating, I loved reading his sections of the book, especially his reactions to the things Aria said to him and the inner-conflict you saw him deal with throughout. I also enjoyed how well developed the more minor characters were (especially Roar, he was my favorite), Rossi did a great job of keeping them from falling flat.

Overall I thought that Under the Never Sky was a great dystopian novel with an original premise, and enjoyably dynamic characters. I'll be waiting impatiently to read the sequel, Through the Ever Night!