Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Rossi, Veronica. Under the Never Sky. New York: Harper, 2012. Print. ISBN-13: 9780062072030. Formats available: hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Paperback $6.77. Kindle $1.99

Info 684 Genre: Genre Pick #2 – Sci-Fi/Fantasy

Synopsis:

The world was scorched hundreds of years ago, making the earth nearly uninhabitable. Society fractured into two groups; The Dwellers live comfortable, technologically and medically advanced lives within their pods, while the Outsiders (who have evolved to develop extra-sensory abilities) live in tribal-like colonies, struggling to survive off the land. Violence and starvation are the Outsider’s constant companions. What happens when both a Dweller and an Outsider are exiled from their communities, and have to learn how to rely on each other for survival and redemption?

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Booktalk (whole trilogy):

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Themes include: Bias, trust, love, survival, redemption, overcoming expectations, responsibility. 
Awards/Honors: New York Times and USA Today bestseller.

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My Thoughts: I adored this entire trilogy. And I’m so happy to let you all know that the film rights have been optioned by Warner Bros, so hopefully we will get to see this world come alive on the big screen soon! The world-building and fully developed, multi-faceted characters make this series impossible to put down. While one group of society live almost entirely in virtual reality ‘realms,’ the other half live almost entirely without technology, and it is thrilling to see how members of each group react to the lifestyles of the other group. The relationship between Perry and Aria is sweet, heart-wrenching, and fraught with challenges that you cannot help but hope they overcome. One of the best parts of this relationship dynamic is that the challenges and obstacles come from within themselves, or from their circumstances rather than a third party. So instead of the common ‘love-triangle’ theme, we see Perry and Aria struggle to overcome more intense and emotional obstacles. These books are told from the alternating viewpoints of both Perry and Aria, so we get to see what is going on inside each character’s head. This technique gives these stories more depth, because the two characters come from such different worlds, their points of view are drastically different from each other. This allows the reader to submerge more fully into the awesome, unique, post-apocalyptic world. I absolutely could not wait to see what happened after Under the Never Sky, and immediately read both Through the Ever Night, and the epic conclusion, Into the Still Blue. The intensity and suspense are held throughout all three books, which eventually come to a thrilling end. I greatly recommend this series to lovers of sci-fi, dystopian, post-apocalyptic, and sci-fi romance. These world created is so beautiful, frightening, and possible that it makes a great addition to libraries as well. These are the kind of fiction titles that can spark wonderful conversations about bias, technology, privilege, survival, and the effects an apocalyptic event could have on our society.

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Liked it? Loved it? Gotta have more of it?
The next books in the trilogy are Through the Ever Night, and Into the Still Blue.

If you liked these ones, I’d also recommend:

• These Broken Stars by Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner (futuristic, star crossed lovers, sci-fi)
• The Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi (dystopian, futuristic)
• The Arcana Chronicles by Kresley Cole (post-apocalyptic, challenging romance, quest)

  

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Extras:

• Locate the Under the Never Sky series at your local library through Worldcat.org
• Words with Writers has an interview with Veronica Rossi. (no spoilers, I don’t believe)
• If you liked this series, goodreads.com offers other recommendations for you.

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About the Author:  Veronica Rossi is the author of the bestselling Under the Never Sky trilogy. She also has a new title coming out soon, called Riders.

• Visit her blog to learn more about her and her works
• Find her on Twitter @rossibooks
• or on Facebook

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Citation & Credits
Book cover image: Courtesy of Amazon.com
Book Talk: Kelsey Bogan. 2015. All rights reserved.