Glow (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Expected publication: September 13th 2011 by St. Martin’s Griffin.
* In compliance with FTC guidelines, it should be noted that I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads.
Young Adult and Science Fiction. I’m not exactly a fan of those genres. This book is promoted as “the most riveting series since The Hunger Games“. I liked the first book but I’m not a fan either.
So what does that mean for Glow?
I LOVED IT.
Yes. No one was more surprised than me. I’ve never been this engaged in a YA novel before. Certainly the first one I stayed up late for. It was – to me, at least – very original, complex, thrilling, and exciting. This is definitely good stuff! Could this be the YA novel I am looking for?
Description from the back of the ARC copy:
[...] a violent battle separated two young lovers on a ship bound for New Earth. Will they find a way back to their ship — and each other? And most importantly, will they survive and preserve the future of the human race?
From that short blurb, you can already see that there’s a lot going on in the story. And a lot at stake! Set against the backdrop of Outer Space, Waverly and Kieran are the oldest children born on the Empyrean at fifteen and sixteen, respectively. I liked Waverly right away. She’s a strong character and I was rooting for her all the way. I had a love/hate opinion on the boys but I’ll get to that later. Waverly was so brave and I like that in a female character, especially if the book is geared towards young girls. Yes, there are also “bad women”, in the story but how Waverly triumphs over them is the one worth noting.
The POV changes between the girls’ tribulations at the rival ship New Horizon and the boys’ fight to save the Empyrean. I’m not a fan of the guys that much. Kieran started off as being naive. Personally, his rival, Seth, appealed to me more. Until the twist (that came out of nowhere, unexplained) that had me doing a complete 180. I was so engrossed in this boys’ POV. It certainly caused a bigger reaction from me than the girls’. Kieran earned brownie points for me but there was another plot twist that had me rethinking my opinions yet again. It was kind of frustrating but I liked that treatment by the author. It keeps the reader interested and guessing.
The book deals with pretty dark stuff such as thoughts of murder, kidnapping, use of guns and violence, fertility, loss of life, and revenge. Some of them get violated in unthinkable ways so be warned. Just when you thought it could not get any worse, it does. Nevertheless, I liked the pace. I found myself staying up late reading chapter after chapter. The last time I did that was for The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest, which I loved, so that’s saying something.
And oh, the ending? You know those season finale cliffhangers? Just like that. Boy, what a set up for the sequel! This first installment has everything: sci-fi, disaster, romance, adventure… it’s brilliant. If more YA books are as good as this, I can understand how so many people are into the genre. I am eagerly awaiting the next installment to the Sky Chasers series (and hopefully, I can acquire and ARC of it too. Hint-hint. Haha!).
Rating: 5/5.
Recommendation: You know, I really think those readers who are skeptical about YA literature will devour this. It’s original, engaging, and a breath of fresh air from the genre that’s been inundated by vampires, werewolves, and girls who want nothing else but to get a boyfriend.
Get your copy here.
