“She knew how to put one foot in front of the other even when every step hurt. And she knew there was pain in the journey, but there was also great beauty. She’d seen it standing on rooftops and in green eyes and in the smallest, ugliest rock.”

Aria has spent her whole life in a city inside a dome called Reverie. People are unable to survive outside the dome because of the Aether, energy that has filled the sky and created a wasteland. When Aria’s mother goes missing, she decides to do everything that she can to find her. When she begins to become a problem, she is taken outside of the dome and left to die. However, she is saved by an outsider named Perry, who is trying to rescue his nephew Talon. He suspects that Aria may be able to help him find Talon, so he agrees to help her find answers about her mother.

I have been meaning to read this book for the longest time and I’m glad that I finally was able to. Under the Never Sky is told in dual perspectives, alternating back and forth between Aria and Perry. Usually this type of narrative annoys me but in this book it worked because it allowed the reader to understand what both Aria and Perry were going through and how their situation affected each of them differently. Aria starts out being scared and unable to survive on her own but she is determined to do whatever she has to in order to find her mother, even if it means walking for miles with bleeding feet. Perry, at first, is annoyed with having to help her and how little she knows about surviving outside of the dome and he would rather be on his own. Throughout the book, however, they both undergo an amazing transformation and begin to understand what the other is going through. Aria learns how to survive and defend herself and Perry realizes that having feelings and caring for someone does not make him weak.

One of my favorite things about this book was that Aria was a talented singer. Her mother would have her sing arias for her in the Realms, which is sort of like a virtual reality that people in Reverie use to interact. As someone who also sings, I was able to relate to the feeling Aria had whenever she sang for people. I also really loved the way that the Aether caused people living outside the domes to develop enhanced senses. Some people could hear sounds that were miles away while others could see things from extreme distances. Perry’s enhanced ability of smell was very interesting also; he could tell who was near him just by their scent.

Overall, Under the Never Sky was an exciting read with great characters, romance, and even some science fiction elements. It was fantastic from start to finish and I can’t wait to see what happens next!

Under the Never Sky was released January 3, 2012 and is the first book in a series. The second book, Through the Ever Night, was released yesterday, January 8, 2013 so you can guess what I’m reading now!!