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Glow (Sky Chasers, #1)

Amy Kathleen Ryan

Start date: July 22, 2012

Finish date: July 31, 2012

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Jul 03, 2024 Bonnie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2011-books, apocalypse-dystopia, young-adult

This book was published in 2011, back when everyone was jumping on the YA dystopia trend, thanks to The Hunger Games. I put this on my TBR because it intrigued me, but I also got burned by many a bad YA dystopia, which made me wary of the whole genre, so it got put on the backburner. As part of cleaning up my 2024 TBR backlog, I finally gave it a try.

This is one of the better YA dystopias that I have read and I wish it had made a bigger splash. It's set on the generation ship Empyrean. Its inhab This book was published in 2011, back when everyone was jumping on the YA dystopia trend, thanks to The Hunger Games. I put this on my TBR because it intrigued me, but I also got burned by many a bad YA dystopia, which made me wary of the whole genre, so it got put on the backburner. As part of cleaning up my 2024 TBR backlog, I finally gave it a try.

This is one of the better YA dystopias that I have read and I wish it had made a bigger splash. It's set on the generation ship Empyrean. Its inhabitants have left a dying Earth to search for a better world. Its sister ship, New Horizon, has inexplicably slowed down to confer with the Empyrean. Both ships had been hit with infertility due to their decades in space. The Empyrean had resolved the issue; the New Horizon had not, leaving it childless.

Waverly and Kieran are the oldest of the new generation on the Empyrean. Kieran is the heir apparent of the captain, while Waverly is his capable girlfriend who seems hesitant to marry young. After the New Horizon attacks the Empyrean to steal its female children, Waverly works to get herself and the other girls back to the Empyrean while Kieran tries to hold the boys on the Empyrean together.

The beginning of the book was solid - it was tense and emotional and Ryan does an excellent job showing the fear and misinformation during an unexpected attack. She also nails the emotional manipulation by the leader of the New Horizon.

I was delighted that Ryan thumbed her nose a bit at the traditional YA dystopia love triangle - it appears that the book's plot is headed that way when the rebellious Seth catches Waverly's eye. But Waverly is separated from both Kieran and Seth for most of the book, and specifically thinks that they are just a distraction from her goal of getting back home, so she puts them out of her mind. Way to go Waverly! Seth also goes from rebel bad boy to real dick - passing on the abuse that he experienced from his dad, making him certifiably not a love interest. I truly appreciate Ryan turning this trope on its head.

On the downside, the ending felt rushed - it was a gradual build-up to the girls being kidnapped, but then it seemed like everything went too quickly and, honestly, too easily. This is a trilogy (of course), and I initially believed that the two main plots (Waverly returning home; Kieran regaining control of the ship) would not resolve until the second book. Instead, they were wrapped up in warpspeed by the end of book one. ...more

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Feb 28, 2013 Kate rated it liked it

Oh how I wanted to love this book. The premise was great. I don't read many space stories so it wouldn't have been something I had read tons of. The beginning started out so great. The girls are captured. The parents are all pretty much dead. The boys are left to fend for themselves and have to try to rescue the girls. And that is where it all went wrong. Let's Break it down:

Religion: Full disclaimer - I am a religious person. I go to church on Sundays. I read my Scriptures daily (or at least tr Oh how I wanted to love this book. The premise was great. I don't read many space stories so it wouldn't have been something I had read tons of. The beginning started out so great. The girls are captured. The parents are all pretty much dead. The boys are left to fend for themselves and have to try to rescue the girls. And that is where it all went wrong. Let's Break it down:

Religion: Full disclaimer - I am a religious person. I go to church on Sundays. I read my Scriptures daily (or at least try to). I went to Christian school with Christian teachers and Christian friends. So it bothers me to NO END how much Ryan made all religious people look crazy. The religion that they subscribed to in this novel is something that I would say 95% of religious people would NEVER NEVER agree to. Every time religion was brought up in this novel, I cringed. Other non-religious books bring it up without it have to be like a knife in the cut every time it is mentioned. For the record, it was a major turn off.

Characters: I loved Kieran (though not necessarily the religious aspect as you could see he was starting to go the crazy route). Out of the three main characters, he is the one I thought was the most stable. He showed some leadership capabilities which, if it hadn't been undermined by other characters, could have helped out in the situation. Seth was a nightmare. I mean he was evil to the core. I hated every single thing about him. I have nothing else to say about him. Waverly was, in my opinion, an idiot. I hate it when author's make girls unnecessarily aggressive, like that is the only way you can be a strong female character. I can sympathize that her eggs were taken from her without her permission. That was absolutely reprehensible. But I understand why it was done. And in a situation like they are in, re-population is absolutely necessary. When you are moving to a planet and starting a new world their, you have to have people to populate said planet. I don't know if Waverly was just too stupid to understand that or what her deal was.

Love Triangle: This is the stupidest part. Why does Waverly care about Seth at all? He is the biggest jerk to ever grace a love triangle in a YA book. I hate him. But, honestly, I don't think that Waverly is good enough for Kieran. She treats him like crap. I know this won't be a popular opinion because a lot of reviews I read had people loving Waverly. But I really did not like her.

Sequel: Will I read the second book? Probably. I checked it out of the library. I want to know what happens. Still, I am not impressed.

See review here: http://kathrynsbooknook.wordpress.com... ...more

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