Book Review: “Glow” (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan

“Glow” (Sky Chasers #1) by Amy Kathleen Ryan (2011)

Genre: Fiction, YA, Sci-fi

Book Length: 307 pages (hardcover edition)

Synopsis:

Out in the murky nebula lurks an unseen enemy: the New Horizon. On its way to populate a distant planet in the wake of Earth’s collapse, the ship’s crew has been unable to conceive a generation to continue its mission. They need young girls desperately, or their zealous leader’s efforts will fail. Onboard their sister ship, the Empyrean, the unsuspecting families don’t know an attack is being mounted that could claim the most important among them…

Fifteen-year-old Waverly is part of the first generation to be successfully conceived in deep space; she was born on the Empyrean, and the large farming vessel is all she knows. Her concerns are those of any teenager—until Kieran Alden proposes to her. The handsome captain-to-be has everything Waverly could ever want in a husband, and with the pressure to start having children, everyone is sure he’s the best choice. Except for Waverly, who wants more from life than marriage—and is secretly intrigued by the shy, darkly brilliant Seth.

But when the Empyrean faces sudden attack by their assumed allies, they quickly find out that the enemies aren’t all from the outside. (description from Goodreads)

Review:

I really liked the overall plot and action in “Glow”. I’m still kind of new to some styles of the sci-fi genre, so reading this book was a nice break from the books that I usually read. The story’s setting in space made it even more interesting to me. Our main character Waverly (which I thought was a pretty name) is considering marriage with her long time boyfriend, Kieran (also a pretty awesome name). From the start of the book we are immediately thrown into action as the girls from Empyrean are kidnapped by their sister ship for their “own good”.

We, as readers, get to follow Waverly and Kieran who narrate the various chapters of the events that are happening in on each ship. This made reading the book even more exciting, because the chapters end at a climatic point and quickly shift to an opposite narrative making you shout “Nooo! What happens next?!” It definitely kept me on my toes. The novel also kind of reminded by of the novel “The Lost Boys” by William Goulding except it’s set in space. It interesting to see the children cope as survivors in this situation and how they will work together to come to solutions and make everything right again.

Final Verdict:

Recommended for fans of sci-fi or anybody who is looking to read about an adventure through space. 5 out of 5 stars!