Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Goodreads Description: "Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim. 

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive. 

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers."

My Review: I liked Under The Never Sky because it was a very different type of dystopian. It was less futuristic/sci-fi and more tribal and raw, with a strange fairy tale feeling to it. Strangely enough, I want to compare it to a strange mix of Graceling and The Pledge. If that makes any sense? And both of THOSE books were very good, so that's good news for UTNS (yeah, I'm gonna abbreviate it. I'm too lazy to type it out every time.) I LOVED Aria as a character---she didn't have the fatal flaw most female heroines in dystopians do: how they're so serious and cold and...apathetic (AHEM, Katniss, AHEM...). She seemed like a NORMAL girl---strong-headed and independent at times, and girly and shriek-y at times. Also, I loved her curiosity and how she made jokes. The way she talked seemed really realistic of a normal teenage girl with worries and fears and dreams. Being in the future does not take that away from humans. Perry was also an interesting character---slightly cliche, as male characters tend to be (in female-oriented books), but I still enjoyed hearing his story...especially his rivalry with his brother, Vale, over the position of Blood Road. I won't spoil the ending, but I rather enjoyed how the rivalry ended. Not to be a jerk---but I kind of liked how Perry DIDN'T take the noble and high road. I'll admit, the plot wasn't BRILLIANT---it kind of seemed to be going nowhere and it didn't make much sense anyway...but the plot was never really the main function of this first book, I don't think. (The relationship was.) Anyway, the way the book ended was rather too abrupt for my taste...but it achieved its desired effect: I am now anxiously awaiting the next book in the series. 

Cover: The cover is pretty, that much is true. The girl is okay-looking, even though I couldn't HELP but picture Aria as Aria from Pretty Little Liars (the show). But that's okay, because Aria from PLL is pretty. The colors of the book are really pretty as well, and I like how the title has RELEVANCE. Too many YA titles are only meant to be pretty and catchy and have literally NO meaning (like Hush, Hush---sorry, I liked the book, but you all know it's true!) The only thing is...this cover bares an eerie resemblance to the paperback cover of Across The Universe. Which bothered me a bit, because ATU came out first...but c'est la vie, I suppose.

Overall Grade: A-