Under the Never Sky
By Veronica Rossi
January 3, 2012

Under the Never Sky was an older YA dystopian novel. It was a dangerous, adventurous story. You all know how much I love post-apocalyptic books and I think this was the one that started that for me. I loved the slow burn from the romance. I loved the characters, Aria was one of my favorites as well as Perry, I loved Perry so much!
My first rating for Under the Never Sky was 4 stars but as I’m reliving it and trying to remember it for this review the more I’m thinking about making it 5 stars, I want to re-read it soon.

Thank you to HarperCollins and NetGalley for the E-Arc in exchange for an honest review.
(Sorry for the late review)

This was a fun and creative take on the dystopian genre. The idea of living life in pods was far out but it played so well into the plot. Imagine living your whole life in a fake reality. This is what Aria and others did. I like how Aria and Perry's worlds collide. This novel has great world-building with tons of character growth for the couple. I really liked the ending too.

I was blown away by the world the Veronica Rossie created in Under the Never Sky! I can pretty much guarantee that you have never seen a world quite like this, by far the best part of this book is the unique and creative world building. I found the book to be a little confusing in the beginning, mostly because I didn't understand what all these cool gadgets that were being mentioned were. It sorted it self our soon enough though. This book is labelled to be a dystopian books, but I would call it a dystopian-paranormal, Perry's (the outsider) people have some abilities that are definitely not normal.


I really loved both characters, Aria and Perry, the alternating chapters between these two really worked well with the story. I think that Perry would make an excellent father figure. Aria grows so much from the Dweller she was into the Outside that she was forced to become to survive. I don't think I've seen any other character in one book go through so much growth. I appreciated it and found it very refreshing. After Aria is exiled to live in the outside world when she meets up with Perry I loved the tension between them that slowly turned into very satisfying romance. Both Aria and Perry's qualities they aquired from the way they grew up works very well together.


Veronica Rossi created an epic adventure that will stick with you because of the creativness of the world that Under the Never Sky takes place in. The writing was fluent and the story was though out amazingly, I can't see why anyone would not want to check out this book. A slow but realisticly progressing romance and some cannibles thrown into the mix doesn't hurt either. In fact it makes it even better. Also with the cliffhanger in this book I think that readers will definitely be back for more in the next installment.

3.5/5 Stars

In alternating chapters, Aria and Perry battle the elements and fight to be reunited with their families in an ecologically ravaged future. Most people live in cramped, climate-controlled Pod cities and amuse themselves by spending the bulk of their time in an immersive online virtual reality called the Realms. Those on the outside of the Pods live in unbelievably harsh conditions, subject to storms and cannibal attacks.

Aria has grown up in a Pod called Reverie, but decides to leave when she's worried about not hearing from her mother in a neighboring Pod for some time. Peregrin, known as Perry, lives outside the Pod in a region plagued with Aether storms. I kind of imagined them as powerful dry electrical storms with some sun flare like properties. After Perry ends up escorting Aria through some dangerous territory the two of them have a fairly prickly relationship that simmers with tension. Aria and Perry's worlds are so different - they struggle to communicate over the most basic things. I loved the scene where Aria is relieved and pleased to reattach her optic eye, while Perry is horrified, but too polite to say anything at her cyborg appearance. The two of them don't realize that they actually have feelings for each other until fairly late in the game. The romantic ending leaves things well open for the sequel.