Wow I believe this is my first YA dystopian novel and ……I loved it so much. I thought Jill’s writing allowed my brain to see the story as a movie in my head. The year is 2364, LifeCorp controls everything. Liv the FMC is a emoproxy who has the ability to alters memories by using her neurochip. She alters memories mostly for the wealthy as a way to save money to escape for a better life. Adrian the MMC is like a rookie cop in there community is on a mission to find out who is creating and selling Orange Haze which is an illegal drug not sanctioned by LifeCorp. These two will collide and described everything they thought they knew was a lie. An amazing read and I look forward to seeing what else stories Jill comes up with.

This book is an absolute TREASURE! It really filled the YA dystopian romance sized hole in my heart, and it was threaded through with so much beautiful writing by the author and so much reference to beautiful literature about nature that the commentary on humanity, technology, and the inevitable flaws of progress was all the more powerful. Just spectacular characters, twists, plot, imagery, ALL OF IT! I loved it.

Thank you to Jill Tew, Joy Revolution, and NetGalley for this eARC in exchange for my honest review!

This was such a fantastic read! Perfect dystopian vibes, a balance of city and wilderness action, an angsty romance, a complicated friendship story, fighting back against the oppressors... The Dividing Sky has it all! Is this the next Hunger Games? I hope so, because this deserves to rocket to the top of the bestseller lists and your tbr.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the arc! Opinions are my own.

If you love the nostalgia of 2010's-era dystopian with a romantic plot, you NEED to read The Dividing Sky! It is rich with unique world-building, science, and the best angsty-pining I could hope for!

Set in futuristic Boston, in a hyper-capitalist city known as the Metro, Liv Newman makes her living as an EmoProxy, relaying emotions and memories to the upper class. When one of her clients offers her a high sum to go see the stars in the Outerlands, Liv risks her life amongst the wild where raiders roam the woods. Meanwhile, Adrian Rao is searching for the dealer of a mysterious new drug that is causing workers to disrespect authority, and Liv might have an answer. When he follows her into the Outerlands, he might just realize how corrupt the Metro has become.

The worldbuilding in this was fantastic! I loved the science and anti-corporation commentary Tew introduced in this book. Whilst I loved exploring the Outerlands with Liv and Adrian, I would definitely be interested in future books following other characters within the Metro.

Featuring Black MC's (where the plot is *not* about racism), this book has great cat-and-mouse vibes, romantic angst, and even panic attack & grounding representation. This book is perfect if you loved the world of Uglies or Divergent!!

The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew

“He’s convinced that my love for reading makes me a better EmoProxy, and he may be right. Reading helps me imagine what it might be like to laugh harder, scream louder, love deeper. To live fully for myself, and no one else, at least in my dreams.”

This was a 5-star read for me, I’m happy to report! If not for the fact that it's one of the few books I wasn’t tempted to keep putting down, then it’s definitely because of how it took me back to my obsession with the YA dystopian books I used to devour when I was in college. Pair that with the eerie sensation that the insane world depicted in this story might just end up being our own future, and you get that sit-up-straighter-in-your-seat feeling that makes a story all the more delicious to scarf down!

We meet Liv Newman, an EmoProxy, who sells happy memories in the hope that it will secure her a better life for her and loved ones. She isn’t too thrilled about what she has to do to secure that future for herself, but she decides to make one last push as she receives an offer she can’t refuse from one of the wealthy Uppers who pays her for her memories. Liv’s adventures send her straight into the path of Adrian Roa, the officer who wants to arrest her in order to squelch out the hope and resistance her memory-selling enterprise is creating in her clients; he doesn’t view this as just a job, but as his very mission and so it was such a delight watching the two of them clash.

My favorite thing about this story is the keen commentary on what life could become if the focus on productivity was taken to the extreme. As a medical student who exists in circles where I have both witnessed and experienced what hyperproductivity looks like in its toxic forms, let’s just say this story hit me quite hard. The bleak, joyless world depicted so deftly here is a fun thought experiment on what life could look like if everything was stripped down to the bottom line of how much one could produce; the Uppers in this world have elevated work to the point that they would rather pay for experiences and joy than take the time to be happy themselves!

Read this book! It balances a bleak vision with a fun, light read!

This book was absolute brilliant and such a wild ride.
This action packed enemies to lovers story will have you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I'll be thinking of this book for a while and be recommending it to anyone who is looking for a dystopian romantasy.

In a dystopian world Liv Newman lives her life as a proxy. In order to make ends meat she sells her memories to wealthy clients. When a wealthy man offers her life changing money to go into the great beyond and middle of nowhere to get a certain memory Liv knows that she can not pass this deal up.

Adrian Roa is has straight and narrow as they come. Very black and white. Wrong and Right. After he learns of Livs side deals he knows he must stop her. There is just one problem when he finally tracks her down in the forest her memories are completely gone.

In a battle of love and laws, which will win? Only one way to find out.

The Dividing Sky follows Liv, an eighteen-year-old who dreams of escaping her lower-class life in the Metro. Liv is a Proxy with a neurochip in her brain that allows her to sell memories and moments to wealthy clients. When she’s offered the sum of a lifetime to go to the dangerous no-man’s-land outside Metro for a memory, she accepts as it will mean her freedom. Adrian is a rookie Forceman who believes in order. When he is assigned a mission to take down a renegade Proxy’s illegal dealings that are messing with people’s brain chemistry, he vows not to stop until he neutralizes the threat. The only problem is that when he tracks Liv down, her memories are entirely gone. As Adrian struggles to condemn her for crimes she doesn’t remember, they travel beyond the Metro and encounter danger around every turn while their feelings for each other grow.

This reminded me how much I miss dystopian!! Can we please get more dystopian books?? This had the perfect vibes and tropes for a dystopian romance. The world is so fascinating and easy to understand. I loved how immersive the world was—I would love to see more of it. I especially loved outside of the Metro—I’m a sucker for anything remotely survival-y and it was so fun.

The plot was really good and engaging. It definitely keeps your attention and leaves you wondering how it’s going to end. I loved all the reveals and the action at the end. It had me on the edge of my seat as I was desperate for a happy ending between Liv and Adrian.

The dual POV was perfect for this book as Liv does lose her memories. It was so cute to watch Adrian struggle and fall for her while she didn’t have their shared history. It was also so wholesome to watch her fall for him. Their romance is so sweet and so easy to root for. Honestly the whole cast of characters were so lovely and so distinct. The author did an amazing job—I loved them all!

Overall, if you’re looking for a dystopian or sci-fi, this is definitely one you should check out!

Thank you to Penguin Teen and Netgalley for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A stunning debut! Vividly portrayed with incredible characters, phenomenal writing and proper stakes! This fast-paced, action-filled foray into speculative fiction was a delight to read! Can't wait for whatever Tew writes next!

Thank you so much to the author, Jill Tew, for reaching out and sending me a copy of The Dividing Sky for me to read and review! This review is entirely my own thoughts and opinions based on the advance copy I received!

*ੈ✩‧₊˚༺☆༻*ੈ✩‧₊˚

Who else misses the nostalgia of the dystopian YA era? Yea, me too. And apparently Jill Tew as well because she nailed it with a strong debut and I'm over here hoping she causes the YA Dystopian craze to make a comeback, except this time, make it SciFi.

This is one of those books that, if you're an older reader like me, you'll be pleasantly filled with the nostalgia of the early 2010s when all we read was Dystopian YA (and some questionably good vampire books). The book itself is eerily familiar, especially for an American audience where we are facing down a future that could potentially be similar to this. (Casual reminder to VOTE y'all!). Jill has done a phenomenal job building a world of hyper-capitalism that takes many people's realities to the extreme, so that this story resonates with us, just like how the dystopian YAs of our youth resonated with us then. There were multiple points that I had to break out the highlighters and get to annotating because, damn, Jill had to be venting frustrations about our capitalistic society in here because she laid out some truths in this book.

I have to applaud Jill on how well fleshed out her world is. She did a great job blending her world building into the story in order to keep the pace flowing naturally and avoiding weighing the plot down with an overabundance of details about the world. And this world is incredibly built. It's obvious a lot of care and thought went into the process of creating this world, down to the most minute of details.

Both Liv and Adrian were incredibly well written. I loved that this story was Dual POV. The insight into both of their thought process and emotions really pulled their overall character arcs together and made it so much easier to relate to them both. Shout out to Celeste. She might be a kid, but she's a queen in my book.

I can't recommend this book enough. 5 big stars for Jill Tew's The Dividing Sky

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐃 𝐈𝐅 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄:
☆ Dual POV
☆ Cozy Dystopian
☆ Found Family
☆ Futuristic Boston w/ hyper-capitalist society
☆ Memory Loss
☆ Slow Burn
☆ Body Modifications
☆ He’s chasing her
☆ Enemies-to-Lovers

This book is singlehandedly bringing dystopian back and I AM SO HERE FOR IT!

Buckle up because this book has it all--dual POV enemies to lovers, literally everything you love and miss about dystopian books, gorgeous worldbuilding that's a bit too close for comfort to reality and unsettling for that reason, tender human connections, and a story that makes you stop and think while your heart aches.

It landed in this perfect in-between for me of nostalgic and fresh, and made me question our current world in the way that only the best dystopian/sci-fi books do. The simplest but most important thing I can say about it was that it made me feel touched and inspired in such a poignant way.

Thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

words? WHAT ARE WORDS?!

This was 5 out of this world stars!

I feel like I tried to prolong this book because I was so thoroughly invested. From the world building to the characters, everything about The Dividing Sky reels you in. The fact that this plot follows the life of a memory merchant?! LIKE WHAT?! She shares her memories for currency and I think that's just so freaking cool.

I was absolutely sucked in from the opening chapter. I cannot recommend this one enough to all my dystopian sci-fi readers out there! It gave me vibes from some of our favorites like, Ready Player One, Arcane and The Giver.

Highly recommend you add this to your TBR!

“Reading helps me imagine what it might be like to laugh harder, scream louder, love deeper. To live fully for myself, and no one else, at least in my dreams.”

This book offers a nostalgic return to the young adult dystopian genre of the 2010s. I really appreciate the dual points of view, which provide a deeper understanding of the characters. It's a strong debut with a refreshing cozy dystopian atmosphere. The story explores themes of living life fully and self-discovery, with beautifully crafted world-building and characters.

Watching the characters grow and make the right choices is also captivating. The found family theme was a wonderful aspect, though I wish it had been explored more. My main regret is that the romance develops too quickly, spanning just a week. Despite this, I enjoyed the writing style and the way the story unfolds. One of the moments I cherish most is when Adrian takes Liv's book with him everywhere, staying up late to read it and filling its pages with doodles that capture their shared memories, helping him feel connected to her. It’s such a touching and endearing scene, filled with warmth and tenderness. It reveals just how much he values her book as a piece of her soul. He clearly understands that the book symbolizes a deep part of who she is, and his actions beautifully reflect the emotional connection he feels towards her. If there is a sequel, I’m eager to explore more, and I’ll definitely pick up the next installment if available.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House Children's for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the eARC! The Dividing Sky was a fantastic debut novel that I'm sure will bring back the YA dystopian genre. It was so creative and so immersive. I'm really hoping for a sequel!

The Dividing Sky had everything I love about dystopian! It was a futuristic world that felt all too real and more plausible than I'd care to admit. I would follow these characters anywhere, in the Metro or to the Outerlands, just to spend more time with them. I truly hope The Dividing Sky is the start of the dystopian comeback we've all been waiting for. It is the perfect balance of dystopian nostalgia while feeling fresh and accessible to readers new to the genre.

The Dividing Sky brought me back to the Dystopian era of the 2010s, and I want to go back and never leave!

We are thrust into this world where everyone works to live and lives for Life Corp.

The world building *chefs kiss*, our characters, and all the challenges they face against the corporation played in my mind like a movie. This book really reflected on the hardships normal people face in a world where truly evil corporations have their way, but as human as we are we find a way to fight back and find that light at the end of the tunnel.

I’m telling you… the comeback for YA dystopian books starts right here.

THOUGHTS

This book feels classically YA dystopia in a really fun way. It might not be as poignant and impactful as the heavy-hitter dystopian books that launched that craze a decade ago, but it still strikes a good balance between social-critique and romantic-pining. It's fun. It's quick. It wasn't profound, but I really enjoyed it.


PROS
Classic: This book has a classic YA dystopia feel in the best way. It's got dual perspectives for each of the love interests. It's got stratified social classes and governmental roadblocks for clawing your way out of the poorest districts. It's got advanced tech and an untouched, "dangerous" natural world outside of the dystopian regime. In short, it has all of what made the initial dystopian boom so fun.

Rock-and-Hard-Place: What I love about this book is the fact that, since we get both perspectives, we can really see why these characters are making the (often rather bad) decisions they are. And even if I knew, as a reader, that this decision was bad... it also made sense. The decisions made make sense from a character perspective. We know more than the characters. We have less faith in the system than the characters. We can see how these choices are going to go horribly, terribly wrong... and yet we're hoping that they don't, because we can't really blame the characters when things do go predictably awry.

Found Family: Though I do wish some of these side characters had been given more time on the page, I absolutely adored the found-family element of this book. As much as it feels classically YA dystopia, this addition really elevates the story. Having that sort of kinship, those bonds and familiar banter, makes the central romance feel less isolating. In a genre that tends to be painfully individualistic (and consumed by a romantic "subplot"), this is definitely a refreshing twist.


CONS
Drug Usage: Hey, it's a dystopian world. Things are bleak. Life is hard. And the government may or may not be doing a bit of chemical-psychological warfare on the people. So casual drug usage to escape it all feels pretty par for the course, right? But that might mean this book isn't the best read for those on the younger end of the YA spectrum. This is more of a parental content warning than a real con, just because it can be hard to find the right YA book for those just moving up from MG.

Why Would You Do That???: I do stand by the fact that the dual POVs are done so well here we can really understand why these characters are making the poor choices they do... with one notable exception. This is a mild spoiler that happens fairly early on, but do skip to the next con if you want to pick this book up without any preconceptions! SPOILER: Liv decides, once she has escaped the city, to store her memories away and give herself a day of peace. Which, on the one hand, makes sense since she is going through a rough patch, internally. But she's also outside of the city for the first time in her life. She has heard stories of deadly raiders, and she doesn't know how to live off the grid. So why, why, why would she erase any of her knowledge in this case? That's just such a strange decision to make when you're in a strange and unfamiliar place. This is the only thing that didn't make sense to me. Not at all.

Globalization: I don't like to nitpick too much when a book isn't meant to be particularly serious. This book has a message, sure, but it isn't really meant to be strictly realist fiction, right? But... you can't tell me that these off-the-grid raider communities have all the amenities that they do. In the contemporary age, we really have forgotten how much we have simply due to the global network underpinning our society. Once that collapses--or once you have to leave that behind--you're not out here with cayenne pepper and fresh cream cheese in a commune community in New England. That's just silly in a de-globalized world


Rating
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
7/10

Fans of Marie Lu's Legend will like this dive into a twisty sort of dystopian city. Those who loved Under This Forgetful Sky by Lauren Yero will like escaping the city confines to live under the stars.

This was fantastic. I cannot wait to read more from Jill Tew. This story brought me back to the earlier 2010s book era with popular and fun sci fi titles with lovable casts like The Lunar Chronicles, but The Dividing Sky is importantly written with a sharper eye to staying in your own lane and including diversity without being problematic. Besides the incredible representation, the romance was fun, the writing sharp, the story beyond engaging. I think this is going to be a big hit.

A fine read! Jill Tew's debut novel is amazing, and I absolutely cannot wait for more from this author. I have not read much sci-fi, and very very few sci-fi romances, and I'm glad that specific genre is growing, even though I' not much of a sci-fi or romance reader. The characters felt very layered and thought-out, and their relationships were very complex. The world building, on the other hand, definitely should have been expanded upon further! This world was such an interesting part of this novel and it was never explored as far as I wanted it to. Another hundred pages of just straight world building and exploring the dystopian future this book suggests would have definitely made this a five star. If you're a fan of Winter's Orbit and the Blood Like Magic duology, The Dividing Sky might be for you.

This book helped me out of my reading slump. I want to thank NetGalley for the ARC. I really enjoy scifi/fantasy books that throw in a little romance. LifeCorp made me think of Amazon and what could happen if Amazon were to bailout cities. So many concepts of this book felt very close to home, like the productivity scores and getting thing delivered as fast as possible. Characters were refreshing, storyline well thought out and pit together. I would have loved more on Reem and Arthur and more world building of the Metro. I’m ready for a book 2. I just want more in general. Overall an excellent read, loved Liv and Adrian

YA dystopian is making a comeback and THE DIVIDING SKY needs to be on your tbr!

THE DIVIDING SKY takes place in a hyper-capitalist world where productivity controls everything and everyone. everyone is too busy being productive to enjoy anything— even the food is streamlined (and gross).

liv is a proxy who uses a neurochip in her brain to transmit memories and feelings to others. when she starts transmitting extra memories on the side for some more money, the government needs to immediately put an end to it and sends their handsome rookie to stop her.

THIS BOOK YALL. it had all the dystopian vibes we know and love (aka the world hitting a little too close to home) plus a super cute slow-burn subplot. i loved tew’s commentary on hyper-productivity, the use of short-form content as a dopamine boost to keep going, and how everything is not always as it seems in two-sided conflicts.

the world is fully fleshed out, and the idea of proxies, those who do the *actually important* things in life for others so they can continue to work themselves to death is unique and innovative (b*zos and el*n pls don’t get any ideas).

i was hooked from the beginning and couldn’t turn my pages fast enough, there is a countdown element which is something i love in books because the lead up to disaster is *chefs kiss*

the dual pov consists of liv, our empathetic reader FMC and adrian, our boy who is so down bad for her (but doesn’t want to admit it)

ALSO, a micro-trope i never knew i needed: HE ANNOTATES HER BOOK SO THAT HE CAN FEEL CLOSER TO HER 😭 — like ?!!??!

if you’re excited for the YA dystopian renaissance be sure to pick this one up in october — i’ve already pre-ordered my copy and i’m excited for what tew releases next!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5

thank you to @netgalley, @joyrevbooks, @jtewwrites for a free ARC in exchange for a review. all opinions are my own.