Glow Review

Title: Glow
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: September 2011
Genre: YA
Main Themes: Science Fiction, Religion, Romance, & Outer Space
Pages: 307
Plot: (From Goodreads.com)

     "What if you were bound for a new world, about to pledge your life to someone you'd been promised to since birth, and one unexpected violent attack made survival—not love—the issue?
     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."

     I entered a contest online to win an early copy of Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan and I really didn't think I would win...but I came home from work to find this advanced readers edition on my doorstep.  I was so excited and I couldn't wait to read it!  So thank you St. Martin's Griffon for sending it to me!
     Being the first in the series Sky Chasers, this is wonderful book that will take you for a suspenseful ride in outer space.  This book was so different than the other books that I tend to read but I really savored it.  I found it was compelling, full of action, and was really fast paced.   On top of that, Glow was completely new and original with an intriguing plot line that will leave you gasping for air in desperation for the next page as well as the next installment.
     I felt that this story had a little of everything- romance, survival, religion, despair, death, and action.  Starting from the beginning you learned the day to day life of living on a space ship and quickly the plot develops into an ensnaring story that rips them from their normal lives to one of captivity and survival. 
     In This enthralling adventure the characters are truly passionate.  Ryan captures every characters emotion flawlessly.  Although I will say you really don't know who you want to trust in this story...One minute you could be totally falling for a character but the next you want to jump in the book and scream at them.  Waverly, by far, was my favorite out of all of them.  She starts as a normal teenage girl with the average teen problems.  But when her normal world is shredded apart she rises to the situation.  Waverly is the perfect character who could be lost and feeling hopeless but turn to be unflinching bold, gallant and headstrong.  Waverly main love interest of the story was Kieran who was uncertain of himself.  With him being so apprehensive of himself it was hard to fall in love with his character.  He does grow on you as his personality and role cultivates from the catastrophe that entered his life.  His rival of the tale was Seth, who was confidently rough around the edges.  Seth begins a quiet stubborn boy but goes off the deep end for a little while.  I do feel there could be more exciting things to come with him in the next edition.
     I gave this book an A+ as it was completely riveting as well as ruthless.  Again reading this book is like going into uncharted territory, the scheme of this tale was truly original.  The characters were fascinating and developed into prominent roles.  The writing style was beautifully descriptive and captures the passion and survival of living in outer space.

My Rating: 20/20
Originality: 5
Characters: 5
Plot: 5
Writing Style: 5