Glow (ARC)

Today I have an ARC review of a book that came out yesterday -- Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan.

Summary: 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.

Glow is the most riveting series debut since The Hunger Games, and promises to thrill and challenge readers of all ages.

My review: I really enjoyed this book, just going to say that first thing. The book starts with two sixteen year old lovers on their way to "New Earth" some 40 years or so after earth has turned to ruins. And somebody (we never quite found out who) decided to have people take tests and those who got the highest scores would have the opportunity to get on one of two spacecrafts (one for those who are religious, one who aren't) on a 50+ year trip to New Earth so the human race can survive.

This book had no back story. After about 10 pages in it's just "Wholly BEEP, we're under attack." We had no idea who the attackers were, nothing about why the ship was traveling in space and what their mission was. The back story just comes in fragments throughout the novel. And though I like books that get right to the action, I need a back story. Especially in dystopian novels like this. I need to know exactly what happened to society.

That being said, I really enjoyed this book! I like a lot of action in the novels I read, and boy, does Glow have a load of fast-paced, totally cool, futuristic action sequences. Though I say that books aren't all about the action, it's most certainly a highlight for this book. Ryan makes the action scenes really intense.

Another thing I loved about this book was Ryan's writing. It flowed along nicely and had a sort of a "Hunger Games meets Star Trek" feel to to it.

This book left me hanging at all the right moments. I'm waiting breathlessly for more and won't rest in until I get some! I don't normally read sci-fi but I made an exception for this book, and boy am I glad I did!

5/5

Cover Comments: I like the simplicity of this cover, nice black background too.