Review | Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Title: Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan
Series: Sky Chasers #1
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Genre: YA - Dystopian/ Science Fiction
Publication: September 13th 2011 by St. Martin's Griffin
Source: Won in giveaway
Rating: ★★☆☆☆

Synopsis: 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.

Thoughts: I didn't really have high expectations for Glow because I had seen a lot of so-so reviews on it. I was glad I won an audio copy of it because I was able to listen to it in my car when I had a chance . While I was not disappointed, Glow didn't really offer too much for me. I am not sure if I enjoyed it or not.

I can't really explain how I felt about Glow because while it was an adventurous read, with lots of shocking moments, it still felt sort of empty for me. I didn't feel any connection or sympathy towards Waverly because her personality was a little to confusing. I did not like Kieran because he was a little pathetic...and Seth, well...he was sort of a psycho. The secondary characters didn't offer much more depth either.

The story moves really quickly at first but then the pace sort of slows down a bit, and while this wasn't bad, I sort of felt a little bored after a while. Told from alternating points of view, we are able to see what happens between both the New Horizon and the Empyrean, and get into both Waverly and Kieran minds but this didn't interest me too much either.

I am not sure what the "point" of Glow really was because of all the religious difficulties the author threw in there. I really wasn't expecting religion to play such an important part of the book and made the whole plot of the book a little weak for me.

I don't think the book was bad, but do not think I will continue this series because it didn't offer much to hold my interest. It was just an okay read for me. There are a lot of mixed reviews on this one though, so I still recommend it to others who enjoy dystopian novels to check it out.