Every year, a new generation of children arrives on a conveyer belt to meet their parents. Every spring, the residents of this idyllic suburb take down the snow they've stuck to their windows and replace it with flowers. And every day passes much the same as any other.
Imagine a perfectly-formed, perfectly-controlled world. And then imagine what will happen when everything comes crashing down...
Review:
I didn't know what to expect from The Sky Inside because the synopsis on the back cover was very vague. The Goodreads synopsis reveals many more of the plot points.
I was pleasantly surprised by the beginning because I found myself very interested in Martin's (the main character) life in the suburb in which he resides with his parents and younger sister. The residents know that there is a world outside but believe that it's poisonous and that it's much more safe in the suburb.
Martin's father is the packet chief at the factory- which may sound like an unimportant job but is actually quite important. He is the only human that works in the factory to receive 'packets' and to communicate with other suburbs. Martin goes to work with him one day, taking along with him his new birthday present- the Alldog.
The Alldog, who he names Chip, is a bot creature who is very smart. As they go hunting around the factory, Chip unlocks a door which is only for authorised personnel and later they find a guy called Bug, who no one's seen since the year before.
After this point, because of what happens to Bug, Martin starts to question the suburb more. However, it is not until after his sister is taken away that he really does something about it.
The first hundred pages of The Sky Inside were very good. I was interested in Martin and his world and wanted to learn much more about it than what was offered. It did remind me a bit of The City of Ember, but that was a fleeting impression. In the middle however, the pace slowed down and remained like that to the end.
The ending was very anticlimactic and I was disappointed at the explanation given for what had happened to make the world the way it was now. It felt really unrealistic and improbable and some questions as to what would happen next were left unanswered. However, I can guess what happens and don't think there will be a sequel.
I liked the relationship between Martin and Chip, but did think Chip's cleverness made some situations too easy for Martin to get out of. The secondary characters, such as Martin's parents and friends could have been developed more as it would have made the story much more interesting. I would have liked more description of the scenery to have better visualised the surroundings.
Overall, I did like The Sky Inside as it was thought-provoking. The first half of the story held great promise however, the second half didn't live up to my expectations. I would have liked a more thorough explanation at the end. This was a good story and I would recommend it to readers who enjoy the dystopian genre. Though not the best dystopian book out there, it does offer some good reading.
Rating: 3.5/5
Concept: 4/5
Cover: 4/5
Author: Clare B. Dunkle
This review is part of Dystopian February at Presenting Lenore.
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