Skyward [Skyward, #1]
by Brandon Sanderson
Genre: YA science fiction
My Rating: ★★★★★
Description:
Claim the stars.
Those words have driven Spensa Nightshade -- callsign "Spin" -- to redeem her family's honor as a pilot. The Krell attacks have only grown more vicious, and new pilots to fight them are growing rare. But many tell her she'll never make it. Then one day, she discovers the wreckage of a ship -- a ship with a soul.
As she attempts to repair the ship while navigating the hostile world of flight school and frequent Krell attacks, Spensa must face the truth about what happened to her father -- and what she fears might happen to her.
Overall Thoughts
Overall Thoughts
Skyward blew me away. The plot, characterization, writing style... everything was beautifully written and made for an unforgettable story and a novel that I could not put down.
The Characters
The Characters
The characters were all, in a word, excellent. Every member of Spensa's flight group has a well-developed personality, and each are distinct from each other, so that even though there is a rather large cast of characters, I was almost never confused by who was who (though the flight introduction scene had me a little worried!) Inter-character conflicts were well-written and purposeful; even some of the more "stereotypical" conflicts were turned on their heads as the book progressed.
Spensa as a protagonist was amazing, and her POV was well-developed with a distinct voice. Her character arc was truly incredible, but I can't say more without getting into spoiler territory. There were several other well-developed characters, including Spensa's ship and the Admiral of the air base.
Plot/Pacing
The plot is taut and well-paced; there's never a slow moment. Conflict abounds in Spensa's desperation to become a pilot, her fear of being proven the coward everyone thinks she is, her struggle to fix the wrecked ship, and the varied personalities and temperaments of the people she comes to know in flight school. In a typical Sanderson fashion, there were several heart-stopping plot twists I didn't see coming. Seriously, the author needs a standing ovation just for his brilliant plot twists. The last act was pulse-pounding, and if the book was hard to put down before, it only got harder the further I read.
Worldbuilding
The world was well-described and original. The fact that the entire planet is wreathed in a junk field, and that most of the people living on the planet live underground, just made the symbolism involving stars all the more powerful. There were some elements of the world that were revealed near the end and not explained fully, but I have no doubt that we will get a more thorough explanation of these revelations in Starsight!
Content
Recommended for 11 and up.
In terms of content, there was hardly anything objectionable. A few (maybe one or two) minor swear words.
There was no sexual content as far as I remember.
There was quite a bit of violence: planes are shot down, characters are wounded, a few characters are killed on-page -- but nothing is described graphically, and tends to look more at the emotional consequences of the violence than anything else. There are also several intense scenes during battles between the Krell and the pilots.
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