Skyward by Brandon Sanderson

My husband has picked up Brandon Sanderson on the recommendation of Daniel Greene, a YouTuber he subscribes to. He's devoured his Mistborn series, so I was familiar with the name. I put this particular book on my reading list because I wanted to expand my genres. When it comes to science fiction, my interest typically runs to movies or TV shows. Star Trek, Star Wars, Firefly are all on my watch again list. But when it comes to science fiction books, I can't honestly name any I've read. I mean yeah, maybe you could count Andy Weir's The Martian. So I guess I have one or two sci-fi books under my belt.

Skyward is the first in a series that follows Spensa Nightshade, who dreams of being a pilot like her father, but there's just one problem. Her father was branded a coward during one of the most historic battles against an enemy called the Krell. Spensa has to fight her way into flight school and prove that she isn't like her father. when she makes a discovery deep in a forgotten cave, her world becomes less about proving herself worthy of a pilot's pin and more about saving humanity and finding out what lies beyond the stars.

Sanderson spent a lot of time researching for this book and it shows. His passion shines through the descriptions of the aerial combat and training that Spensa and the other cadets go through. He does take some liberties, but considering the book is set on an alien world you can forgive him for breaking physics. The detail Sanderson uses when Spensa is training and when she's in the various battles creates a great deal of suspense. The writing is fast paced and you feel in the moment with Spensa. 

I really enjoyed Spensa's journey. She was a unique voice in YA because her goals weren't about winning a guy's approval; they were about proving her abilities as a pilot. She started out as such a hot head who grew up on the stories of heroes like Beowulf, so she adopted a warrior attitude, drinking wine out from the skulls of her enemies and all that. Spensa is a flawed character. Her attitude as she goes into flight school is very cocky and unfortunately when she gets into the cockpit, she's knocked down a few pegs. She's definitely not a Mary Sue and I think that's why I enjoyed her. She struggles, and makes mistakes and the stakes are high. 

The lack of romance in Sanderson was refreshing. Unfortunately, many YA books, especially ones with a female protagonist, are mostly focused on a romance. The point of the plot is to get the character together with their love interest. I'm not saying these books are any less enjoyable, but it's just interesting to see a book that can be easily relatable to both male and female readers.

I give this book 5/5. I'm looking forward to the second installment and I'll definitely be picking up more of Sanderson's novels.

 

My Favorites (right now)

At the risk of sounding cliche, trying to pick a favorite book or series is like asking someone to pick a favorite child; although, we all know there is always a favorite. Between me and my two siblings, there has always been a friendly rivalry about which of us is the favorite. My dad says that his favorite child is the one he's with at that moment. Conveniently evasive, but the sentiment is still sweet. So to begin my favorites list, it's with the disclaimer that this list includes my favorites at the moment. Most of them I've read many times, some only once; they are different genres and the list is not in any particular order.

1. Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier

I came across this series in high school while roaming the library stacks, but I actually returned it after the first 90 pages. I was having to work too hard to get to the story. Of course, I was a teenager and needed that instant gratification, but luckily I gave it another shot and I'm so glad I did. This series has been that comforting presence on my bookshelf for years. I have multiple copies and I've read these original three multiple times over the last 15 years. If you dig books with light fantasy elements with a little romance, you'll love this series. The first book, Daughter of the Forest, was based on the legend of the Children of Lir and "The Six Swans" but I'm not sure if the rest follow a similar pattern. Each book follows a single female narrator. First we follow Sorcha, the seventh child of the Sevenwaters clan who must save her six brothers from a sorceress's spell. You continue the story in Son of Shadows with Liadan, Sorcha's youngest daughter whose choices could doom them all. And finally the third follows Liadan's niece Fianne, a strange girl who must choose between the path her grandmother, the lady Oonagh, has laid out for her, or a path of her own making. Marillier has expanded the series into 3 more, which are also very well written and still follow the women of the Sevenwaters, but my heart will always be with the original 3 books. They have a beautifully written narrative and you feel like you've stepped into a fairy ring, transporting you to this world of magic and strong women who forge their own destinies.   

2. Arc of the Scythe by Neal Shusterman

Dystopian literature has been very popular in young adult fantasy. I've read a few series that follow the typical tropes but Neal Shusterman's newest series does something different and so, so good. In the series, mankind has conquered hunger, disease, war, misery, and most importantly death. But even in a perfect world, people must die. Scythes are death personified. This group is the only ones who can render people truly dead. The first book follows Rowan and Citra, two teenagers who have been chosen as apprentices to a Scythe. It should have been an opportunity of a lifetime, but neither want the role, which makes them, perhaps, the best candidates. As they learn the art of killing, they realize that the world is not as safe as people believe. Even though this book is classified as young adult, it is packed full of adult themes. The discussion of death and humanity's failings are so striking that there were moments where I had to put the book down and just ponder the masterful way Shusterman write complex ideas in such a way that younger audiences will understand. The world he built is seems so far removed from our own and yet there were so many elements that spoke to the world at large. For a young adult series, this one packs a punch. 

3. Educated by Tara Westover

I'm not a big nonfiction fan. The topic has to either be tied to my job, because apparently I can't turn off my teacher brain, or it has to be about the weirdest shit ever. I decided to break away from that mold this last summer by picking up this book. I'd walked by it many times in bookstores; I'd read the inside cover and thought "wow that sounds interesting...but not interesting enough to buy it." Until I signed up for a teacher training for Lit Circles. This was one of the options and man was I glad I chose this one. In her memoir Tara Westover examines her life in rural Idaho growing up in a Mormon family that didn't believe in modern medicine or the government. She has no idea what her actually birthday is, she'd never formally gone to school, and didn't have a birth certificate until she was 12. But even after all that, she manages to get into college, and not only graduate but continue on to get her doctorate from Cambridge University all before she was 30. What really struck me about this memoir and why it's on this list is just the unbelievable life she lived. There were moments where I just had to set the book down and gaze in amazement that this chick didn't die and how she managed to turn out the way she did. I haven't read many memoirs, but I also liked the way she concedes that her memories are not necessarily how other people remember events. This was a fascinating glimpse into a world so far removed from my own, but through the eyes of a person I could somehow relate to. I gave this to my mom to read and she devoured it. I highly recommend this to anyone looking to read a unique story that delves into the idea of family, home, and education. 

4. The Martian by Andy Weir

I have this weird thing with book to movie adaptations. If I read the book before seeing the movie, I typically enjoy the book more, but if I see the movie before reading the book, then I prefer the movie. Andy Weir's novel The Martian has been one of the few exceptions to this rule. Even though this book describes very complex astrophysics, biology, and botany issues, it does it in such a way that is accessible. Mark Watney has been left on Mars and yet he doesn't let that little detail steal his humor. Matt Damon did a great job of capturing this characters humor and the stream of consciousness throughout the plot, but I think much of that comes from Weir's writing. There were many points in the book that I was laughing out loud, especially when he'd mess something up while "scienceing the shit out of things" and then immediately go on a rant. This is a book about the human capacity for survival and what one man's journey can bring the entire population together. 

5. Georgina Kincaid series by Richelle Mead

Richelle Mead is one of my favorite authors. I started with her young adult series and moved into her adult ones. The Georgina Kincaid series follows a succubus who is tired of playing by Hell's rules but when she meets the mortal writer Seth Morgensen, she must decide whether she can fight her nature to stay with Seth. Mead's writing and character development for this supernatural romance is so good. The relationship between Georgina and Seth is the thread that runs through each book and their history is vastly more complicated than it appears in the first book. There were moments that made me so angry that I threw one of the books across the room and the big reveal in the last book had me going back to each one to see the bread crumbs Mead left throughout the book. Seth is such a good leading guy. He the type of understated sexy that just shocks you enough that you almost stop and ask yourself "wait did he actually just say that?" I fortunately got a chance to meet Richelle Mead in Austin at Book People and was so start struck. This is one series that I would suggest to anyone interested in a supernatural romance with more than just sex at the center of the story.