Review of Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

By Amy Kathleen Ryan

Publish Date: 9-27-11

My rating: 3.5stars

Goodreads 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.


My Review:

I was lucky enough to win an advanced reader’s edition of Glow through Goodreads.  I liked this book, but I rated it where I did because I just liked it, it wasn’t an immediate LOVE it.  I am intrigued enough by the story to read the next book because I want to see where this story can go. 

Glow is set in space, aboard two separate, for lack of better words, space cruise ships.  The climate on Earth was getting worse, so two separate ships were sent out to find “New Earth” and start a new world.   I was initially caught up in the romance between Waverly and Kieran.  I really wanted Kieran to see things the way Waverly did and was disappointed when he didn’t.  It was easy to identify that something wasn’t quite right on their ship, that the Captain and his crew were hiding something, which they were. 

I normally don’t cheer for the second guy that enters love triangles; however, Seth is mysterious enough and real enough to make me want him to win.  The difference between Kieran and Seth is that Kieran follows the Captain blindly without really thinking on his own, whereas Seth takes in the situation and at times in impulsive, but he does care about others. 

Waverly’s ship is attacked by the other ship, though I’m not entirely sure about what drove them to that point.  Despite efforts from the adults on their ship, all the girls were taken to the attacking ship under false pretenses.  Waverly is old enough and skeptical enough to not buy the false truths being told and danger seems to follow her. 

There is action, intrigue, doubt, hope and love all wrapped into this interesting story, where the setting is as a part of the action as much as the characters.  The emotion of finding what you were looking for only to have to leave it behind is seen in various forms throughout Glow.  My heart goes out to Waverly, as she has some difficult decisions ahead of her and I am anxious to see if she stays true to herself in the next installment.