Book Review: Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Glow (Sky Chasers #1)
Author:  Amy Kathleen Ryan
Publisher:  St. Matin's Griffin
Publication Date:  September 13, 2011

From Goodreads:
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.

Review:
This is a difficult review to write because really...I'm at a loss for words.

I'll try to think of what I can say about this book with spoiling anything.  Dark and a bit disturbing, this book was sometimes hard to read. I actually had to read a light and happy book at the same time (and I am a one-book-at-a-time person) just to balance it out.

It hooked me in from the start, and it was a very intense book.  Horrible things happen.  Most of the people are not good people and they do horrible things. Almost everyone is gray and complex and you don't know who to trust.  The only person I felt I could trust was Waverly, who is an incredible MC.  She has no special skills, no super-powers, no ninja training or anything.  She's just a normal teenager who is thrust into a nightmare and has to keep her head together and figure out a way out of it.  She cares for people, she's smart and resourceful, and she keeps her focus the whole time.  No angsty whining, no which boy should I like mess.  It's all about survival.  

And the guys...I can't say much without giving anything away, but I have no idea what to think about either of the MC guys (or any of the guys).  I thought I knew who I could trust and who was in the right, but now...I have no clue.  Things are definitely complicated and complex.  Basically, things really suck and just when you think they can't suck any more, they get suckier.    

Posted by:  Pam