Glow (Sky Chasers #1)

Waverly has lived, her entire life in deep space on the colony ship the Empyrean. She, along with a boy named, Kieran and several other children are the first generation to be born in space, and will be the start of a new future as the pioneers of New Earth. The children are encouraged to marry and have children young to ensure that enough people will be available for the colonization of New Earth. It is widely presumed that Kieran, the future successor to the captain and Waverly will be married and have children to continue the Mission. But, Waverly is unsure whether she wants the quiet and somewhat bland Kieran as her future husband and is interested in Seth, a withdrawn , boy with a dark side.
The mission of the Colony ship, the Empyrean takes a turn, when their sister ship, the New Horizon appears before them. The ship, which should be many light-years ahead of them is startlingly close. The New Horizon, looms near without giving the Empyrean one indication of their motives for being there. After, asking for a meeting with the crew of the Empyrean , several people from the New Horizon force their way onto the ship, killing crew and they steal the girl children. When the girls are taken to the New Horizon , they find everybody seemingly pleasant enough of the surface, but Waverly feels that something is very wrong . The charismatic leader of the New Horizon, Anne Mathers, holds the entire New Horizon crew under her spell as the spiritual leader and captain of the ship. She has convinced the crew of the New Horizon that they are chosen by God and their actions are righteous. As the girls’ time of the New Horizon lengthens, Waverly finds that more and more girls believe, Anne Mathers. Waverly uncovers a terrible, plot by Anne Mathers and some of the New Horizon’s crew. Waverly alerts some of the girls to her knowledge and the situation on the New Horizon becomes ever more critical, and Waverly finds herself the leader of an escape plan to rescue the girls of the New Horizon and return them to their home.

Meanwhile, on the Empyrean Kieran, struggles to hold things together in the chaos that follows the New Horizon attack. Engines are failing, radiation is leaking, and the general unrest of the boys left without there parents threatens to destroy everything. Seth, plots to take over leadership from Kieran and after a terrible accident, a power struggle between Seth and Kieran results leading to turmoil in the ship. In the end , both Kieran and Waverly have difficult choices to make and each finds themselves transformed into something that neither of them thought they would ever be.

Glow is a rich, fulfilling read that neatly weaves, theology, science, action and emotion into a tapestry that is thrilling to behold. The book poses questions of morality, right-and-wrong and practicality so perfectly that the reader is forced, to analyze the book at a greater depth than many fiction books on the market nowadays. The righteousness that Anne Mather’s and her crew feel are perfect counterpoints to the uncertainty that abounds in the remnants of the Empyrean crew. The climax of the story draws the book to a close then re-opens the door for another book, by setting up scenarios that beg to be answered.
Glow only had a few problems; it would have been nice if the author had given us a longer look at life aboard the Empyrean before, the chaos caused by the New Horizon crew. Also some points in the book felt as though the author was relying on the reader using inference to much and some moments where it would have been good to show more of the character’s emotions weren’t fully utilized.

However, Glow is an excellent book, the themes inside are thought-provoking and well-excueted. As the start to a series Glow offers an excellent takeoff with a promise for much more to come.

Age Groups: 13+

Content: violence, charcters being killed with descriptions, vague references to teenage intitmate realationships, use of sh-- curse word
Disclaimer: Book was obtained in goodreads first reads giveaway.

I did not enjoy this book as much as I should of. The writing style didn't agree with me, and I felt that we didn't get deep enough into the characters thoughts. I reckon that maybe the author should of wrote the parts/chapters in 1st person, shifting between Waverley and Kieran points of view.

The plot was very good, and it was very realistic in the way that this future could be very possible. There was no hint into magical powers or ghostly figures seen at night, but it was staying on the line where we were evolving our technology to the point of light speed to a completely New Earth.

This book also captures human nature, no differences to now, the same personalties that we share now. Greed, anger, hope, terror and fear. The religious aspect was also very good, because they thought they were doing the work of God, but like Mather's case, in a violent way where they kidnapped children and did things against their will. This happened to Kieran but in a more friendly way. These actions reflect on our society now and even our history, where power and corruption has led to violent wars, and bloody battles.

I don't think that this book captured the feelings of the outcomes as well as it should have. Also at times I was thinking about Waverley, "How could stupid can she be, can't she what is happening!?" I guess the author was trying to frame her innocence, but she's fifteen and shouldn't be that ignorant.

I also the 'love' thing between Kieran and Waverley came on to fast, I think that there should of been a build up of it, and finally at the end, it should of been the same as now, but with something more powerful.

I think that this is a good work of science fiction, and deserves a read if you love science fiction and a very possible future outcome for every single one of us!

Great space read!

A flash to a very possible future. Nothing is paranormal or magical, all the events seem likely and basic human nature. This was astounding and i cant wait to read the next book.

First Impressions: Anything that claims to be up to par with The Hunger Games is an automatic must read for me. Plain and simple. Even though I never, ever read books that take place in outer space, I just had to read this book.

First 50 Pages: I finished the entire book in just a few short hours. That is how good this book is. Like I said, I’m not a outer space kind of girl. I’m not big into Science Fiction. I’m not a Star Wars fan or a Trekkie. It’s just not for me. So, I was amazed that I was instantly hooked to this book. My family was trying to talk to me while I sat in our living room and read and I have no idea what was being said. It’s just that good.

Characters & Plot: Without giving too much of the plot away, more than the synopsis already has, I will say that the premise of this book is extremely unique. I’ve never read a book quite like it. The thing that makes this book go beyond ordinary is the fact you (the reader) cannot guess who you should or should not trust and who you need to root for. It’s IMPOSSIBLE to tell who the good and bad guys are in the book. Every time I thought I had it all sorted out, something would happen to make me question everything. The plot is completely unpredictable.

With that said, trying to explain characters is also impossible. By the end of this first book in the series, nothing is wrapped up. I mean, absolutely nothing. We don’t fully know the characters yet to be able to explain them. I can’t even give logical educated guesses, and I LOVE that about this book. The only downside? I have no idea when the next book will be available and it is going to drive me bonkers until I find out what happens next.

Final Thoughts: I was in no way disappointed. The hype around this book is there for a reason, a very good reason. I would love to see this series made into movies (even though the movies are never as good as the books). This book does contain dark themes and incidents that are probably not suitable for a younger teenager. I think teens and adults alike are going to love this book. It’s going to create controversy and that is WONDERFUL! I can't recommend this book highly enough!