Sky Without Stars, by Jessica Brody and Joanne Rendell

Hey, all!

I just finished reading Sky Without Stars, by Jessica Brody and and Joanne Rendell! 

"When the Last Days came, the planet of Laterre promised hope. But five hundred years later, it’s now a place where an extravagant elite class reigns supreme; where the clouds hide the stars and the poor starve in the streets; where a rebel group, long thought dead, is resurfacing.

Whispers of revolution have begun—a revolution that hinges on three unlikely heroes…

Chatine is a street-savvy thief who will do anything to escape the brutal Regime, including spying on Marcellus, the grandson of the most powerful man on the planet.

Marcellus is an officer—and the son of a traitor. Groomed to command by his legendary grandfather, Marcellus begins to doubt the government he’s vowed to serve when he discovers a cryptic message that only one person, a girl named Alouette, can read.

Alouette is living in an underground refuge, where she guards and protects the last surviving library on the planet. But a shocking murder will bring Alouette to the surface for the first time in twelve years…and plunge Laterre into chaos.

All three have roles to play in a dangerous game of revolution—and together they will shape the future of a planet."

This book is based on Les Miserables, and has been quoted to be a mix of Les Mis and The Lunar Chronicles. 

Disclaimer: I have never read either of those stories. 

I know I know, missing out on two classics, one in the real world and one in the YA world? But I might just have to try to read them, because Sky Without Stars was awesome. 

I had so much fun reading this book! It was compulsively readable to to the point that I didn't want to put the book down to sleep at night - that hasn't happened to me in a very long time! 

This book hit all of the marks I appreciate in YA: short chapters (yes), a plot that thickens (yesss), compelling characters (yessssss) and plot twists galore (YESSSSS!) I also love books that are split into sections - somehow it makes reading such big books less daunting. 
   
I really enjoyed the characters, but there was definitely an appreciation scale. Alouette was intriguing, in the sense where she felt like any one of us, who would be thrown into a bad situation just because we tried to help. She is full of confusion and questions and just felt very relatable. 

A bit more interesting for me was Marcellus - he was a little oblivious too (I mean not being able to tell Chatine was a girl... wow!), but I'm a sucker for royal-like characters. He was the absolute definition of 'kind', and I am very curious about what he ends up doing in book 2. 

The coolest character by far for me was Chatine. A thief who steals to live and who ends up in a situation far bigger than herself, in which she has to use deception to make ends meet? That's everything I love! She reminded me tons of my D&D character, Lila, which was super cool to read! I absolutely loved the intrigue she brought, her shady background and her ending!!! She's definitely the one I'm most looking forward to reading about more again. 

The villains were awesome. I won't say more about that, because I'm trying to make this as spoiler-free as possible. Some people were clearly villains from the start. However, a few characters were total surprises! 

I also had a lot of fun with the worldbuilding! Albeit a tiny bit confusing at fist, you quickly fall into it quite naturally. 

Now, there is one thing about this book that people seem to either love or hate - the frenchification (is that a word? It is now!) of some words. There where certain words that were replaced with the French equivalent, while others were given accents. At first, I thought this was weird. But quickly enough, I realized that this way of reading almost perfectly mirrors how I think every day. I'm half French half American, I usually think in English but sometimes will replace simple words with their French equivalent. I do this when I talk with my family as well! 
   
I can understand that this may be a little annoying to people, though. This book was incredibly entertaining, but it had its flaws. I wish that some side characters were a little more thought out, and that maybe a map of this system was given. However, all of these things can be 'fixed' in the upcoming book, out today! 

I'm going to end this review here! I had a lot of fun reading this book and would definitely recommend it if you are looking for a futuristic read! 

I'm giving this 4/5 stars! Definitely worth the read! 

Stay bookish, and more importantly, STAY HOME!