Review Thursday- GLOW by Amy Kathleen Ryan

GLOW by Amy Kathleen Ryan

Pub date: 9/13/11

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...

Oh what can I say about GLOW? It was an amazing read! I’ve seen a number of reviews comparing GLOW to The Hunger Games, but since I have yet to read that series I cannot make that jump.  I know, I know I need to read the hunger Games soon! That series is in the middle of a very long list of books on my Kindle I need to read… I’m hoping to get the series read before the movie comes out.

That being said I was sucked into this book from page one.  I’ve started to read more Dystopian/Apocalyptic and am now wondering what has taken me so long to start reading this genre! I absolutely loved Ryan’s writing.  As with any book there are parts that I loved and parts that I did not care for.

First for the bits that I loved; I loved how easily the author was able to transport me as a reader into a futuristic world of spaceships and the search for a new earth while aboard the Empyrean.  The plot was easy to follow and full of unexpected twists and turns. I loved Waverly. Her character is stubborn and full of gumption. She was not easily convinced by the promises and reassurances being spouted by the people from the New Horizon ship. As for the boys, I’m not sure who I like or dislike… At first I was on Seth’s side, but then I was on Kieran’s side. By the end of the book I’m not sure any more who I want to side with (hence the unexpected twists and turns!).

Now for the bits I did not care for. Only a couple things really, first off when the adults are trying to fix a radiation leak there is no mention of how they decontaminated themselves after fixing everything. So, now if you go by reality standers the adults not only killed themselves with the radiation, but every child that came into contact with them. Normally something like this would escape my notice because I would not know any better, but my husband was a submariner on a nuclear submarine. So I know a little about radiation and contamination.  I think Ryan could have done a little more research on the contamination of radiation. And lastly, as much as I love this book and am impatiently awaiting the next in the series, I did not like the way Ryan ended this book. I felt that the “cliff hanger” was not much of a cliff hanger. I would of loved to of had an ending that left me chomping at the bit for the next book. Don’t get me wrong, like I said I am dying to get my hands on the next one, but I feel like there could have been a more dramatic/action packed ending.

Overall I loved GLOW and would recommend it to anyone looking for an awesome space adventure.
 I would also like to thank St. Martin’s Press for the giveaway they did on Facebook. I was super excited to have won this book. My rating: 5/5 stars