ARC Review: Glow

Title: Glow
Author: Amy Kathleen Ryan
Genre: Dystopian / Sci-Fi
Release Date: September 27th


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.--Goodreads


First, a slight mini-rant.
Why the comparison to Hunger Games? For that matter, why compare at all? This book has absolutely no similarities to Hunger Games, so I don’t even see the need! They are both unique in their own way, and I am utterly sick of hearing comparisons with every other Dystopia I read. “Oh it’s like Hunger Games!” No it’s not! Not in any way at all! For starters, this isn’t just Dystopia, but it’s Science Fiction. They’re in space. There’s no battle arena. No war-ravaged poverty-stricken Earth ruled by a Capital and district sections. The things that the two share are the Dystopian genre, packed with action and a good heroine, and the fact that both have a love triangle. That’s where the very LIGHT line is drawn.


To simply put this: Quit comparing books to each other that are so completely different. Books are meant to be unique anyway, and I think it’s only fair to give Glow that standing as well. Comparing books to one another are fine and dandy IF there really are similarities to be said.


Sighs.


On to my review of Glow.


It was surprisingly good. Normally, I’m not such a fan of science fiction- well not the kind that’s all space-like where there’s spaceships and life in the big Milky Way, etc. I guess I did have a Star Trek phase at one time, but it wasn’t obsessive and I got past it eventually. Ha. But Glow took me off guard with the story. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The action was high, nail-biting, and evoked so many emotions that I couldn’t stop reading.


The love triangle though I particularly hated and felt detached from this time around. To be honest, I’m a little sick of them. In order for me to get into one nowadays, they have to be done pretty well, and here this one just didn’t connect. Kieran annoyed me, and Seth creeped me out a bit. I didn’t like either of the guys. But not liking their characters didn’t pull me away from the story luckily. Oftentimes, I still found myself curious to find out what would happen next. Waverly’s character was the one I was attached to most. She was so strong and smart no matter how much hardships she had faced during the rough times. Her character was very nicely crafted.


While the story itself wasn’t entirely unique with the children idea (I have read some other Dystopias in the last year that involved women/children repopulation type plot), the author did an amazing job with her own take on the story and provided many twists and turns, as well as interesting technology and intense messages that make you think.


I very much look forward to book two of this series!


4 stars!