Title: Sky in the Deep
Author: Adrienne Young
Pages: 352
Genre: YA Historical Fiction
Release Date: 24 April 2018
From Goodreads: "Raised to be a warrior, seventeen-year-old Eelyn fights alongside her Aska clansmen in an ancient rivalry against the Riki clan. Her life is brutal but simple: fight and survive. Until the day she sees the impossible on the battlefield — her brother, fighting with the enemy — the brother she watched die five years ago. Faced with her brother's betrayal, she must survive the winter in the mountains with the Riki, in a village where every neighbor is an enemy, every battle scar possibly one she delivered. But when the Riki village is raided by a ruthless clan thought to be a legend, Eelyn is even more desperate to get back to her beloved family. She is given no choice but to trust Fiske, her brother’s friend, who sees her as a threat. They must do the impossible: unite the clans to fight together, or risk being slaughtered one by one. Driven by a love for her clan and her growing love for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her own definition of loyalty and family while daring to put her faith in the people she’s spent her life hating."
Thank you to Wednesday Books for providing me with a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for review! All opinions are my own.
I've been having a difficult relationship with reading lately (for personal reasons) but Sky in the Deep seems to have gotten me out of my reading slump! This book was the perfect dose of historical fiction I didn't know I needed and I'm definitely looking forward to Adrienne Young's future releases!
"We ask Sigr to accept your soul into Solbjorg, where the long line of our people hold torches on the shadowed path."
Plot:
Eelyn was raised to be a warrior and fights with her Aska clansmen in the ancient war against the Riki clan. While sometimes brutal, her life follows two simple rules: fights and survive. But one day, on the field of battle, Eelyn sees the impossible: her brother is fighting alongside the enemy- the same brother that she watched die five years ago. Faced with the betrayal of her brother, Eelyn now must survive with the Riki clan for the winter; the mountain village filled with enemy neighbors and battle scars that she possibly delivered herself. But when a clan thought to be but a legend attacks the Riki village, Eelyn becomes desperate to return home to her loved ones. With no choice, she joins with Fiske, her brother's friend, and together they must unite the Aska and Riki to fight together or risk the clans being destroyed. Driven by a fierce love of her clan and her growing feelings for Fiske, Eelyn must confront her definition of loyalty and family and decide whether or not to put her trust in people she's spent her entire life hating.
I'm almost positive I've never read a YA book about Vikings before but oh my goodness am I so glad I have now! I really enjoyed Sky in the Deep, plain and simple. The plot kept me engaged in the story from start to finish and actually piqued my interest in Viking culture. I really enjoyed the battles the most but I found that the more I read, the more I also enjoyed Eelyn's journey and the "slower" less brutal parts. She went through some internal battles between seeing her brother on the battlefield, being taken by the Riki and living with them, and trying to decide for herself what family and loyalty actually meant to her. There was so much growth and development from her and I was living for it! I will say that I felt like the final battle was kind of lackluster, unfortunately. I was hoping for a lot more, probably because the opening chapter had a very intense battle and I loved it. But outside of that minor complaint, the entire rest of the book was very enjoyable. It started off strong at the beginning and while the pace slowed down through the middle, I never felt like it was dragging on and never found myself bored. I thoroughly appreciated seeing the different sides of Eelyn and just genuinely loved her as the main character. This is one book I'm glad I took a chance on!
"And the glacier inside of me cracked. It roared as it broke and fell into the icy waters around my heart."
Characters:
Eelyn was definitely the strong, fierce warrior main character that I've been dying to read about. She was brutal but smart and loyal to those she called family. I do feel that she spent a lot of her time at the Riki camp basically talking about how she could destroy/kill the Riki, but never really doing anything. I was slightly frustrated at this, but then I came to the conclusion that she did this for a reason: she was beginning to realize that maybe the people she's grown up hating aren't so different from her after all. She never says this, but you can definitely tell in her character development that she changes her mind about the Riki over time. Which, speaking of character development, I actually really enjoyed her growth throughout the book. She does remain a fierce warrior, however, and that was my favorite part about her! A Viking warrior female main character that is able to hold her own on the field of battle but also has complex feelings and emotions and is able to grow as a character throughout the book? Yes, please! We need more characters like Eelyn in Young Adult books.
I didn't particularly care for any of the other characters in Sky in the Deep, unfortunately. If I had to choose one that I would be interested in reading more about, it would be Eelyn's battle partner Myra. I'd love to know more about her backstory! However, I do feel that the companion novel may possibly be about Fiske? He wasn't a bad character, and I suppose I wouldn't mind knowing more about him and his connection to Eelyn's brother, Iri. I did feel that the romance between Fiske and Eelyn wasn't necessary, though. I would have much rather seen the two of them become friends! But I will say that, while I may not have necessarily agreed with the romance, it wasn't insta-love, and that wins a ton of points in my book. It was more of an enemies-to-lovers kind of development, and even at the end, they weren't exactly the typical YA romance couple. So, I didn't exactly hate it and would be interested to see how it develops possibly in the companion novel.
"Because you have fire in your blood."
Writing:
I think the most enjoyable part about this book was the writing. There was just something about it that kept me going, even when I was tired and probably should have gone to bed. The author does a really good job at bringing you into Eelyn's world and making you feel like you're with her everywhere she goes. It's so descriptive and beautiful and I really felt like I was in the book! I will say, I was picturing Lagertha from Vikings every time I thought about what Eelyn looked like. I can't be the only one that did that, right? But, as I stated above, there was something about the writing in this book that just made it stand out to me. This might not have been the most perfect amazing flawless book ever, but I really liked it because of the writing. It was descriptive without going overboard and allowed you to really get a feel for Eelyn's character. The battles, while there weren't as many as I would have liked, were brutal and exciting, and the characters were well fleshed out (despite me only really liking Eelyn) and felt like real people. I don't typically encounter authors whose writing just has that thing that I can't find the words to describe, but Adrienne Young has it, and I can't wait to read more from her!
Sky in the Deep is a perfect summer read for anyone looking for a quick and exciting Viking tale. It has an amazingly strong female main character, a plot that keeps you intrigued from start to finish and writing that will hook you in from the first bloody battle to the last!
I think the most enjoyable part about this book was the writing. There was just something about it that kept me going, even when I was tired and probably should have gone to bed. The author does a really good job at bringing you into Eelyn's world and making you feel like you're with her everywhere she goes. It's so descriptive and beautiful and I really felt like I was in the book! I will say, I was picturing Lagertha from Vikings every time I thought about what Eelyn looked like. I can't be the only one that did that, right? But, as I stated above, there was something about the writing in this book that just made it stand out to me. This might not have been the most perfect amazing flawless book ever, but I really liked it because of the writing. It was descriptive without going overboard and allowed you to really get a feel for Eelyn's character. The battles, while there weren't as many as I would have liked, were brutal and exciting, and the characters were well fleshed out (despite me only really liking Eelyn) and felt like real people. I don't typically encounter authors whose writing just has that thing that I can't find the words to describe, but Adrienne Young has it, and I can't wait to read more from her!
Sky in the Deep is a perfect summer read for anyone looking for a quick and exciting Viking tale. It has an amazingly strong female main character, a plot that keeps you intrigued from start to finish and writing that will hook you in from the first bloody battle to the last!
