Sky in the Deep- By Adrienne Young
Seventeen-year-old Eelyn, part of the Viking Aska clan, has just two priorities in life: kill the enemy, Riki clan, alongside her best friend and father, and survive. The first day of the fighting season, Eelyn’s world stops when she sees her dead brother on the battlefield. (The one she thought died five years ago fighting the Riki, now fighting as a Riki.) The next time on the battlefield, she goes looking for her brother and gets captured by the Riki. She gets taken into a completely unknown culture with her estranged brother, trapped by the mountains of snow and an entire group of people who would very much love to kill her. Eelyn has to take a leap of faith, trusting another clan and endangering her own. Can Eelyn convince the clans to put centuries of blood feud behind them, or will they both cease to exist?
I liked this book so much because I instantly felt entangled into the fictitious world Adrienne Young created. I have never read a book this intoxicatingly unique. Whenever I was not reading it, questions would pull at the back of my mind, begging me to pick up the book. I needed to know what would happen and found myself thinking of the story constantly. The writing style of Adrienne is simple to understand, yet with profound meaning. Adrienne Young created a perfect balance of details and events. The metaphors weaved into this book intertwine with nature, bringing a certain ambiance that felt authentic to the story and setting.
The characters are so multidimensional, not just the main characters, but all of them. I could see each character’s perspective and felt like I journeyed with each of the characters, learning and growing with them. Adrienne Young wrote the first-person perspective of Eelyn very realistically. With many other young-adult books that I have read, I constantly face the problem of feeling like the characters do not seem anywhere near their age, or human at all. With Sky in the Deep, the character actions and dialogue seemed very realistic and appropriate.
Made out to be a fearless character, Eelyn has gotten some backlash about her bravery. It isn’t the fact that Eelyn swings an axe or wields a sword, but the fact that she has to confront some personal demons and try to figure out her own identity in an extremely difficult time. She has weaknesses and fears but faces them. This is what makes her courageous, not the fact that she doesn’t have any fears, but the fact that she overcomes them.
Young weaved the topic of love so subtly into Sky in the Deep that it does not become the main storyline but adds to it. It foreshadows the events and characters until the end when it bursts out, bringing the plot to a satisfying finish. The topic of love did not pertain to romantic love but what it really means to love someone. Adrienne Young shows the true meaning of love, even when you are unaware of it and how it ascends from your subconscious.
With topics of survival, betrayal, and trust, Sky in the Deep may be set many years ago but has themes and lessons that relate to modern-day society and our everyday lives. For someone who seeks a book beyond the conventional everyday young-adult fiction, Sky in the Deep is a great choice. With a courageous and daring female protagonist, whose world gets turned inside out, you will become engrossed until the very end. You do not have to be a history buff or Viking fan just an avid reader who is hungry for a non-typical young-adult historical fiction. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and the unique perspective I gained from reading it. It kept me at the edge of my seat the entire time. I would highly recommend it for ages 14 and older because of violence and other mature themes.
Reviewed by Brianna Baldinger, 10th grade, NewGate School, Sarasota, FL.
Tomorrow’s Child / Nov 2018 / Pg 30
