Review: Sky in the Deep by Adrienne Young
Overview:
Rating: 3 out of 5.
This is my first Adrienne Young book, and I honestly wish I took the time to read it slower and really soak it up. Even as a YA fantasy, it’s quite different than my normal read. The world-building is brutal, and the story focuses more on familial relationships than romantic ones. My biggest complaint is probably that there was a slight lull in the action in the middle of the book.
Content Warning:
Sky in the Deep contains heavy gore, sexual assault, familial death, slavery and war.
Book Description:
Sky in the Deep is a YA historical fiction with a pinch of fantasy and mythology. Eelyn, a Viking warrior of the Aska clan, is fighting against the Riki tribe when she spots her long-dead brother among the enemy forces. Upon being taken by the Riki and forced to live in one of their villages, she must must reconcile the pain of her brother’s betrayal and her new role as a captive. Trying to escape may be the least of her worries, though. A greater enemy exists — one that may wipe out both the Riki and the Aska forever.
On the World-Building:
My favorite aspect of Sky in the Deep is the brutal realness of the Viking world. Despite falling into the Young Adult category, this book does not hold back on the gore and mature themes of war. Intestines are falling out of stomachs and eyeballs are being ripped out of sockets almost every other page (okay, maybe not every other page, but there’s a lot). The blood and guts, albeit disgusting, never seemed over the top or too much, though. It fit into the world of warring gods, ancient feuds, and strict moral codes.
On the Character Relationships:
I didn’t feel too strongly about the major romance of the book, but I don’t necessarily think it was poorly written either. It was just a smaller part of a story with many, many moving pieces. Eelyn’s character even acknowledges that she had bigger fish to fry than her newfound feelings for Fiske.
The relationship between Eelyn and her family, on the other hand, was so incredibly captivating. The situations created by Young to demonstrate the ways in which Iri had created a life for himself with the Riki were so small but so real, and Eelyn’s reactions to them broke my heart. Also, Eelyn’s torn dedication between her family and the Riki as the story progresses is so well developed. I really felt her fear and confusion as she tried to sort through her feelings and find her place on both “sides” of an ancient conflict.
On the Pacing of the Story:
Sky in the Deep starts by dropping the reader in the middle of an action-packed battle scene. The pace keeps going and doesn’t stop until around page 60 or 70, after Eelyn is captured. At that point, it kind of drags for about 100 pages or so. There is certainly some important development during this time, such as Eelyn learning more about the Riki and her brother’s new life. However, there is also a lot of time spent focusing on Eelyn’s chores. It was probably a realistic interpretation of a captive’s experiences, but it felt lackluster compared to the high-stakes battle scenes and Viking politics that were present in the beginning and end of the book. I definitely found myself skimming at points to try and get through it faster.