GLOW Review -- Amy Kathleen Ryan

Glow by Amy Kathleen Ryan

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


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.

I graciously received GLOW from a Goodreads First Reads Giveaway, and the book was provided by the publishers, St. Martin's Press! Thank you all for this wonderful opportunity!

There are some books out there that are completely clear in their intentions, whose characters are completely either good or evil, whose plot is simple enough to be easily understood. Let me tell you know that GLOW is not one of those books. GLOW is not a book you sit down to read intending to finish it in one sitting and move on with your life. GLOW is one of those books you sit down to read intending to savor it and become engrossed in the not-so-clear intentions of the characters and the constant twists and turns of the plot.

GLOW is written in third-person perspective, something which doesn't enhance anything about it and seems to kind of disconnect you from the narrator characters. The reader feels more emotionally attached to a character who speaks from the first-person perspective because you think, "What if I was experiencing this?" With third-person perspective, you think someone else is experiencing it and you don't pay attention to what is really going on. The perspective of the book is one of the two factors I feel chopped off a whole star from me.

Imagine it like this:

Scenario 1 (Third-Person Narrative)

You're watching this on TV.



How do you feel? Maybe you laugh, say "Wow, that would probably hurt!" and carry on.


Scenario B (First-Person Perspective)

Your friend tells you, "Wow, I got in a really bad ski accident," which plays out like this in your head:



How do you feel? You are starstruck, say "Oh, wow, I'm so sorry! I bet that really hurt," and feel bad for them.

Which would you rather read about? The emotionally-detached one or the intense, attached one?

That's how I felt about GLOW, like it would've majorly benefited from a re-vamp perspective-wise.

Now, I have the other reason GLOW is only four stars:

The conclusion.

Which it shouldn't be called, because the story felt in no way concluded at all. Ryan's lame attempt at a cliffhanger didn't help, either. If you've read this book, you know what I'm talking about. How it resolved felt in no way resolved, and like Ryan was just setting you up to buy the next 11 installments of the SKY CHASERS Series. The main, persistent problem set up within the first 60 pages of GLOW isn't even resolved. Something else is minorly wrapped up, but when I closed the back cover of the book, I felt in no way satisfied by the ending.

GLOW is an extremely enticing read with twists and turns around every corner, but it lacks emotionally with main characters written poorly and an open-ended conclusion that doesn't fully deliver. The cast of supporting characters is suspicious enough that you don't know who you can trust -- and when you do, you're wrong. High-octane action and suspense make GLOW a hit!