A review by skelliecrow
The Sky Is Yours by Chandler Klang Smith

dark funny hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I could talk for a very long time about this book; this is the kind of book that makes me want to reread it with a pen and paper nearby to take notes for a literary analysis just for fun. If it isn’t already obvious, I loved this book. However, even the things we love tend to have their flaws.

(Minor spoilers ahead. Nothing major about the plot is revealed.)
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.The first thing that I had an issue with was the main male protag, Ripple, sleeping with Abby, a girl (she is of age, they both are, but let’s be clear — she is a girl, not a woman) who probably has very little concept of what sex is. She is literally feral, having grown up mostly alone on a landfill her whole life. It just struck me as a bit gross, but honestly, as I continued reading, I realized it was necessary not only to create the bond that leaves Abby feeling tied to — or, in her words, owned by — him, but for us to see that Ripple is quite selfish and lives inside his own little bubble. Even so, it still made me uncomfortable in the beginning. I want to be clear that the sex is consensual, and it is not graphic. It’s beautifully written, actually, and I’ll get into the writing style later. It was just that she could barely string together a coherent sentence, and while I now think she may have had a basic idea of sex, Ripply could not have known that, given her behavior. But again, I do think it was necessary for the rest of the story. But just be aware of that.

Fat shaming, though I am a bit iffy about it. Swanny is a big girl, and it is noted many times that her arms are ‘enormous’ and that her body strains against her pretty dresses. Now, the reason I’m iffy about this is because the only two people who ever think about her weight as a bad thing are Ripple the man child and Swanny herself, a little bit in the first half of the book. In the first chapter (I think — it’s one of the first ones at least) Ripple makes it clear that he isn’t attracted to her because she’s too fat for him. Swanny’s critique of herself is self conscious, not wanting her betrothed or his family to see her arms, even though they already know what she looks like. However, I’m iffy about it because none of the other characters seem to view her weight as a negative, not that I can remember. However, when contrasted with Abby and Ripple’s mother as being described as ideal — waifish, with long blond hair, and either very tall or quite small, it might make some people uneasy. But I think that’s the point. When Swanny loses some weight in the latter half of the book, it is presented as an unhealthy change, and is not a byproduct of positive character development, but rather a symptom of her being in an abusive situation that keeps her from eating properly. So is this a flaw? Or a critique of feminine beauty standards? This is why I’m iffy on this one. A lot of things in the book are like this — it requires critical thought and an examination of both text and subtext.

Lack of diversity. This one does not have the plot relevance or subtextual importance that the previous points may have. The cast just lacks diversity, and that’s all there is to it. I think there are, at most, two people of color mentioned more than fleetingly in the story, and just barely. The first is Corona, whose name is unfortunate in the year 2020, but this was published in 2018, so let it slide. Corona is Swanny’s nanny/housekeeper, and while she does have some personality and is likable, she is a very minor character, and in a rather stereotypical role as a servant. The second character of color is Kelvin Tang, who gets even less ‘screen time’ than Corona, despite being Ripple’s childhood best friend. The only time we see him outside of reminiscing is when he’s calling Ripple to tell him he’s moving, and to try to get Ripple to move with him, and all of that appearance could be summed up in one page all together. Now, I don’t know about you, but if my best friend were moving, I think I would keeping in contact. I know if I experienced all of the wild shit Ripple goes through in this novel, I would be telling my best friend everything, regardless of whether or not they still lived in he same country/city. The city where this story takes place, Empire City, is likely a dystopian NYC. While most of the people have left because of the dragons’ destruction, I can’t imagine it would only be white people sticking around.

And finally, this book just barely passes the Bechdel test. I don’t know if this is really a flaw, given the plot? But I think Abby and Swanny only have one, very short, conversation about something other than Ripple. So if that’s a dealbreaker for you, there you go.

Now, why did I give this book a full five stars even with these flaws? Because I still loved the fuck out of this book in spite of them.

First and foremost, this book is not for everyone. There are aspects of the story that I did not list as a flaw that many people will view as not only flaws, but ‘bad’ — if you subscribe to the Tumblr School of Storytelling and Purity Politics, don’t read this book. And if you’re expecting a traditional love triangle, or a story that revolves solely around a quest to dispatch of the dragons, you’re going to be disappointed.

This story is a slow burn, but not toward romance. The slow burn is the build up to the conspiracy mentioned in the blurb, which only really begins to come to light in the second half of the book, though there are breadcrumbs sprinkled in the first half to lead you there. This story is good at foreshadowing, done in a way that you don’t even realize it’s foreshadowing. A single sentence can be a hint or a clue that asks you to pay attention, and draw parallels later on. This story is not fast-paced, but it is engaging. The arcs of three main character and a major supporting character seemingly have nothing to do with one another on the surface aside from happenstance, but as the story progresses it becomes clear that the solution for ridding the city of the dragons all came down to the choices these characters made. This is a character driven plot, and if that isn’t something you’re into, you probably won’t like this book.

The characters themselves are flawed. This is a good thing. These characters were not written to be relatable — some of them weren’t even meant to be likable. They’re meant to be interesting, and they are. I can’t really say a lot about their arcs without spoiling too much or having to explain a lot of the context, so I’ll just let you read the book.

It does not glamorize abuse. Some people may disagree, and there will be some spoilers here, so tread carefully. Swanny ends up in a complicated relationship with a notorious criminal. It is clear that she loves him, and he believes he loves her, but it’s also clear that the relationship is not a healthy one. From the circumstances of their meeting (this is a major spoiler I will not reveal) to the fact that he physical abuses and manipulates her into staying, it’s not a happy misfit sort of romance. It is dark. It portrays Swanny as having conflicting feelings; loving him, wanting to kill him, and wanting to escape from him, all at the same time. There is also an age gap present, and while it is legal (she is of age), it will make some people uncomfortable. I think that’s the point, and it just adds another subtle layer to their subplot, even if it’s only acknowledged once.

The writing in general is beautiful. Much of the narrative is woven through with metaphors and poetic language, but not in a way that is distracting or that feels forced or pretentious. It gives life to the story, and I think the writing itself is at least half of the reason I love this book as much as I do. Points of view are handled well. The perspective, while in third person (sort of, it’s more like first person peripheral but only reminds you of this occasionally), it feels like first person and is very immersive. The tone changes depending on the character we’re following at a given time, and the pov does not jump around arbitrarily; rather than showing us what a character is doing out of a sense of obligation because we haven’t seen them in a while, the pov jumps to a character when it is necessary, in order to move the story forward or build suspense. It also occasionally jumps to some very minor characters, such as Ripple’s parents or a pair of street children, but every one of these jumps has purpose, and they’re all different enough to be their own distinct voice while also blending together seamlessly.

I mentioned the foreshadowing earlier; there are blink-and-you-miss-it clues scattered about, and I think they encourage a second reading, to go through and find the things that were missed the first time around and puzzle it together after knowing the ending. It’s also full of parallels, between seemingly unrelated things, that give this sense of all things being connected in some way. I think this ties in well with the vaguely religious undertones, which do not come across as preachy, but almost melancholic in a way. Though that might just be me, I’m a sucker for nonspecific religious undertones.

The ending may be anticlimactic for some. This is why I warned about not going into this if you’re hoping for a high-action, dragon-killing quest. The solution to the dragons is poignant, and may leave some people unsatisfied.

Overall, this book touched on a lot of things I personally enjoy in fiction — weird girls, girls with a little darkness in them, secret labs, quasi spirituality, fucked up relationships, character driven plot, and poetic writing.

That is why, in spite of it’s flaws, I am giving The Sky Is Yours a 5/5 star rating.