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A review by crowyhead
The Sky Inside by Clare B. Dunkle
3.0
Martin lives under a dome in the future version of a gated suburb. Everything is clean, everyone is nice (unless they aren't, in which case they tend to disappear), and all of the children have been genetically engineered to be good, healthy kids. The only source of strife is the most recent generation of new and improved children. These kids, like Martin's sister Cassie, just cause problems: they ask too many questions, they're much too intelligent, and they cause all kinds of problems because of this. No one knows how to handle them. Is a product recall in order?
I'd been looking forward to reading this, because I've greatly enjoyed Dunkle's fantasy novels, and I've found that even when she misses the mark slightly, her ideas are always fresh and her writing stands up well. I was disappointed when this novel didn't live up to my expectations. There are a lot of fresh, interesting ideas here, but they are jumbled up with cliches and entirely too many happy coincidences. The plot seems rambling, and all in all, this felt too much like the first draft of what might have turned out to be a really excellent YA science fiction novel. Instead, it's merely mediocre.
I'd been looking forward to reading this, because I've greatly enjoyed Dunkle's fantasy novels, and I've found that even when she misses the mark slightly, her ideas are always fresh and her writing stands up well. I was disappointed when this novel didn't live up to my expectations. There are a lot of fresh, interesting ideas here, but they are jumbled up with cliches and entirely too many happy coincidences. The plot seems rambling, and all in all, this felt too much like the first draft of what might have turned out to be a really excellent YA science fiction novel. Instead, it's merely mediocre.