Title: Skyward
Author: Brandon Sanderson
Series: Skyward
Page count: 513 pages
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Spensa’s world has been under attack for hundreds of years. An alien race called the Krell leads onslaught after onslaught from the sky in a never-ending campaign to destroy humankind. Humanity’s only defense is to take to their ships and combat the enemy. Pilots are the heroes of what’s left of the human race.
Becoming a pilot has always been Spensa’s dream. Since she was a little girl, she has imagined soaring above Earth and proving her bravery. But her fate is intertwined with her father’s-a pilot himself who was killed years ago when he abruptly deserted his team, leaving Spensa’s chances of attending flight school at slim to none.
No one will let Spensa forget what her father did, but she is determined to fly. And the Krell just made that a possibility. They’ve doubled their fleet, which make Spensa’s world twice as deadly…but just might take her skyward.
Goodreads blurb
So this was my first time reading a book by Brandon Sanderson. I’m always a bit wary when a male author writes a female MC, mainly because I’ve been burned one too many times. Brandon Sanderson managed to defy this expectation and write some amazing and compelling female characters. Great, now I’m feeling the need to read all of his other books and by god does he have a lot of them (237 according to Goodreads).
Sometimess the answers we need don’t match the questions we’re asking. And sometimes, the coward makes fools of wiser men.
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
I’ll be honest, I was not a fan of Spensa (aka Spin) for a majority of the book. I found her to be a bit annoying and a victim of the warrior woman trope that’s become prevalent in the YA community. However, a redeeming quality of hers is that she didn’t have the “I’m not like other girls who are all horrible” type of vibe. Instead she appeared to hate everyone equally, which makes sense given that she was treated so poorly by everyone for so long. Seriously, the Admiral made it so that she couldn’t eat or sleep on the base, which pretty much forced her to sleep in the caves and eat rats. That admiral should have faced some serious consequences for that given that it’s a violation of human rights. Spensa is also a major fan of old myths and legends that feature heroic warriors (think Beowulf) and that shows a lot in the way she speaks about slaying her enemy. Eventually she starts to realize that those stories may not be all that they seem and her story arch involves learning to question the things she believed to be true, like what happened to her father. She questions if she is truly as “fearless” as she thought she was, and comes to the realization that fearlessness and bravery means doing things despite being afraid and that backing away from a fight does not mean you are a coward.
It has always seemed to me that a coward is a person who cares more about what people say about what is right. Bravery isn’t about what people call you, Spensa. It’s about who you know yourself to be.
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
I loved the world-building in this book, and it’s honestly what kept me reading for the most part. Well, that and the side characters. I’m interested to find out more about Spensa’s abilities and family history. I’m also curious to know if they are the last humans in the universe or if others exist somewhere and if we’ll see them in the next few books (please don’t spoil me, I know the sequel is out already!!!). I liked the idea that their being held prisoner and wonder if they’ll find some tentative allies in some Krell who disagree with how they’re being treated (you know they exist).
Claim the stars, Spensa.
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
Overall, I liked the book and can’t wait to delve into the sequel. It wasn’t perfect, but it was good enough to keep me interested. Maybe I’ll like Spensa more in the next book? I hope we get more of M-Bot and Rodge because they were my favorite characters in the entire book. What did you guys think of the book? Please leave a comment down below!
Their heads are heads of rock, their hearts set upon rock. Set your sights on something higher. Something more grand.
Skyward by Brandon Sanderson
The Book Lover's Coffeehouse 