Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi Book Review

New discoveries provide wisdom that can illuminate the path of knowledge and perception. In the book, Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi, the main character experiences many new situations that give her different opinions on many things. The main character, Aria, lives in a place where the government designs everything to make it seem better than it is in reality. In this elegant place, devices transport people to any virtual place they choose to escape reality. This all changes for her after a consul from her government with a lot of power removes her from her home and puts her into the outside world. As she sees and discovers new things there, she realizes that her points of view on many different things are not the same as they were when she lived within the walls of her society. Her new discoveries and explorations greatly change her point of view as she finds a new way of life. New discoveries can change a person’s perspective. 

In the book, the imagery included throughout the story contributes to the theme. Vibrant images reveal the effects of new experiences. The author includes a lot of vivid imagery in the scene where Aria first sees the view of the outside world. When Aria gets removed from her society, she realizes that her “ancestors had been among the fortunate few who’d taken shelter in the Pods. Shelter she no longer had … She found the brighter patch in the cloud cover, where light shone through in a golden haze … [and she realized that she] might get to see the real sun” (Rossi 54-55). The clear, imagery in this scene helps explain how new and surprising everything seems to be to the character as she gets to see something that she had never experienced before. She has always been confined in her world with no glimpses of reality. The fact that she has never before seen the radiating light of the Sun lets her realize that her government completely seals off everyone from the outside world. She then understands that the government is controlling everyone’s life. The virtual experiences of the people in her society are the only reality that they have ever known. The view of her government also changed for her when a person in a position with very high power treated her unfairly and isolated her from her previous life. When the government informed her that she had arrived at another luxurious part of her society, she “didn’t see anything that looked like Bliss. Empty land ran clear to the horizon. Aria lifted her head and stared at her fingers splayed on rust-colored dirt [and she] was touching the outside [while] staring at the desert. It looked bleak and barren in every direction [as she realized that] … Consul Hess had … tied up all his problems and tossed them out with her” (53-54). When she finds out that the government removed her from her home, it makes her realize that her society has many flaws. The power eventually introduced evil to the government. This experience informs her that people who have power in her society can do terrible things without getting caught. This changes the perspective that she had on her society as she realizes that some things there were not fair or honest. To be perfect, things also must be fair. She now recognizes that things that are controlled and designed to be perfect are not always real. 

The details in this book also convey the theme throughout the story. The main character begins to experience a lot of different emotions and feelings after she enters a completely unique world. For example, when Aria sees more of the outside world, specific details describe all of her thoughts. When she first saw the sky and the Aether, a powerful storm, above her, she saw that the “Aether… [was] knotted on the horizon in glowing blue waves [and she] watched the sky [while the] waves were rolling toward her. Aria closed her eyes and listened to the flap of the wind blowing past her ears, rising and falling [because there] was music somewhere in the wind [and she] concentrated on finding it, on slowing her racing pulse” (75). The beautiful, clear imagery of the Aether storm helps express all of her emotions, the details letting the reader understand everything she is thinking. The specific words also describe the melody of the breeze and compare it to music. Since music was a very important and meaningful part of her life in her previous society, this event probably had a great impact on her perspective of her life. Her perspective also changes when the device that lets her travel to virtual realms turns off and discontinues to function for a while. When she first experienced life without her device, she “blinked a few times, disoriented … The messages in the queue and the news crawl in the lower part of her Smartscreen were gone as well, leaving only the airlock door, which appeared dull, filtered through a soft film … [There was] Middle Gray. A shade that covered nearly every surface [that seemed] less vibrant … She couldn’t believe people lived this way once, with nothing but the real [and she could not believe that people] on the outside still lived this way” (8-9). The details explain her thoughts of the real world by making it sound quiet and dull. After she quickly moves from one situation to the next during this event, she begins to comprehend many new things like how reality is different from her previous thoughts. In the real world, no one can escape reality. 

In this book, characterization also communicates the theme. The different actions and descriptions of the characters support the idea of how their perspective changes throughout the story. When Aria starts learning how to defend herself from a group of dangerous people, she is “a quick study, daring and confident with the blade, like she’d only been waiting for a chance, a method to bring that out into the open … [because] she’d needed [the] knowledge to protect herself (214). She gains more strength as she continues to move forward. When the author describes her as confident and brave, that characterization explains how she has changed after discovering the real world. She before thought that fighting with a weapon was an immoral action since it involved hurting other humans, but she later decides that it is a way to defend herself. Aria also became more caring and empathetic. When the people who were traveling with her were deciding if they should bring someone, a child who was far from his home, with them, she knew that when she was surviving alone, the “hours had been filled with nothing but fear” (131-132). Her experiences in the real world are very challenging; therefore, she realizes that it must be even harder for a child. This event describes her as more empathetic towards people. Her journey in the real world made her perspective change now that she learned what it was like to survive in that place. Learning and experiencing new things can affect the actions and perspectives of people. 

New discoveries can change a person’s perspective. Different experiences have a big effect on the thoughts of people, the events being unique and showing them another view on things. After learning something new, a person’s point of view can change in a big way. Learning new things and exploring different ways of thinking can change perspectives.