Aria lives in a future world that has been ravaged by aether storms. Safe from the outside world, she lives in a pod and spends most of her time in a virtual reality known as the realms. When we meet Aria she is in an abandoned pod with a group of friends where things get out of control. She only survives because an Outsider saves her. But she's blamed for what happened and is exiled, expected to die.
The people who live outside the pods are thought of as savages and the two worlds are very separate, until Aria runs into Peregrine, the same Outsider who has already saved her once. He's a hunter, can feel people's emotions, whose nephew was taken by the Dwellers. Perry is determined to rescue his nephew and Aria needs to find out if her mother is OK. They are so different, yet both have something the other needs. And thus starts their wild journey to find the person Perry thinks can help them.
The world in Under the Never Sky often feels brutal and dangerous. It's full of action and adventure and includes a very different mythology. The world is rich and complex, the characters vibrant and well drawn, and I found I could not put it down. Did I also mention that it includes cannibals, violent storms, and people who have extraordinary powers of sight or scent? And it's beautifully written.
i thought it was a little complicated at the start. But got so much better once she left the pod. Great debut.