Escaping a Cloud City to a City in Ruins: Sky High is a science-fiction dystopian novel of four teens risking it all for freedom

 

Sky High

Christy J. Breedlove

Fire & Ice Young Adult Books, 2024

ISBN: ISBN: 979-8-88653-279-1

Ebook, 260 ppg.

Buy link 

 

 

Four teenagers – Toby, Justice, Remy and Maria – run away from their sky-high utopian world to the earth below, well aware that it lay in ruins. But the prospect of living with freedom instead of in a society governed by rules and cultures they no longer accepted was too tempting to pass up. When they touch down on Earth, where it lays in ruins on account of a devastating enormous earthquake that lay the planet in waste centuries ago, they discover that the paradise they thought they would escape to turns out to be hell, with savages, wild animals and barely anywhere for them to take shelter. Still, they press on, hoping to find somewhere to live. Meanwhile, they have security guards hot on their heels, determined to return the teens to their homes.

 

I realize that this is a science fiction dystopian novel, but reading about a futuristic Eugene (in Oregon, where I actually happen to live!) that is in shambles because of a record-breaking 9.9  earthquake and survivalist societies was giving me strong dystopian vibes. (I also had to laugh at the “yellow brick road” comment later in the story, because another name for Eugene is the Emerald City!)

 

They say that the biggest threat to the PNW (Pacific Northwest) is a tsunami, but an earthquake registering high on the Richter scale is not impossible. In truth, it could happen at any time. And coincidentally, while I was reading this novel, I came across an article highlighting the dangerous prospect of a 7.1 magnitude earthquake that could occur in the Pacific Northwest in the next 50 years. (Here is the link to that article if you want to read it. Interestingly still, it also states that "Oregon has the potential for a 9.0+ magnitude earthquake caused by the Cascadia Subduction Zone and a resulting tsunami of up to 100 feet in height that will impact the coastal area.")

 

The earthquake that wreaked havoc in the West in this story made the city of Eugene no longer habitable. "If the quake hadn’t taken their lives, the thick, porridge-like atmosphere had strangled all life and starved the populace." (Page 109) The story takes place 800 years after the quake. I wondered why everybody decided all those years ago to go live up in the sky. I mean, maybe they could’ve set up a village on the ocean, or something?

 

But, anyway. That’s what happened in this story. And in this sky-high metropolis consisting of 6000 civilians, no one is allowed to leave, let alone to Earth. But these four teenagers do, and it sets them on the course of an adventure of their lifetime.

 

It was hard to read the parts of the story where the group killed wild dogs. I get it, the dogs are wild and it’s “kill or be killed,” but they’re DOGS! And I love dogs. Truthfully, I started skimming over those scenes. It got me upset.

 

Still, this is only a reminder of how harsh life and what little civilization there is left in that area of land is like at that point in time. “Kill or be killed” is the law of the land, and when an animal attacks, the only response is to kill it or be killed. This much I understood.

 

And it gets worse later on, after the group of teens get captured by a savage clan. I had to admire Toby’s restraint as he tried to reason with the leaders and speak to them in a way they would understand. Toby is the most level-headed of the group. The savage clan really is savage, living in a way that is barbaric as well as in a society where the women are assigned to harems. The group of teens are treated brutally by these people, making them wonder if it was worth escaping from Cloud’s Rest in the first place.

 

And that’s the thing. As I read this story, I kept asking myself, Why did they run away? What made where they came from so bad? These teens do share that information towards the end of the story, and I totally understood then and there why they escaped.

 

Sky High was an intelligent, captivating story of adventure, excitement and, overall, hope. You want to cheer the four teens on, but at the same time send them back home because of the dangerous world they venture into. But these teens are not giving up on their quest for freedom, and in making their journey, they grow into mature young adults capable of taking on whatever life throws at them.

 

 

Five stars

 

 

Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.