This was not because I found them dislike-able, but rather because they just seemed incomplete. I didn’t really connect with Arden, or Dade, although I really wanted to. The characters, on the other hand, I feel needed a little bit more fleshing-out. The author definitely put some time into developing this world, and I really appreciated that. There are gangs, there are politics, drugs, and disease all tied to this specific planet, and their issue regarding sunlight. I’d heard of sunshine themed sci-fi books like this before, but this was the first time I’d come across the issue of sun for the rich, and no sun for the poor being portrayed quite in this way.Ī lot of thought also went into the different levels of the city in which the book is set, with the poorest at the bottom, and the richest in the high rise buildings that emerge out of the gasses that keep the light from touching the ground, and make it possible for the wealthy inhabitants of the planet to be exposed to sunlight. But it turns out that I liked the idea of Hansen’s sci-fi setting quite a bit! It’s been a while since I read a book that’s set on a different planet, so that was refreshing for me, and the whole layer of gasses keeping the sunshine from reaching the planet’s actual surface idea was neat too. I didn’t really have expectations regarding the world. Going into this book, I knew that I was intrigued by the whole star-crossed lovers theme that the synopsis promised, and I went in mainly looking forward to that. But will the brewing class war destroy the world around them first?

When her gang pressures Arden to help break the grip of the elite and end Dade’s interference with their drug trade, she is forced to make a deadly choice between love and family loyalty. Dade, desperate to escape his upcoming arranged marriage, has a secret of his own, and he’s willing to risk everything for it.Īn unlikely romance develops between the two teens-but their love faces opposition from above and below. There she meets Dade, one of the few lucky enough to be born into the sun-kissed families who reside in the Towers soaring above the rest of the city.

A blackout band traps Arden in her district, but as sister to the leader of the most powerful gang in Undercity, she has access to Above. Arden-beautiful, street-smart, and cynical-is one of the citizens of the lowest Level, known as Undercity, of an off-world colony. In a stratified society where contact with the sun is a luxury reserved for the elite, those kept prisoner in the darkness will do anything to find the light. Genre: YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy, DystopiaĪ physical copy of this book was kindly provided by the publisher, in exchange for an honest review.

The Breaking Light by Heather Hansen