Skyward by Brandon Sanderson is the first YA sci-fi novel in a new series by one of my favourite authors. I've loved all of his books that I have read so far, and really enjoyed his other sci-fi series, The Reckoners Trilogy so I was excited to read his latest offering.

The remnants of the human race are living in large underground caverns on a planet surrounded by a large debris field and a seemingly hostile alien force. Spensa idolises her father, a pilot with the DDF, when she is a young girl her father is killed in action and branded a coward after leaving his flightmates during an all out assault on their planet. Spensa spends the next ten years trying to come to terms with his loss, whilst pursuing her dream of becoming a pilot in the DDF, but as the cowards daughter, Spensa finds the way to flight school a bumpy path.

Initially I found the story slow paced, though I did like Spensa, her sense of humour is very well written, and I was keen to find out the eventual result of her struggles. I really liked the ensemble cast, especially Skyward Flight and M-Bot who I would liken to The Illuminae Files' AIDAN, but without the murderous streak. I enjoyed Spensa's character arc and found it to be a believable change in character, especially with the first person narrative, so we could see what she was thinking and how she actually felt about certain aspects. My favourite parts of the book pretty much all occurred in the final 40% which I actually read in one sitting, it was so gripping that I couldn't put it down.

Overall I would recommend Skyward, especially if you like sci-fi. It appeals to a broad range of age-groups, whether you're an adult like myself, or a young adult - I'd have no issues with my 14 year old reading it. It's a fun read, and at 528 pages (hardback) it's fairly short for a Sanderson novel. I believe that the sequel will be released Autumn 2019 and I'll definitely be reading it to find out more of Spensa's story, especially with that ending!

4/5 due to the slow start