The Cerulean, by Amy Ewing

I like this young adult fantasy novel's originality, but I was a little underwhelmed with the writing. The story is pretty fantastic: Sera is a Cerulean, one of a race of women who live on a suspended world that is linked to a planet by a magic chain. She asks more questions than anyone knows how to answer, and is rewarded for her curiosity by being chosen to sacrifice herself so that the chain may be broken and the home of the Cerulean can move to another world. But something goes awry, and rather than dying as she should, Sera lands on the planet's surface.

Agnes and her twin Leo live on that planet and could not be more different. Agnes is brilliant and scientific, and strains against her nation's restrictions of her gender. Leo looks exactly like his dead mother, a trait his father hates him for, and wants nothing more than for his father to love and be proud of him. The twins find Sera after her landfall, and the adventure begins. I don't want to spoil too much of the plot for anyone interested in reading it; I did have fun with it but found the writing a big pedestrian. I always respect an original story, though, so I hope book two is a bit more polished so Ewing can continue spinning her tale.

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