Sky on Fire by Jesse Greyson

A dystopian Australia where a young man longs to break free from his controlling mother.

Solar flares have caused drastic mutations throughout most of the population, and catastrophic climate changes have altered the face of the earth. However, it’s the same old daily grind for eighteen year old Dante who has to look after his diabetic mother.

Things change when Dante and his girlfriend, Kamiko, undergo their own mutations, but physically and psychologically abusive Bev isn’t that easy to get rid of. Beholden to his mother, Dante struggles to keep the women in his life happy and whole.

An engaging young adult novel with a strong central character study set against a fantastical dystopian background, I enjoyed Sky on Fire from the get go. Dante and Bev’s relationship is the backbone of this novel. A superb depiction of a narcissistic mother, I found the book hard to read at times because it was so realistic. Dante’s interactions with the other women in his life, girlfriend Kamiko and street urchin Ruth, are also well written and nuanced.

The setting was interesting and I loved how Dante and Kamiko’s mutations mirrored their character traits. Dante longs to escape, so naturally he grows wings. Kamiko, Dante’s rock, turns into a muscle bound strong woman.

Unfortunately, while I longed for the setting to elevate Dante’s struggle with Bev, it remained grounded in realism and weighed down the narrative from reaching its full potential.

While the scenes between two or three characters were superbly written, I struggled to picture the more action orientated scenes with a larger cast near the end of the book.

A highly enjoyable young adult fantasy about a young man and the complexities of his relationship with his abusive mother, I award Sky on Fire…

Sky on Fire is available for free ebook and $7.99 print book on Amazon.

I received a free copy from the author in exchange for an honest review.