YA Review: Stone in the Sky

Stone in the Sky (Tin Star, 2) by Cecil Castellucci, February 24, 2015. 320 pages. Published by Roaring Brook Press. Source: publisher.

After escaping death a second time, Tula Bane is now even thirstier for revenge. She spends much of her time in the Tin Star Café on the Yertina Feray—the space station she calls home. But when it's discovered that the desolate and abandoned planet near the station has high quantities of a precious resource, the once sleepy space station becomes a major player in intergalactic politics. In the spirit of the Gold Rush, aliens from all over the galaxy race to cash in—including Tula's worst enemy.

First Sentence:

No one is safe when the warning sirens on a space station blare.

Last year, I read Tin Star and with the way it ended I knew I would be needing to read the sequel. There were just too many questions left unanswered, and, I needed to know what would happen to Tula and whether or not Brother Blue would get his just desserts.

While I liked Tin Star, Stone in the Sky was simply brilliant. My brain is still buzzing from reading about the characters and their experiences from this one. Cecil Castellucci did such an incredible job with them and each of their story arcs.
   One of the reasons I found myself enjoying the characters was that they had such depth to them. Really, I enjoyed reading about them because they each had to face betrayals, their feelings (whether returned or not), and the divisions that the Imperium sought to promote among the various alien races. While that in itself made for interesting reading, it was the writing that really made these aspects worth reading in Stone in the Sky as Cecil Castellucci did such a great job.

After Tin Star I was curious to see where things would go character and plot-wise. There were just many things that Tula needed to address after book one that left me in a state of worry. Yes, I worried if she would ever be able to move on and live; and what had happened to Caleb and Reza. So, with a mixture of excitement and trepidation, I settled in to read Stone in the Sky. Were my questions answered, yes. They were even answered in ways that both satisfied me and left me pleased, especially the little surprise that was revealed near the middle of the book.
 
Cecil Castellucci's writing was really good in this one. I actually thought her writing and storytelling was better in this one than in Tin Star. While I felt the writing and overall plot were tighter in Stone in the Sky, I liked that the sequel maintained the weirdness of the first one. Yes, I found Tin Star to be a little strange, but, that is precisely why I found myself enjoying it and the sequel.
Story-wise, I cannot see how a third book could possibly come forth, so, I can say that should this be the end of the story for Tula and company that would suit me fine. I am happy with how things ended and dreaming about the lives they are embarking upon.

Final Verdict: Stone in the Sky- Complex, crazy, and just generally wonderful!

Stone in the Sky earns

this book was receive din exchange for an honest review.