Into the Still Blue

Into the Still Blue is a young adult science fiction novel by Veronica Rossi. It is the third installment of the Under the Never Sky trilogy and was published on January 28, 2014. The book is set in a futuristic world where humans are losing time to the Aether (intense lighting storms) that are quickly taking over the world. However, there is the Still Blue, a location that is believed to be free of Aether storms. Aria and Perry must find a way to get to the Still Blue, but first they have to get their friend Cinder back from their enemies Sable and Hess.

Plot summary

The race to the Still Blue is on. Perry and Aria, along with their close friends, fellow dwellers, and outsiders are living in a cave in order to be safe from the Aether storms. Due to dwellers and outsiders being split for hundreds of years, tensions are high between the two groups. They do not understand each other and are keeping their distance. With Aria and Perry as the leaders, they have to find a way to bring the two groups together. On top of that, they must also break into their opponents, Hess and Sable, headquarters in order to get Cinder back.

In order to break into Sable and Hess's headquarters, Perry puts together an unlikely team of Aria, Soren, Roar, Brooke and Jupiter, consisting of both dwellers and outsiders. While at first their plan to get inside the headquarters works, it unfolds due to Roar's need for revenge on Sable after killing Liv. His selfishness causes him, Perry, Aria and Soren to get caught by Sable and Hess. Perry is separated from the group and is drugged alongside Cinder. When Sable finally brings everyone together, he tells them the only way they will all get out alive and make it into the Still Blue is if they make Cinder use his powers to pull the Aether's power into himself, ultimately leading to his death. The group refuses and attempts to once again escape which ends in them all being gased and, once again, captured.

All hope seems to be gone with every attempt at saving Cinder and getting back home ending in failure. Finally, Perry and Aria get a break when tensions begin to form between Sable and Hess. They eventually turn on each other and Sable kills Hess. The disruption allows for Perry, Aria, Roar, Soren and Cinder to escape and find their way back to the cave. When they get back, tensions are even worse between the dwellers and outsiders.

Eventually Sable finds the cave and tells Perry that he either gives up Cinder and travels with him to the Still Blue or his men will kill them all. Perry agrees on two conditions: that he will travel with Cinder, and once they arrive at the Still Blue Sable has to let his people go. Sable agrees, allowing everyone to travel to the Still Blue together. Once the group reaches the boundaries of the Still Blue, Cinder pulls in the energy of the Aether allowing everyone to get inside while his and Perry's plane crash to the ground.

Once inside the Still Blue everyone believes that Perry and Cinder have died. Sable takes control of everyone and breaks his promise to Perry to let his people go off on their own. Aria, Soren and Roar break free from the group and come up with a plan to kill Sable. Right before going through with their plan, Soren and Roar find Perry in the woods. Although things don't go according to plan, in the end Sable is killed and a new world is created inside the Still Blue.

Key Characters

• Aria - Originally a dweller, Aria is now fully emerged into the life of an outsider. She has a love interest with Perry, a tribe leader of the dwellers. She is considered one of the leaders of the group and does a great job of deciding what is best for everyone. Throughout the book she has a lot of pressure to find common ground between the outsiders and the dwellers in their group in order to be successful in reading the Still Blue. She is a powerful Audile that can hear sounds through the ground.
• Perry - A leader of the outsiders, he is a strong and silent character. He is who everyone looks up to in the book and is always challenged to make the right choices. At times Perry can find the role overwhelming and not sure if he is the best for the job. However, he has no problem risking his safety for the gain of those he is leading. He is a Scire that can sense tempers and emotions. Perry is also a night-time Seer. He is a hunter and strongly believes in the family unit.
• Sable - Sable is considered the main antagonist of the book. He is also an outsider (leader of the Horn tribe) and has no problem stabbing anyone in the back in order to get what he wants. Sable has teamed up with Hess, the ruler of the dwellers, in order to reach the Still Blue before Perry and Aria.
• Hess - The leader of the dwellers, he is extremely intellectual. Hess is the creator of all the machines used in order to reach the Still Blue. He is also Soren's father. He kicks Aria out of Reverie in the first book.
• Roar - Perry's friend since childhood and his right-hand man. Roar is currently dealing with the death of the love of his life, causing him to have a quick temper and not think with a clear head. He has a close relationship with Aria but is becoming distant from Perry. He too is an Audile and can hear a person's thoughts through touch. He is very sarcastic and very handsome.
• Soren - A dweller and son of Hess. He has to take medication to cure his anger and can be extremely sarcastic. Soren tends to be rude to the outsiders and mock them for their way of life. He works with Aria, Perry, and Roar in trying to gain the machines necessary to reach the Still Blue .
• Cinder - A young boy who has the power to channel in the Aether storms. He is vital in being able to make it into the Still Blue causing him to be captured by Hess and Sable. A good friend of Aria and Perry.
• Brooke - An outsider, she is a smaller character but is vital in reaching the Still Blue. She and Perry were once romantically involved. She has a younger sister named Clara who was sold to the dwellers in return for food, without the tribes knowledge.
• The Six - Work side by side with Perry. They are a part of the council and are his group of people he turns to when there are problems that need to be fixed. They can be considered Perry's greatest supporters. They are also his bodyguards. The Six are made up by Reef, Twig, Gren, Hyde, Hayden and Straggler.