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    Skylark
    Skylark
    Skylark
    Audiobook11 hours

    Skylark

    Written by Meagan Spooner

    Narrated by Angela Lin

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Debut author Meagan Spooner splashes onto the YA literary scene with this thrilling blend of fantasy and science fiction. Lark Ainsley has waited for years to be selected for the harvest- when a child's magic is taken to supply energy for the City. It's a rite of passage, marking the end of childhood. Yet when Lark's name is finally called, she discovers she's a Renewable, with enough magic to supply the City with power for the rest of her life. Now, to escape becoming a human battery, Lark must make a run for it- out of the City, beyond the Wall, and into the unknown.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateOct 12, 2012
    ISBN9781470328054
    Author

    Meagan Spooner

    New York Times bestselling author Meagan Spooner grew up reading and writing every spare moment of the day while dreaming about life as an archaeologist, a marine biologist, or an astronaut. She graduated from Hamilton College in New York State with a degree in playwriting. She’s traveled all over the world, to places such as Egypt, Australia, South Africa, the Arctic, Greece, Antarctica, and the Galápagos Islands, and there’s a bit of every trip in every story she writes. She currently lives and writes in Asheville, North Carolina, but the siren call of travel is hard to resist, and there’s no telling how long she’ll stay there. She’s the coauthor of the award-winning Starbound Trilogy (These Broken Stars, This Shattered World, Their Fractured Light) and the Skylark Trilogy (Skylark, Shadowlark, Lark Ascending) as well as this “Beauty and the Beast” retelling. In her spare time she plays guitar, plays video games, plays with her cat, and reads. www.meaganspooner.com

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    Reviews for Skylark

    3.5/5

    66 ratings9 reviews

    What did you think?

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    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      After 15 years of waiting, Lark has finally be chosen to be harvested, a process whereby her resource (magic) would be taken away and she would become an adult. However, from the moment she was taken she sensed that something was wrong. She soon discovers that she is a renewable, one able to replenish their source. The city has decided to use her as a power source, hooking her into a machine like a battery. Lark escapes from the city and finds herself on a journey into the unknown.Overall I thought this was an outstanding book. Lark was very likable and easy to understand. She had depth and personality which any teenager will be able to relate to. The plot was interesting and the myriad of twists and turns were not predictable. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      I have been enjoying The Starbound Trilogy co-written by Meagan and Spooner and Amie Kaufman, so I thought I would try this series by Spooner alone (albeit dedicated to Kaufman).This is a sort of steampunk-ish dystopia featuring a post-apocalyptic world in which survivors live inside a wall. When they are deemed ready to be “adults,” they are selected for “harvesting” by the governing power. Harvesting means that the magic, inherent in children, is tapped by the rulers to keep the city going, to preserve the remaining technology. After harvesting, the chosen children are tested for aptitude, and assigned roles in the city based on the results.With Lark, however, the process is different. She is 16 before she is harvested, a relatively late age. Furthermore, she is not harvested once, but repeatedly, and discovers that her treatment is not the only sinister thing going on behind the scenes. Her only hope is to escape, but there are rumors of what lies beyond the wall, and none of them are encouraging.Evaluation: Unfortunately, I did not like this book nearly as much as the collaborated books. The story, while it had potential, seemed to drag in spite of the tension in the premise, and I found myself wanting to skim. At the end, I didn’t feel much desire to continue with the series.
    • 4/5
      I honestly enjoyed this read. There were a few things that niggled a little, hence the 4 and not higher but overall it was an enjoyable read.Lark Ainsley lives behind a wall, she has never seen the sky, the wall protects her city inside and out from the aftermath of wars outside. She's waiting impatiently to give her Resource or Magic to the city to help power it and become a productive member of society. She's older than most and when she goes in it's not all straightforward, she's heard how it's supposed to be but there's something wrong and it appears that she's going to become a power source for the city.She escapes and finds others like her and some very scary other people, some rumours about outside are true and some are false but can she trust anyone?I liked the story and Lark, a great character, Nix was excellent too and entertaining. This is a series I want to read more of.
    • 4/5
      I read the book first to last without putting it down. Lark, our 16 year old hero discovers when her city is ready to "harvest" her magic that she is different. Her world is run by machines that run on magic. And the magic is harvested from it's citizens when they are young. It's a coming of age rite within the culture. But something is wrong with Lark and this leads her away from everything she was ever raised to believe.

      Skylark is written in the first person. Spooner gives our innocent heroine a natural voice that reflects the wonder, the fear, the curiosity and the revulsion of innocence turned loose in a savage world where she has no skills for survival.

      It is at once a coming of age and stripping of illusions about the true nature of the world.

      When the book ended I was sad to leave Lark and her adventures. I hope we see more of her in the future.
    • 3/5
      Full Review to be posted soon:

      Skylark started off a bit slow for me but once the story got going, I really enjoyed the atmosphere and tone of a world filled with magic that feeds clockwork machines, Shadow people, and magic gone wild.
    • 4/5
      A magical mashup of steampunk/fantasy/Hunger Games dystopia/zombie apocalypse and it works and is an amazing story.
    • 4/5
      SKYLARK was a compelling, page-turning dystopia where the survivors of some sort of magic war live in magically sealed cities powered by harvesting the magic from their children. Lark is eagerly waiting for the time when she is harvested so that she can assume her role as an adult in the city. Things don't go as expected when Lark is chosen for harvesting. She is told that she is something special - a Renewable. Her magic can be harvested over and over for the good of her city. However, the harvesting is the equivalent of torture and is a death sentence for her. She learns of a place of safety from the Renewable currently supplying magic to the city and a young man of the elite class names Kris helps her escape into the unknown outside of the city.Part 2 is Lark's journey through the wilderness where she endures lack of food, water, shelter and adequate clothing as she tries to make her way to the Iron Forest where safety lies. She is aided by Oren who is a boy living in the wilderness and by the mechanical pixie sent along to track her journey. Neither one of them can be trusted but both save her life many times. Beyond the natural hazards are the shadow people - former humans who have lost their humanity and turned to cannibalism and scavenging.Part 3 sees Lark find the Iron Forest and the settlement of Renewables there. But Oren won't go into the Iron Forest and Lark has to go on alone. She is welcomed but the leader tells her that she in not a Renewable. She has some kind of magic that he is not familiar with.Lark learns a lot about her self and her world on her journey. She is both brave and honorable. She makes large sacrifices for her friends. Both Oren and Kris have major parts in Lark's story too. Neither one of them is what he appears to be at the beginning.The world building in this story is fascinating - the city surrounded by a force field made by magic with clockwork machines to amplify it; the wilderness filled with decaying buildings and bands of cannibals but no other animal life; the various bubbles of magic that might hold danger or safety.Fans of dystopias will enjoy this one and will be hopeful that Lark can find out what she is and where she belongs. Readers will be looking forward to the sequels to follow along with Lark on her journey.
    • 3/5
      Pros: very unique dystopian situation, very good opening, terrifying potential fate for Lark, end reveal of Lark's abilities was interestingCons: protagonist is conflicted, middle dragged, it became tiresome watching Lark get saved over and over againFor Parents: one swear word, some violence (killing), no sexAt sixteen Lark is older than the other kids at school, but she won't become a full adult until she's harvested for her magic and assigned her place. Magic runs the city and keeps up the wall that protects them from the ravaged outside world. When she's finally called, she's apprehensive about the procedure no one talks about and curious why they waited so long to harvest her.An unescorted jaunt around the famicility shows her someone's horrific fate, a fate she soon realizes she might share. She's able to regenerate her magic, a lost skill and valuable - for harvesting. Fleeing for her life and her sanity, she breaches the wall and discovers how bad things outside really have become. She knows she will be hunted. She also knows there are other people outside the wall who are like her.Kudos to Spooner for creating a dystopian setting that was substantially different from the rest. It has touches of steampunk and a truly terrifying fate for Lark should she remain in the city. After Lark leaves the city however, the setting becomes commonplace, post-apocalyptic (even if the apocalypse was caused by magic).While I liked Lark, she waffled between competent and needing to be saved too often. I understand that she didn't know how to survive in the wild, and I was ok with Oren helping her, but having him leave and come back to rescue her over and over again became tiresome. This repetition made the middle section feel too long and drawn out. She also waffled between altruism and necessity when it came to violence and dealing with those she met outside the wall.The ending picked up the pace again and returned to the high tension, and high stakes, of the opening. While I wasn't keen on Lark's choices at the end of the book, it was an exciting ending.A good book for those who want a different dystopian setting.
    • 3/5
      Originally reviews on A Reader of Fictions.

      Meagan Spooner's debut novel Skylark creates a fantastical steampunk world where magic has a physical presence, and people are varying degrees of monster. While many dystopias focus on action and drama, Skylark moves along at a slower pace, a bit more contemplative. Thankfully, the personality-filled writing and gorgeous world building kept my interest level high.

      Lark feels constant shame. She is the oldest person to not yet have been harvested. People years her juniors have been chosen before her. The other kids call her 'the dud,' 'the freak,' and she can't help but wonder if it's true. Nor can she find comfort at home. Her closest family member, Basil, a brother, left on a mission outside the wall and never returned, presumed dead. We never even see her parents. The only family member who seems to be around is her oldest brother Caesar, whose name is particularly apt, considering that he would do just about anything to advance his career.

      Finally, though, Lark's name has been called and she is to be harvested. Excited does not even begin to describe how she feels, anticipating finally being normal and valuable. Despite having very little idea what her harvesting entails, she quickly comes to suspect that something weird may be going on. Why do they keep taking her to be harvested? Isn't that just supposed to happen once? Her answer, of course, lies in the secret room she discovered: she's a Renewable and they're going to plug her into the city until she becomes nothing but a husk.

      The City, you see, runs on magic. Cool, right? In this world, magic exists in just about everything, including people. At the Harvest, they're using a machine to drain the magic (or, as they
      call it, The Resource, from the children of the population. There used to be Renewables, people who could create more Resource, but there haven't been any born in a long time and the City's magic is depleting. They need Lark's Resource, but she refuses to be a pawn and escapes into the eerie woods.

      What's especially neat about Skylark is how many different societies you can explore in this world. At the beginning, we're in the City with Lark, which is full of clockwork and magic. It's got a sort of industrial feel to it. Then, outside the wall, we get to see a bunch of different environments. Basically, the magic out there is all unbalanced, so some areas have to much and others none, which means that pretty much anything can happen. I just loved this world building, especially the changes that the magic bubbles wrought.

      If you love reading about creepy monsters, Spooner cooked up some of those for you in her writer's cauldron too. The Dark Ones. I'm not entirely certain what happened to them, whether there was some sort of event or chemical, or if it was just a change out of necessity. Either way, they're cannibals, humans turned dark and twisted and hungry for other humans. This adds some fun spice to an otherwise fairly pleasant journey. I definitely would like to know how they came about, though!

      Lark makes a great heroine. Her voice is clear and direct. Her narration kept me totally involved in the story. Despite being a complete newbie to pretty much everying, Lark tries really hard. She's not a complainer, and learns and grows from every experience. Otherwise, though, I would say characterization was probably the weakest point in the book. None of the other humans really manifested strongly to me. There are two possible love interests so far, but, thankfully, Spooner has so far resisted the urge to make this into a melodramatic love triangle.

      My very favorite character, though, the one that totally stole the show in my opinion is not human. I freaking loved Nix. He's so adorable and cool and I don't even know. Basically, I want him to come hang out with me. Also, the way the scene where he learned things was just fantastic. He also raises some thought-provoking questions about sentience.

      For stellar world building and some serious clockwork awesomeness, go get yourself a copy of Skylark. I really enjoyed it and will be keeping my eye out for the next book!