Review: Surrender the Sky

Surrender the Sky by Meradeth Houston
Age Group: Young Adult
Genre: Paranormal
Release Date: May 2014
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Book Description:

Gabby lives by two unbreakable rules: don’t expose her kind, the Sary, and don’t fall in love—too bad some rules are made to be broken.

When Gabby’s most difficult charge accidentally shoots her in front of a class full of students, the event exposes her carefully hidden identity. She shifts from looking like a normal teen to her secret Sary form, revealing her wings and the existence of her kind—immortals who try to keep people from committing suicide.

Her incident attracts the attention of the next leader of the Sary, Jassen, who offers her an impossible bargain: she can keep her wings if she makes amends with those who know the truth. Things get more complicated when a rebel Sary, intent on exposing them to the world, starts interfering with Gabby’s work. And there’s no denying her attraction to Jassen, who is torn between his duties and his heart.

With threats at every turn and her immortality on the line, Gabby has to find a way to save the Sary or surrender the sky forever.

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"Surrender the Sky" by Meradeth Houston is actually one book of a series that has to do with Sary, guardian angels who look over humans and help those who are thinking of committing suicide find their way.
Our story revolves around the Sary Gabby, who was assigned to a high school in hopes of helping a boy who's been bullied for years. However, things don't go as planned and she's faced with an even bigger challenge of making wrongs right so that she doesn't end up losing her wings and being kicked out by the other Sary.

Houston starts the action right off in the first chapter as Gabby is sitting in class and the boy she's supposed to be looking out for pulls a gun out in order to kill himself, and he's not afraid of taking others with him. Gabby tries to talk him out of it while also protecting her fellow classmates, but ends up getting shot, and exposes her wings in front of the entire class. Instantly, the stakes are raised and the reader is left turning the pages to see what Gabby's fate will end up being.

I think that there was also good world building involved in "Surrender the Sky". Throughout the story, Houston was able to explain what the Sary were, how they came to be (they weren't always winged guardian angels), and what their mission is. We even learn that there's a void-like blackness that awaits anyone who commits suicide, and they're fighting to prevent people from being sentenced to that fate.
There are a few twists and turns throughout the story as well.

While it starts off with Gabby's fight to stay a Sary as the main challenge, we quickly meet a new hurdle with the character of Leon. Leon is also a Sary, but he's tired of living in service of the humans and wants to reveal the Sary to the world in order to claim what he believes is their rightful place. The different challenges made for a good read because I was left turning the pages in order to see how everything would play out.

Not only was the plot enjoyable, but the characters were likable as well. Throughout the story, I was hoping that things would work out well for Gabby and that her story would end on a happy note. Even the supporting characters had different layers to flesh them out and make them more relatable.

"Surrender the Sky" was definitely a good read for me. Even though it is part of a series, it still works as a standalone book. There's enough explanation on the finer mechanics of the Sary world to understand everything, and I didn't feel lost at all when I was reading. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes paranormal young adult books, and I might even go back and read some more books about the Sary and their world.

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Author Bio:

I've never been a big fan of talking about myself, but if you really want to know, here are some random tidbits about me. I'm a California girl. This generally means I talk too fast and use "like" a lot.

I have my doctorate in molecular anthropology. Translation: I sequence dead people's DNA and spend a whole lot of time in a lab, which I love. I've been writing since I was 11 years old.

It's my hobby, my passion, and I'm so happy to get to share my work! My other passion is teaching. There's nothing more fun than getting a classroom of college kids fired up about anthropology! If I could have a super-power, it would totally be flying. Which is a little strange, because I'm terrified of heights.

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