Skylark by Meagan Spooner

Sixteen year-old Lark Ainsley has never seen the sky.

Her world ends at the edge of the vast domed barrier of energy enclosing all that’s left of humanity. For two hundred years the city has sustained this barrier by harvesting its children's innate magical energy when they reach adolescence. When it’s Lark’s turn to be harvested, she finds herself trapped in a nightmarish web of experiments and learns she is something out of legend itself: a Renewable, able to regenerate her own power after it’s been stripped.

Forced to flee the only home she knows to avoid life as a human battery, Lark must fight her way through the terrible wilderness beyond the edge of the world. With the city’s clockwork creations close on her heels and a strange wild boy stalking her in the countryside, she must move quickly if she is to have any hope of survival. She’s heard the stories that somewhere to the west are others like her, hidden in secret – but can she stay alive long enough to find them?

Goodreads Summary



 Meagan Spooner wrote an entirely unique, original book. Lark Ainsley’s world runs like clockwork and is powered by magic. Each person is a cog in the perfectly running machine that is kept alive by magic Harvested from younger citizens. The Harvest is considered a rite of passage to adulthood, and Lark is excited when her name is finally called. Lark’s Harvest is unusual though, and repeated (all citizens are only to be Harvested once) after she answers some questions and takes a few tests. At this point, Lark realizes that she is a Renewable, someone who generates their own magic. Lark then learns a horrible secret; Renewables are enslaved and forced to painfully power the city nonstop. If Lark wants to avoid that fate, she must escape and leave the only home she has ever known if she has any hope of surviving and finding safety.
Lark is a likable heroine. She is naïve, but tough and a good friend. Lark braves the war- ravaged land outside the city and tries to understand her gift. Spooner does a great job with description and detail. I felt like I was walking next to Lark everywhere she went, seeing and hearing everything she did. Another significant skill Megan Spooner has was the ability to foreshadow events without giving them away. I could feel anticipation building, but was never certain of how the events would playout. I really enjoyed reading Skylark and highly recommend this book to readers over the age of fourteen of either gender. This book could be appreciated by anyone and earns five out of five stars from me.

5 Stars

*Reviewed by Kristin*

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