Jax and her brother get by in a shattered world, where most of Earth's population was killed off by germ warfare. Those who are left live on simple fare, as Jax and Jace did until recently, or move into fortified towns, as they've now done for protection from bandits. Fretting about having to be married off and live a docile life, Jax forgets about the other danger outside the Bridgelake walls.

BROKEN SKIES picks up the adventure as Jax and Jace encounter a small alien craft. While the E'rikon intruders who moved into the vacuum normally leave Earth people alone, today that's not the case. Jace is grabbed by a few aliens as he tries to distract them from Jax, who is caught anyway by a young man. The other group takes off, bringing Jace back to their city and Jax is desperate. She bargains with Lir, the young E'rikon man, who has been left without his tech and weaponry. If she helps him reach the city on foot, he must get her inside. She doesn't know if she can trust a guy with green hair, and he's got the worst attitude towards humans, but what choice does she have?

I was interested to compare this post-apocalyptic society with Breeder by KB Hoyle, as the themes have a lot in common. Just as in Breeder, when population numbers are low women's rights go out the door. Jax is going to be promised to some Bridgelake man without her consent. In this book it's the strong girl who has the survival skills she needs for a trek across country, while the remnant populations she encounters are anything but co-operative. The alien arrivals are rumoured to be attacking human settlements; E'rikon are strong and difficult to kill by lightly armed defenders. Lir has his own reasons for distrusting humans, as we'd expect.

What with snakebites and stitching wounds, desperate defences and two colours of blood, this isn't one for the squeamish. The details are well presented, though the level of tech is generally simple, and we get thoroughly involved in Jax's courageous struggle. The story threads get more complex, along with the culture clash. I did think that Jax passes out more often than the average teenage girl as several chapters end that way. Theresa Kay has given us a tale full of landscape and longing, adventure and alienation. BROKEN SKIES is an exciting, heart in your mouth read for imaginative young adults.

Book Summary

After the Collapse wiped out more than 90 percent of humanity, the aliens arrived. Known as the E’rikon, they sit within a shielded city, content to ignore the dwindling human settlements. Seventeen-year-old tomboy Jax Mitchell and her twin brother, Jace, are among the survivors, living within the community of Bridgelake.

When a terrified yet defiant Jax watches the E’rikon kidnap Jace, she decides to rescue him on her own. Wracked by crippling nightmares and panic attacks, Jax finds an ally in Lir, a handsome teenage E’rikon who was left behind by his ship. The two of them form an unlikely partnership, with Jax guiding Lir through human territory while the alien promises to sneak her into the E’rikon city. But as Jax’s connection with Lir intensifies, she discovers a shocking secret—one that could have catastrophic effects on humans and aliens alike.