Aza Ray is on earth living a normal life for the first time. Her boyfriend, Jason, and her family are happy to have her back, but part of Aza still wants to be involved in the amazing invisible world of Magonia in the sky. When Jason's worry about protecting Aza causes him to accidentally give the enemy exactly what they need to control Aza, she becomes a fugitive in Magonia and needs to find a way to stop her mother's terrible plan. She searches the world for a legendary weapon called the Flock that can help her find her place between Magonia and earth and save the lives of her friends and family.

Aerie is a strange fantasy that relies on usual tropes, but tries to create a unique angle with the world in the sky and the singing abilities of Magonians. Aza is a savior with special abilities and is the chosen one to save the world. In spite of the things that could be exciting, most of the book is about Aza singing a song only she can sing and feels things deeply enough to impact her song. The world and characters had a lot to give, but it focuses too much on a main character who is only interesting because she has intense emotions and is no longer dying. The beginning of the book moves very slowly, and the relationship drama becomes laughable at parts of the story. The world has interesting elements, but they often aren't explained enough and become confusing instead of intriguing. Aerie does a decent job bringing the story to a close, but the overall book is not an exciting read and has too many weaknesses to let the stronger points succeed. ( )

I stopped at chapter one...as a 40 year old I felt very uncomfortable reading about almost explicit teenage sex...if I were a teen I don't think it would've phased me though

Student Review by: Heather. R. (11th grade)
Grade Range: 8th Grade and up
Literary Merit: Excellent
Characterization: Excellent

In Aerie, sequel to Magonia, Aza Ray Boyle and Jason Kerwin have more challenging dilemmas and monumental moments in store for them. Aza Ray, who used to be known as the dying girl, is nowhere near the person she used to be since she has discovered and been a part of the world above, in the clouds, known as Magonia. Her life used to be the normal life of a teenager, but that life was interrupted by her Magonian mother. Zal Quel, who thrived on the destruction of the world and on stealing a highly important seed that Earth had apparently stolen from her world. Aza and Jason made it through that determinantal event and thought that life on Earth could be somewhat normal for them. But, life can never be normal for Aza, the Magonian girl who has the song that is connected to her Magonian mother and her ethologidion known as Dai. Life only seems to be spiraling downward for Jason, the human drowner who uses pi as a way of trying to manage his depression. There is never a moment in life when time slows down and allows a person to easily have what they want. The only way that Aza and Jason can get the lives that they want is through battling their wrongs and standing their ground to make their own choices in life. However, they soon realize that their good intentions are not good for everyone around them.

The first element that drew me into this book was the unique cover. The use of a deep red for the sky and the use of oranges and yellows to represent the sunrise towards the bottom of the cover convey the feelings of the two worlds: Magonia and Earth. In between the top and the bottom of the cover there is a huge anchor that is tied with rope and is clearly showing its age. This anchor is very symbolic due to the fact that it is being consumed by the stars and, therefore, represents the Magonians and their songs that can realign planets, change land to water, and cause massive storms. On top of the cover being visually appealing, the characters drew me into this book and had me guessing about their actions and decisions from start to finish. Aza Ray and Jason Kerwin were both nicely developed characters. Each of them had highly detailed backgrounds that helped to truly understand their reasons for making certain actions. Throughout the book, there was a message that was always being stated and highlighted through the actions and words of the characters. This specific message was: In life there are going to be many decisions being made for you by others, but the best decisions are the ones that you make on your own. There was never a time in the book when I doubted the validity of that message.

Recommendation: Science Fiction readers or even fantasy readers that love to read about enchanting worlds that hold beauty on the outside, but darkness on the inside. ( )

Aerie is the sequel to Maria Dahvana Headley's strange and unique novel Magonia. We find out what happened to Aza Ray after she assumed a new persona and rejoined her family. She and Jason are now a couple, and as most YA book couples, they already consummated their relationship. Which makes me sad, I was hoping they would be different from other young, fictional couples. Oh well...The parents of Aza and Jason (who I loved in the first book) are more in the background in this sequel, with the main focus going to Aza, Jason, Eli and the antagonists.

For the most part, I like this book and how the author continued the story. However, it irked me a bit when a character, who resurfaced to help Jason, gets killed off immediately. After that character's revelation, I felt he could've added more depth to the story. Another character, who in turn helped Aza, also got killed later on. I would have loved to see that character live and redeem herself, and perhaps find the happiness that she deserves. And don't get me started on Jason. I mean, it's heartwarming how much he loves Aza, but he's so emotionally dependent on her it's almost pathetic. I like Aza more in this book, she's head strong but smart, brave yet sentimental.

Also, I was unsatisfied with the ending, don't get me wrong, the author writes beautifully. But in my humble opinion, the ending came abruptly, it felt like the story is left unfinished. Still, this is a good read for those who are looking for a fresh take on dystopian worlds and teen romance.
What I really like about this series is its message - that we should take care of the world we live in and all its inhabitants. It's a very timely message that all of us should heed before it's too late.

I give this book 3.5 out of 5 stars. ( )

I liked the first one better, but this one was extra weird in a way that was right up my alley. ( )