Blurb: (From Book 1) Defeated, crushed, and driven almost to extinction, the remnants of the human race are trapped on a planet that is constantly attacked by mysterious alien starfighters. Spensa, a teenage girl living among them, longs to be a pilot. When she discovers the wreckage of an ancient ship, she realizes this dream might be possible—assuming she can repair the ship, navigate flight school, and (perhaps most importantly) persuade the strange machine to help her. Because this ship, uniquely, appears to have a soul.
Review: I think every review I have from Sanderson will have to inevitably mention that the dude has range. This range somehow doesn't have dips in quality either, and this series is a testament to that. This series opens with a coming of age novel, which introduces a really well written main character, Spensa. The setting of humanity being under siege from an external race, and a remnant of what it previously was is done well, and there's plenty of hints and allusions to potential reasons as to why this is the setting as opposed to an explanation off the bat. The scope of the series extends well past the coming-of-age introduction however, and a space opera like setting begins to form.
I enjoyed how this series portrays flight teams, and think it provides a great way in which characters can play off each-other and in how you can get to know them without these characters having a POV or strong-deep back stories. The plot's great too, and I'm really anticipating book 3 after the direction book 2 took. Even though this series might be aimed towards a bit of a younger audience, I don't think this should affect general readership, and I'm really happy I picked it up.
Edit: Book 3 is more of a personal story, and narrowed the focus again. Still a great read, and now interested in the direction of book 4.
Edit: A fabulous conclusion to the series, which didn't require a mountain of a final book to end. I am incredibly happy with how all the open plot points were handled, and found the story arc of the last book a joy to read. This series is well worth giving a shot!