A heart will soar. An empire will fall.
No one knew how or why the gods had formed the storm barriers where they did, but they were all over the world.
Take Back the Skies is a Young Adult SteamPunk Fantasy Romance book written by Lucy Saxon. Set in the Dystopian world of Tellus, it follows the adventure of 14-year-old Catherine Hunter, aka Cat, as she joins the crew of the Stormdancer and their fight to take down and reveal the secrets of her country's government.
Tropes:
- Arranged Marriage: Between James and Cat, the former and his mother being far more keen on upholding the promise than the latter. Cat tries to attempt a Childhood Marriage Veto but ultimately ends up marrying him in the final scene.
- Bittersweet Ending: The government is taken down, the Collections have ended, and the day is saved, but Fox is dead, most of the sprogs are unable to return to their parents, and Cat is forced to marry Prince James to ensure Angyla is restored to its former stability.
- Boyish Short Hair: The haircut that Cat dons after escaping from her father so that she can pass as a boy amongst the commoners. Also doubles as an Important Haircut as it's a sign of her freedom from her father and the constraints of her former life.
- Childhood Friend Romance: James and Cat - although moreso from James' point of view.
- Child Soldiers: The fate of the sprogs Collected by the government.
- Constructed World: The book is set in the fictional world of Tellus, notable for the thick, tumultuous storms that surround its islands.
- Everyone Can See It: The rest of the crew of the Stormdancer towards the budding romance between Cat and Fox.
- In-Series Nickname: Various crew members of the Stormdancer nickname Cat "shortie" and children are generally referred to as "sprogs".
- Only Known by Their Nickname: Both Cat (Catherine Hunter) and Fox (William Foxe).
- She Cleans Up Nicely: Cat when she wears the dress and necklace that she nicked from her old home, dressing more feminine for the first time in front of the crew of the Stormdancer.
