Skyward

Skyward (2018) is a young adult science fiction novel by Brandon Sanderson and is the first of four books in the Skyward series. In the world of the novel, a human population is trapped on a planet called Detritus and has organized a space force to battle aliens—Krell—in order to survive. The novel follows Spensa Nightshade, a young woman who also goes by the name of Spin and dreams of becoming a pilot in the space force. However, she struggles against the weight of her father’s infamous reputation as a coward and must also come to terms with the losses of war while trying to help her people survive

This guide refers to the 2018 Delacorte Press edition.

Content Warning: Both the source text and this guide include descriptions of wartime violence and death.

Plot Summary

Skyward opens years before the primary setting of the novel, when the protagonist, Spensa “Spin” Nightingale, a member of the Defiant culture, first goes to explore the surface of the planet Detritus with her father, Zeen “Chaser” Nightingale, who teaches her to reach for the stars. Zeen shows her an opening in the debris belt orbiting Detritus. Suddenly, the human space force, known as the Defiant Defense Force (DDF), calls for all pilots to report to base and take to their ships against a large incoming force of Krell, the aliens that regularly attack humans.