Book Review ~ Outside In

Outside In (Inside Out #2)
By Maria V. Snyder
Published By Harlequin Teen
egalley from netGalley

Warning: Spoilers from 1st book if you have not read it.

Summary (netGalley):
 ME?

A LEADER?

Okay, I did prove that there’s more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion—between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we’re free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again—while still touching base with Riley, of course. He’s the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there’s outside and then there is Outside.

And something from Outside wants In.

My Thoughts: I ended up liking this book more than I thought I would. I was curious what could be done considering they are living in this huge ship and cannot go anywhere else. The author managed a plot that worked with this and still seemed plausible with the situations. There were a couple of things I didn't like. There were too many flips in this book. Trying to figure out if someone is good, then bad, then good again with no repercussions from when they  were bad. I think it's the last that bugged me more than all the flipping. The other, for me, was the Exile. It was made a point that the reason for the exile was a major button pusher and yet we were never told why it took place. I need closure and don't feel I got it  from this (unless I missed that page). The relationships were much the same as the first book; break-ups, make-ups, and shower scenes (tastefully done for those who have need to know). We got to meet some new characters and get familiar with some of the old ones.
Overall I enjoyed the story once it got going except for what was mentioned above. This is one of my favorite authors and I have enjoyed all her books so far and look forward to reading more.


Rating: 4

Book Review

Inside Out
By: Maria V. Snyder
Published By: Harlequin Teen


Summary (GoodReads):Keep Your Head Down.

Don't Get Noticed.

Or Else.

I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.

Dislikes: I had a difficult time visualizing and getting into the world of Inside. I just kept picturing a large office building, this could be what we are supposed to visualize but it just seemed off to me. Even after the last chapter I was still picturing this just in a larger scale. It didn't take away from the book just something I had trouble with. I also didn't like how everything was in weeks, even after breaking it down, whenever a date/time was mentioned (ex: birth week= 145,414) I would have to stop reading to figure out ages, dates, or how far away they were from something happening. It really disrupted the flow of the book for me.

Likes: I really enjoyed the characters and their world (as opposed to the physical world they lived in). Trella is a great lead female. She thinks she is on her own and just doing her own thing and then realizes she has been living/thinking exactly how she is expected to by the pop cops that are controlling the world of inside.  Seeing her grow and realize that she can make friends and trust some people whether they are scrubs like herself or from the upper levels. I also enjoyed how everyone seemed to come together for a common purpose and work towards that goal.

Overall: I found myself engrossed in this book even with the trouble I had envisioning it as a whole.  I liked  how Trella and Riley's relationship steadily grew instead of happening instantly when they first met.  I also enjoyed how the book left off, not with a cliffhanger but still left you wanting to read the next one to find out how changes on inside effect the inhabitants and what they are going to do about outside.

Rating: 4