Inside

Insiders #1-2

by Maria V. Snyder

The world of Inside is simple. Do your job, stay out of the way and don't dream of anything better. Because as every Scrub knows, there are no other options.

Until Trella—the Queen of the Pipes, as some call her—gets involved with a revolution that will rock her world….

Trella was just doing a favor for a friend—her only friend. Hiding an injured man from the Pop Cops seemed easy enough—though dangerous. But then she discovered that the myths of Outside might be real….

Being Inside's hero only left Trella with more work. Ducking those responsibilities, she continued to explore her stark world—and found something she never expected. Strangers. From Outside…

Genres: Young Adult, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Fiction, Ebooks, Mystery

600 pages, Paperback

First published December 20, 2011

About the author

When Maria V. Snyder was younger, she aspired to be a storm chaser in the American Midwest so she attended Pennsylvania State University and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology. Much to her chagrin, forecasting the weather wasn’t in her skill set so she spent a number of years as an environmental meteorologist, which is not exciting...at all. Bored at work and needing a creative outlet, she started writing fantasy and science fiction stories. Over twenty four novels and two short story collections later, Maria’s learned a thing or three about writing. She’s been on the New York Times bestseller list, won a dozen awards, and has earned her Masters of Arts degree in Writing from Seton Hill University, where she is now a faculty member.

Her favorite color is red. She loves dogs, but is allergic, instead she has a big black tom cat named…Kitty (apparently naming cats isn’t in her skill set either). Maria also has a husband and two children who are an inspiration for her writing when they aren't being a distraction. Note: She mentions her cat before her family.

When she's not writing she's either playing pickleball, traveling, or taking pictures. Being a writer, though is a ton of fun. Where else can you take fencing lessons, learn how to ride a horse, study marital arts, learn how to pick a lock, take glass blowing classes and attend Astronomy Camp and call it research? Maria will be the first one to tell you it's not working as a meteorologist.

Readers are welcome to check out her website for book excerpts, free short stories, maps, blog, and her schedule at http://www.MariaVSnyder.com.

Reviews

[Maria V. Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars just for the fantastic deal! Two books, INSIDE OUT and OUTSIDE IN for $8.99 US - that's cheaper than one book!

And, according to my Aunt Bette, "It's better than The Hunger Games." She's so sweet :)

[Priscilla · Rating 2 out of 5]

:|

Initial thoughts
1. The setting/world building was quite difficult for me imagine. How time/age is broken down into weeks/hours was kind of confusing, and there was nothing particularly unique in this world that really grabbed me.
2. I wasn't feeling Trella's character. I could empathize with her need to find quiet and solitude amidst her fellow scrubs, but her cold/unfriendly actions toward them seemed unwarranted. Maybe because there wasn't enough backstory of her character to give me an insight into why she looked down on them so much.
3. Great introspection of Trella's character towards the end of the first book, but by the beginning of the second book, her character takes two steps backward.
4. The plot/conflict didn't have any outstanding qualities that made the read unique. It was a bit simplistic.
5. Pacing picks up in the middle and end of both books. Lot's of action and suspenseful moments.

You can check out my video review here!

[Stelepami · Rating 3 out of 5]

It reminded me strongly of Pegasus in Flight, with the main character slipping about the service ducts and the oppressive regime keeping the underclass in small, crowded conditions.
I think I need to take a break from Maria V. Snyder; I really enjoy her work but it is starting to feel like it's all the same book. In this book/duet the reluctant heroine reminded me very strongly of The Hunger Games trilogy, possibly because of the scifi futuristic setting which is a departure from the other books I've read by Snyder, and partly because Trella has to deal with the consequences of leading the people she's stirred to rebellion after the rebellion is over, which reminds me very much of the issues Katniss finds herself facing in Mockingjay. That's not why I need to take a break. I love the reluctant heroine -- she's a sympathetic and realistic character. I need to take a break because I'm sick of the same love story over and over and OVER again. I would have enjoyed this world much more if the author had simply avoided romance altogether instead of bringing in the stranger who initially alienates the protagonist and eventually wins her heart. It's not a bad story, every now and then. Additionally, I'm finding a few of Snyder's word choices annoying (e.g., the use of "equaled" in awkward sentences) and some of the grammatical flaws are easier to overlook when it's an audiobook, which this wasn't (e.g., starting sentences with "Although," when it doesn't make sense). Fun stuff, and I look forward to the next Touch book, but it's time for a break! I also think I've now read all the published work by Snyder, so it's a good thing I'm taking a breather.

[Ashley Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

So, since this book was two books in one, it's kind of hard to do the review seperately but I'm gonna try

Inside Out:
I'll admit it took a minute to get into it but for me, it was only because the setting was kind of confusing but other than that it was really good.
Outside In:
The only thing I really have to say about this one is Ch. 10 almost killed me

This was the first Maria V Snyder series I've read that didn't have smut XD (well, it kind of did but not like her other series). This was a really enjoyable read that kind of had to do with space travel and aliens.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

*A copy was provided by The Great and Mighty and Awesome Maria V. Snyder for review purposes*

Note: Since there are two different books in this edition, I will be doing two seperate reviews

Inside Out
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Maria V. Snyder is easily my most favorite fantasy writer ever, so I was excited to see what she would do with her dystopian series. The things that really stand out to me about her other series (the Study series and the Healer series) is that they have REALLY kick-ass main female characters, REALLY hot, attractive guys, and a really awesome supporting cast. I feel like M.V.S. still managed to incorporate most of this into this book.

The idea behind this book is totally awesome and completely original. As usual, Snyder got right into the story from page 1, no messing around. I loved how she explained the situation and setting without boring everyone to death, and the story line moved smoothly and quickly. Her writing and staging was simply amazing, and the fact that the story moved so quickly, plus the twists and turns, made this book an awesome thriller.

Usually when I talk about a Maria V. Snyder book I rant on and on about the huge cast. But this cast, while pretty big, isn't like her other books' casts, because this book focuses on mainly two poeple, and that is Trella and Riley. Trella has a huge legacy to live up to what with her competition (Yelena and Avry) and I think Trella really held her own. She wasn't an awesome fighter or anything like Yelena, but she strong, smart, tough, and kick-ass in her own way. Riley also has a lot to live up to as well after Valek, and I think he held is own as well, but not as much as Trella did. Riley was nice, sweet, attractive, but not overly hot or sexy or appealing like Valek. But oh well, not everyone can be a Valek right?

I think that Maria V. Snyder did a really awesome job branching away from her normal fantasy genre and trying out a dystopian book. Even though I miss the awesome supporting cast and extremely attractive main guys in her other books, I think this one is unique from her, and I can't wait to read the second one and see where this story is going.


Outside In

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars.

Well, Maria V. Snyder has done it again! She has made a masterpiece! I actually liked this book a bit more than the first book, Inside Out . Like all her books, this one had non-stop action, twists and turns, and awesome writing. I loved how she find some way to continue on from the first book, and I really like what she came up with. The idea was so cool, and really imaginative! The plot was really complex, and there were so many situations to get out of, but I really liked that Maria V. Snyder made the escapes believable.

Like I said in my first review, this series has a different cast structure than her other books, but I actually like the cast a bit more in this book than I did in the first book because she focuses on only a few, and we get to know them better. What Maria V. Snyder did with Trella - the main character in this book - was pure genious. She wrote her as annoying, selfish, and reckless, and she used that to affect her relationship with Riley (the main guy). But then has Trella realise what she's become, and she fixes it. I'm not sure if I explained that very well, but it was just really smart of Snyder to manipulate her character like that. For the supporting cast, Snyder really focused on Logan, Anne-Jade, Babba Boom and Doctor Lamont, and I gotta tell you, they made the book a whole lot more interesting.

Time and time again Snyder stuns me with her imagination, writing skills, and her ability to make you fall in love with her books and her characters. These books were probably really out of her comfort zone, but wow, did she ever deliver. I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

Check out more of my reviews on my blog, Emily's Crammed Bookshelf

[Meaghan R. (YA-aholic) · Rating 3 out of 5]

INSIDE
4 stars
(would have been 5 if the writing was better!)

i really enjoyed this first part of the 2 book story.

the writing could have been improved some, but it wasn't terrible.

the standard
i vs me
whom vs who
mistakes that are all to common in ya books...they're there in adult too....not mutually exclusive to YA.

it took me FOREVER to realize what was inside and what was outside. i'm normally really good at inkling up clues, but i had not the tiniest inkling until it was revealed. and when it was, my heart broke just a bit.

i liked the adventurous main character that thought herself removed form the sheep masses.
bending the rules and doing what felt right.
____________________________________________________

OUTSIDE
2 STARS
would have been 3 if the writing had a complete overhaul

hmmm.....well, i preferred the first book. the writing was worse in this one. same mistakes as before, but just A LOT MORE, which i find funny, because she thanked her proofreader in the beginning of this one.



i didn't care for Trella's character in this story very much...just...to weak/whiney...what happened to the hero for the first book.
-yes, i understand this one is about re-finding herself but still!

there are a few thing that i felt were lacking in this story, had they been there, it would have been a better and more enjoyable book.

side note....why didn't she ever just speak up....instead of not telling one person or another something, not knowing whom she could trust, everything got worse...but i guess it it weren't that way, the story would have been over a lot faster.

i want to know WHY they are on the spaceship going through space to arrive and colonize a new planet.
Logan knows, he read the hieroglyphs on the top floor, yet Trella couldn't be bothered with it at the time, and the author never revisited it. according to Logan, it was fascinating and i would have liked to have known how they ended up where they did.

the other part that i felt was lacking was in regards to the Outsiders. they say they were exiled and that the ship was theirs, but the insiders ancestors stole it from them? as the story progresses and the closer we get to the end, the more Trella seems to be her old self again (finally) and starts to ship away at these Outsiders. it's quiclky determined that they are hiding something, that there was a crime they committed leading up to the exile, but we never found out WHAT it was. WHAT motivated them besides the lack of air and provisions.

i would recommennd this story ONLY TO THOSE THAT READ THE FIRST AND ABSOLUTELY MUST KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT. IF YOU CAN LIVE WITH NOT KNOWING, ALL THE BETTER
______________________________________________


REVIEWED AS A WHOLE:

THE SECOND BOOK DID NO JUSTICE FOR THE FIRST. THE FORST WAS GREAT, THE SECOND, BO SO. IT'S A SHAME BECAUSE THERE WAS SO MUCH PROMISE, AND THE SECOND STORY IS WHAT BROUGHT THE RATING DOWN FROM A 4 STAR OR 5 STAR...NOT MY FAV.

THE WRITING REGRESSED INTHE SECOND STORY WITH MORE AND MORE ERRONEOUS SYNTAX AND WHAT NOT.

AND THE MAIN CHARACTER DEVOLVED. WHAT'S WITH THAT?

I JUST FEEL THAT WITH HOW GOOD THE FIRST BOOK WAS, I EXPECTED THE SAME, MAYBE MORE, OUT OF THE SECOND, BUT I DIDN'T GET THAT, I GOT LESS.

[Shanan · Rating 5 out of 5]

In A Nutshell:
Trella is a scrub. Trella lives on the Inside. As a scrub on the Inside, she has very definite ideas about her life. Some of them come from the education received in her care facility (i.e., uppers are living the life of luxury while she is scrubbing the pipes). Some of them have come from her interaction with others (i.e., her preference for sleeping in the pipes rather than the crowded barracks). But her unique strength and her unique talents have given her the unique opportunity to be the instrument of change--if she is willing to take the chance.

Review:
Admittedly, I love Maria V. Snyder! I have not read a book by her that I did not love. So I had high expectations when I started Inside and Maria V. Snyder did not disappoint me.

First, Maria V. Snyder created a complicated and interesting world where the rules and norms are designed to separate and divide the population. The distrust is so prevalent that even when they come together against a common enemy, they divide again afterwards and give others the opportunity to destroy them again. The way that Maria V. Snyder presents this deeply embedded distrust and the way it permeates every aspect of their lives is telling. It is subtle. It is not based on any one making a conscience decision. It is based on these ideas being told in little ways in every aspect of their lives. It is in what they teach their children, how they interact with each other, and how they interact with people they do not know well.

Second, Maria V. Snyder created an interesting cast of characters. In particular, Trella intrigued me. I felt reasonably confident throughout the story that she was on the good side. But she is flawed. She makes mistakes. She sometimes believes the wrong person. She sometimes does not believe the right person. And she sometimes does not take into account the effect her decisions and actions have on other people, particularly those people who chose to follow her when the odds were stacked against them.

Third, Maria V. Snyder created interesting dynamics in the relationships between her characters. In my opinion, the relationship that most exemplifies this is the one between Trella and Doctor Lamont. This relationship goes from one extreme to another as each of these characters learns more about how and why they ended up separated. The lack of trust and understanding mirrors the lack of trust and understanding in the world as a whole. As the situation of their world changes, this dynamic within their relationship changes.

Finally, Maria V. Snyder always seems to have one more trick up her sleeve. In all of the books by Maria V. Snyder that I have read, I have found that every time I think I know what is going to happen or who is going to be on the "bad" side--I am wrong. Things are always just a little different from what I expected--but still realistic and believable within the confines of her story. This is not an easy combination to accomplish over and over again--but it is one of the biggest reasons I am always excited to hear about a new Maria V. Snyder book.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

(This is a review of Outside In. Check out my review of Inside Out and others on my book blog: inmybooknook.blogspot.com)


Outside In picks up a few months from where it's predecessor left off. The Pop Cops have been taken out of power and a Committee has been chosen to run Inside. The extra levels which Trella discovered are being developed into living space, and Trella and Riley are in a relationship. However, there is some conflict between scrubs and Uppers, when it comes to dividing power and responsibility.

This book was absolutely incredible. It's a rare event when I can say that a sequel is better than the original book, but Outside In was a perfectly executed novel with twists and turns that I could never have expected. Something that really impressed me was Maria V. Snyder's flawless transition from dystopian literature to science fiction. Whereas Inside Out was a very good dystopian, Outside In became a perfect concoction of new-world setting and space-age drama. Another aspect of this book which impressed me was the very realistic relationships between characters. These relationships were easy to understand, and each characters' own conflict was very relate-able. There is a lot more person-to-person conflict within this book as opposed to Inside Out, but Snyder uses this well enough and in a way that does not distract from the main conflicts. The plot itself was also well-done; I found it unpredictable, exciting and very captivating. There are very few slow moments in this novel, and almost no plot holes. The action continues throughout all 300 pages, and doesn't get boring or overwhelming, which was very impressive. And the ending was such a cliffhanger, I'm finding myself disappointed that there is no sequel to dive into, which doesn't happen to me very often. Finally, Snyder's writing style is absolutely wonderful; there were no grammatical errors or obvious mistakes.

My only complaint about this book is the very beginning. I found myself wishing that I could have seen what happened after Trella discovered the Expanse, instead of jumping right to it's development. Also, there were times when I was a little confused by the names of some characters as they were introduced, or whether they were on the side of the Insiders or Outsiders. But aside from these minor flaws, Maria V Snyder's Insiders series is a duology that I recommend to anyone, and I'll definitely be picking up some of Snyder's other books soon!

[Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book, or to be technically correct, books, were not what i had thought they'd be. ET AL. I guess this is the second true Sci-Fi i've read. (Second to the Host, which many would say is not a real sci fi.) so it would be fair to assume it's my first true true sci fi, in space and all that. I never expected it to be like it was.
Trella, Sadie, Queen of the Pipes, no matter how many monikers she has, the girl is awesome. I absolutely love her to death. Her attitude, her morale, her strategies, her mind, her everything!!! She kicks ass. (quite literally). This was not Snyder's first book, and it shows. I've read more author debut novels that not, so i'm used to the first time author awkwardness. None of that was in this book. Each sentence flowed into the next flawlessly and seamlessly, the plot flowed and ebbed as it should have, perfect!
The only place where Snyder could improve, possibly, is the depth of the characters and giving them more of a round profile rather than being so flat. I loved Trella, but she was the only in-depth "She jumped off the page, i see her in my head" character. Especially when you look at Cogon. There was no real depth in his character. When i think of a character i want multiple words, not just one. One is not depth. and the only word i think of when i see Cogon is "martyr." Her first person point of view was perfect, but her personality construction of her secondary characters could use some more 3D.

[Yael · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Inside series is the story of Trella, a scrub in the lower levels of the cube her world is. She works in the pipes all day and seems to prefer the company of her cleaning troll rolled up in one of them instead of the company of her fellow scrubs- she is a total loner.
Inside is devided to 4 levels- two buttom ones where the lowers, which are thousands of scrubs, live and work and two top ones where the uppers live. When Trella meets an Upper named Riley in an unexpected place, they soon become friends and break the horrible barrier that being a lower and an upper created between them and thus begin this destopian tale.

I really really really liked this book/book series! As always- Maria's writing was fantastic; the world building was rich and really interesting and I quite liked the numerical system than runs in the book, it gave it a unique touch that I felt made the story different from other dystopians I've read in the past. The characters were really fun too! I liked Trella from the beginning and found it fascinating to see her grow throughout the 2 books. I liked Logan (the awesome computer genius), Riley (the hottie!) and even Dr Lamont really grew on me!

Overall, this was a really fun story for someone like me who loves destopian novels and I really liked this 2-in-1 deal! Very recommended for fans of awesome writing, romantic love stories and adventure-packed dystopians!

[Melinda · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a combination of concepts and traits from Twilight, Hunger Games and the Uglies series all wrapped up in one with many new twists and turns, and I think I've enjoyed it just as much, if not more. The actions and drama drew me in right away!

Trella is very similar to Katnis in Hunger Games because she wanted to fight against opression, and was torn between two men whom she cared for. Also in the aspect that she never wanted kids because they're doomed to be scrubs and she didn't want to put anyone through that. On the other hand, Trella's character reminded me if Bella from Twilight because she never fit in and always felt like there was more to life than what she was presented with.

The whole plot is about the lowers and uppers and the propaganda that the controllers have been feeding them to hate each other to prevent an uprising, but as you may guess, that only works for so long.

While not everything is completely explained in this book, I still really enjoyed it. The drama, the sabotage, the treason etc. It was action packed and kept me guessing how Trella and team would get out of their many sticky situations.

...A book well written :)

[Stefanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inside Out and Outside In were very entertaining and fast-paced. You feel empathetic toward the Scrubs and understand the hostility between the Scrubs and the Uppers. However, as enjoyable as the novel was, it would have gotten 5 stars if it had incorporated/answered the following:
1: The writing had room for improvement; some phrases were badly-written and it was too simple in its choice if words.
2: No matter what happens, Trella's pain tolerance is unbelievable. I refuse to believe a girl can get burned, electrocuted etc... And feel very little pain.

There were a lot of unanswered questions such as why the Outsiders were exiled, what happened to the world as we know it and how on earth was Inside even created.

I would have loved it if there was a sequel to the novel which explains those questions and also explores what happens when they reach their desired destination.

However, it was a fun read and I greatly enjoyed reading it. There were tons of twists and turns so you never knew what to expect. Definitely worth checking out!

[Penultimately · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had Inside on my shelf for forever, and on my e-shelf for even longer, so I finally just had to make myself pick it up. I surprised myself by just how much I liked this book. I was expecting something sort of bland and emotionless. On the contrary, Inside was spicy enough to keep me interested while not going overboard. There was even a small, unexpected romance! I don't know why I didn't expect that, but I didn't. It didn't seem like that kind of book. There was no strong language or overly graphic intimate scene in it, which was great. I could reccommend Inside to almost anyone without worrying about offending them.
The main character seemed a little too perfect, sometimes. She always thought of a solution, almost always fixed things. But she was human, too, in that she did make mistakes. She didn't always cooperate well with others, though.
Four out of five stars. I don't like being held down to one book a week.

[Jo Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Inside is a two novels in one book 'Inside Out' and 'Outside In', They both are very fast paced and I found myself turning pages because I wanted to know more about "inside", the people, where they came from and why they were all inside?

In the first novel we meet Trella a lowly scrub who leads a rebellion to free her people from the uppers and the pop cops. We also learn that inside is a spaceship traveling to some planet.

In the second novel the uppers and the scrubs are finally united but trying to rebuild their society back together again has its problems also inside gets taken over by the "outsiders." It is a very inventive story but it leaves you with so many unanswered questions and I just hate when authors do that also this is supposed to be a dystopian world, the kids run around saying the word "bogus" yet nobody remembers what a video camera is. Oh well I guess that's why it's referred to as YA. I'm giving it 3 stars.

[Brenda Klaassen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this duo book because I really enjoy this author. This story was very action packed. I did enjoy the innocent romance. As a reader my imagination was really stretched. I had not exspected all the twists and turns the author threw at the reader. This book was well worth the time it took to read it.

[Natalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a 2-in-1, and I enjoyed the first book a lot, making me want to read the second one. But the second wasn't as good as I had hoped. I began putting it aside a lot when I reached the last hundred pages or so. Overall, it's a well-written book with an interesting plot, but based off the books I've read in the past it isn't really anything new.

[Meaghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably my 4th reread of this series and it never fails to make me happy and nostalgic. I first read this book going through a tough time and it was the one thing that kept me happy. It also helped my love of reading grow even stronger. Trella, Riley, and the whole Force of Sheep hold a special place in my heart. Thank you, for this series.

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

WAS HARD TO GET INTO IT BUT LOVED IT ONCE I WAS ABLE TO GET PAST THE FIRST FEW CHAPTERS

[Natalie Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of action and twists, hard to put down.

[Harlequin Books]

Miniseries: An Inside Novel
Category: Teen

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great YA series.

You can never go wrong with Maria V Snyder books.

[Jasminka Tanner · Rating 3 out of 5]

This first book started out kind of rough, with weird numbers and improper calculations, poor writing, a very typical dystopian setting and plot, dry characters, and really cringy romance. As other people have mentioned, conflicts seemed to have been resolved too conveniently, which made things less believable. I almost gave up, but since I live in a dorm now and only brought a few books with me for the semester, I didn't have much of a choice. But it got better in the second book. Looking at the big picture, the idea behind the book series reveals some compelling, unsettling aspects of human nature. In the second book, I guess the plot came together more, which made it more interesting overall. Unfortunately the grammar and sentence structure didn't get much better; indeed this is annoying but I suppose it can be overlooked.

[Suz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A little about the author
Maria V. Snyder is a Novelist and former Meteorologist. She began working on her first novel, Poison Study in 1995. She is also a freelance writer for articles in regional magazines and in local newspapers and teaches fiction writing classes at the local college.
Her website states that she was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Has a Bachelors of Science degree in Meteorology, Maria discovered, much to her chagrin, that forecasting the weather wasn't one of her skills. Though the knowledge shines through in her Glass series books very well. She found employment in the environmental field as an air quality scientist, and it was during those years that she began writing. After writing many science fiction short stories, Maria started Poison Study, her first novel, about a food taster.

Maria lives with her family in Pennsylvania where she is at work on her fourth novel set in the "Study" world.

Authors website: http://www.mariavsnyder.com

Plot summery reviewed
"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? Not like it's all that dangerous - the only neck at risk is my own. Until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution..."


Trella is an out of the box kind of girl who likes to keep to herself, works hard and helps keep the pipes tidy as a scrub. A bit of a loner, Trella likes to live in the pipes rather than her assigned room. She only really talks to Cog, he's been her best friend since leaving the care facility and he convinces her to talk to a prophet. The prophet is going on about the outside and Trella wants to hear none of it and just live up to her expectations as a worker and not to get 'recycled' for being a nuisance, start posing a threat to the Pop Cops, who govern Inside with a regime of fear or not doing her job. she doesn't plan to find a mate or have children, and she's hostile to the prophets who surface every now and then, speaking to the scrubs of 'Gateway' - a rumoured secret exit to whatever lies beyond. Trella's never believed in Gateway
An act of curiosity brings her under the Pop Cops' spotlight, she finds herself drawn into the search for this mythical doorway and becomes a symbol of scrub rebellion. In the process she also encounters Riley, a member of the Upper society that Trella credits with keeping scrubs down. Except... he's lovely, and a friendship unfolds between them.

he lower levels, where the scrubs live. There you'll find barracks, a canteen serving spinach-flavoured slop, hydroponics, and care facilities where all scrub children are raised - ten kids to one Care Mother. The higher levels are inhabited by the uppers, who actually get their own quarters and a shot at family life. Then there's the huge network of ducts and pipes where few ever enter, except for those like Trella who work shifts cleaning them - ten hours off, ten hours off, for week after hundred-hour week. It's Trella's knowledge of this network that's earned her the nickname 'Queen of the Pipes', and that makes her the perfect candidate for the quest to find Gateway. She's also gutsy, smart, and a total trooper


"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."

It begins with an introduction to the ship which is the place where the human race now exists, spinning across space with layer after layer of living compartments inside it and even more unexplored levels. The revolution is at an end, the dictators have been overthrown and we enter the world of Inside at the point of committees and paperwork, where practical solutions to the aftermath of social disruption are being discussed. And Trella, the heroine of the hour, the instigator of the revolt, the leader of the force of sheep, wants nothing to do with it.
Having set her fellow Insiders on the right path and removed the power crazed Travas and Pop Cops from the equation, she only wants to be allowed to continue her exploration of the spaces above the living levels that have been found and return to relative anonymity. But after a couple of homemade bombs start to make life not only difficult but downright dangerous for those Inside, it seems as though Trella won't have much choice in the matter.

In the beginning Trella is portrayed as a little lost girl, leaving the rule making and governing to the newly formed committee, because she doubts her ability to lead the Insiders. In the end we see her stepping up again to try and save the day.

My star rating is: four



Posted 22nd July 2013 by suzanne gardenier

[Kellie · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ending with books I had a problem with, but I really did enjoy them.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a little to adjust to this series but once I got into the story I couldn't put it down. As with all her books, Maria absolutely delivers

[Jesskvan · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book pretty boring, took me ages to read and had to skip thought sections and skim it to get through it. Wouldn’t recommend.

[Tony Fecteau · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very fascinating story! We start with a rebellion and then we throw in some outsiders for fun. Very entertaining.

[☆BooksofA☆]

Did not finish. This book is so confusing. I dnf book.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

This review can also be found on A Thousand Lives Lived, check it out for more reviews!

*DNF @ 150 pages*

Man, I don't even know how to word this review. I hate DNFing a book, but when I have to, I feel like the whole event that has just passed was a catastrophe. And with Inside Out, my love for dystopian books are slowly fading away as this was a disaster-novel and there wasn't one thing that I liked about it. Shall we rant? We shall rant.



After this horrid rant, I know that you all will be waiting for me to completely shut up. But I just hate this and I've got enough. And the hilarious and funny thing is, I brought this on vacation and brought it home with me and I didn't get a chance to read it yet. And now I did, and it was a complete waste of time and a waste of luggage. *laughs* It would've been much better if I left this book there without giving it a chance. This dystopian novel's concept was something that I've never gone through before, and I'm telling you, I never will want to deal with anything like this ever again.

Once upon a time, in a disgusting dystopian world far away in my mind, there was an eerie world setting. And by eerie, I mean strange and weird, not in a good way. Queen of the Pipes, (the dumbest thing ever), was named Trella, and she was just doing a favour. Whoa. And by the way, the world is exactly what is pictured on the book cover, or at least that's what I saw it as. I pictured it like some bubbles where everyone travels through them and such. You call this dystopian? You say that this is a broken-down version of our world?

Our world will never become like some pipe-stuff. What the heck is that supposed to mean? I seriously don't know, and this setting frustrated me from the start. I wanted to bang my head on glass and throw this book into a paper-shredder. What the heck was this concept? Most of the book from what I read was all dialogue.



And what was this dialogue about? Just the dumbest things. And I hated the plot and what the author was giving us from this. Nothing was happening, there was no action and since I got bored, I just had to let this go. And really, the way that time/age is broken up into some other timing scheme just confused me to death. I think that I prefer less info-dumping, and better pacing instead? Seriously, why try to make the impossible possible by switching things around from the way we live? What is the specialty of time being different than what we have today? No answers were made for those questions and it's not like we have a dilemma where the sequel will answer that question. It's supposed to help readers understand the world building, no?

Moving on, we then get into the characters. I simply couldn't connect to Trella as she was just a girl who thinks she special because she's royalty. She's a queen, BIG WHOP. It's not like she was doing anything for her people, really. And her people are named scrubs. Wow. *ignores the fact of that* And she was cold and unfriendly. Don't us readers want to read a point-of-view from a protagonist that's cool and lets readers know the answers to their world? Guess what... she already had begun to show her rebellious side which made no sense since we only got to the middle half of the first book. I seriously don't want to imagine what she had done next in the sequel, but I guess I'll never know.

I don't feel like bashing out this book any further, but let me tell you that there was no connection coming from me. For those haters (who think opposite of me), I'm glad that you've enjoyed this one. I'm surprised that it's not my kind of read that I'm able to connect to, and I wish I could've enjoyed it more since it's one of those older dystopias that have been out and released for a while now.

This is a read surely for people who: don't care about good protagonists, like info-dumping and don't mind to be confused, and those who have patience. Other than that, I'm sure and kind-of proud to be saying that you're on my side here. I'm telling you that this was one of the worst books I've read, and that I had to put it down or else I'd seriously freak and not know what to do with myself. I seriously went inside out, and wasn't able to revolve and turn myself back until I let this one go into bookish heaven.

[Kelli · Rating 3 out of 5]

The theme is very very original, in that writing a story about living in underground pipes is a bit different. It does take some getting used to in the world building. I kept thinking of that office joke about the hamster — ‘Tube City’. It felt like this made up thing.

Sometimes the dialog got a little stale because of it feeling campy or just too much. Characters called ‘pop cop, broken man…Lieutenant Karla…etc. It sounds so cheesy altogether, so I was kinda having a hard time truly getting into it. The story doesn’t have a hook or is as compelling as the poison study series. The writing is less believable.
The fight to find gateway does get interesting a quarter of the way in. I wanted to, at least figure out what the inside actually was. It started to feel very Truman show.

I did love Riley a lot and kinda wished for more of him when the first half ended. But I found myself feeling a bit confused in the plot and when I went to start reading the second book I just couldn’t get into it. So I skimmed a bit, read them talking about outer space so I figured this has gone from Truman show to Interstellar and moved on.