What do you think?
Rate this book
Outlaw School
Nominated for the 2000 James Tiptree Jr. Memorial Award
In as gray, industro-technical future of protective shackles and slowed ideas, Jayne wants to be respectable and conform. But conformity means accepting a limited destiny and the hollow entertainments that are brutally enforced as "news". And to be respectable, she must gain back her virginity and give up an eye. Jayne's life is out of control-her reality has teeth and educational drugs and binding tools- and the only cures for her growing dissatisfaction with a bleak, repressive status quo seem to be madness or legal suicide. Or rebellion. Jayne cannot, will not, be rehabilitated. So instead, she will live her life between lines, illegally encouraging the otherness of the lowly, the renegades, the crazies, the virtual whores, as she dedicates herself to the dangerous cause of outlaw education. There are many pitfalls built into the road Jayne has chosen to walk: failure, betrayal, terror, arrest, cyberia. But her courage and determination could be the catalyst for a new future.
In as gray, industro-technical future of protective shackles and slowed ideas, Jayne wants to be respectable and conform. But conformity means accepting a limited destiny and the hollow entertainments that are brutally enforced as "news". And to be respectable, she must gain back her virginity and give up an eye. Jayne's life is out of control-her reality has teeth and educational drugs and binding tools- and the only cures for her growing dissatisfaction with a bleak, repressive status quo seem to be madness or legal suicide. Or rebellion. Jayne cannot, will not, be rehabilitated. So instead, she will live her life between lines, illegally encouraging the otherness of the lowly, the renegades, the crazies, the virtual whores, as she dedicates herself to the dangerous cause of outlaw education. There are many pitfalls built into the road Jayne has chosen to walk: failure, betrayal, terror, arrest, cyberia. But her courage and determination could be the catalyst for a new future.
310 pages, Paperback
First published November 7, 2000
2 people are currently reading
104 people want to read
About the author
Rebecca Ore
34 books19 followersRebecca Ore is the pseudonym of science fiction writer Rebecca B. Brown.
Rebecca Ore was born in Louisville, KY, out of people from Kentucky and Virginia, Irish Catholic and French Protestant turned Southern Baptist on her mother's side and Welsh and Borderer on her father's. She grew up in South Carolina and fell in love with New York City from a distance, moved there in 1968 and lived on the Upper West Side and Lower East Side for seven years. Somehow, she also attended Columbia University School of General Studies while spending most of her energy in the St. Mark Poetry Project. In 1975, she moved to San Francisco for almost a year, then moved to Virginia, back and forth several places for several years, finished a Masters in English, then moved to rural Virginia for ten years, writing s.f. novels and living in her grandparent's house after they died.
Rebecca Ore was born in Louisville, KY, out of people from Kentucky and Virginia, Irish Catholic and French Protestant turned Southern Baptist on her mother's side and Welsh and Borderer on her father's. She grew up in South Carolina and fell in love with New York City from a distance, moved there in 1968 and lived on the Upper West Side and Lower East Side for seven years. Somehow, she also attended Columbia University School of General Studies while spending most of her energy in the St. Mark Poetry Project. In 1975, she moved to San Francisco for almost a year, then moved to Virginia, back and forth several places for several years, finished a Masters in English, then moved to rural Virginia for ten years, writing s.f. novels and living in her grandparent's house after they died.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
December 7, 2008
This book tells the dystopian tale of a future where information is suppressed, people's futures are explicitly determined by their genes and parents, and women are subjugated.
The main character has trouble accepting the limitations that society and her family are trying to press on her. She doesn't like the drugs that the school gives her; she doesn't like the limitations of what she will be allowed to become; and everyone around her refuses to accept her intelligence. Her parents beat her and ignore her troubles, and her sister tries to convince her to join a youth organization of morality police.
The story sounds like a higher-tech version of The Handmaid's Tale, which isn't a great sign -- but it could still have potential. Instead, the writing is monotonous. The first section of the book, covering the childhood of the main character, seemed like it was supposed to make me sympathize; instead, I felt like no character acted like a real person, and most of them were whiny and self-centered. Unfortunately, the book just gets worse from there: instead of just being unrealistic, the story gets boring. The book is not that long, which is good -- it felt like work to read it most of the time.
The book still gets two stars instead of one because there are parts that are a little bit interesting. Overall, though, this is a book to skip.
The main character has trouble accepting the limitations that society and her family are trying to press on her. She doesn't like the drugs that the school gives her; she doesn't like the limitations of what she will be allowed to become; and everyone around her refuses to accept her intelligence. Her parents beat her and ignore her troubles, and her sister tries to convince her to join a youth organization of morality police.
The story sounds like a higher-tech version of The Handmaid's Tale, which isn't a great sign -- but it could still have potential. Instead, the writing is monotonous. The first section of the book, covering the childhood of the main character, seemed like it was supposed to make me sympathize; instead, I felt like no character acted like a real person, and most of them were whiny and self-centered. Unfortunately, the book just gets worse from there: instead of just being unrealistic, the story gets boring. The book is not that long, which is good -- it felt like work to read it most of the time.
The book still gets two stars instead of one because there are parts that are a little bit interesting. Overall, though, this is a book to skip.
December 22, 2024
Very strange book
December 26, 2009
remote, lacking in detail, hard to follow. A neoconservative society with a caste system and a foot binding equivalent, a judicious (judas)eye that replaces the real eyes of young women with a camera that acts as a moral monitor. The intriguing concepts are not well explored, but the writing itself was so good that I kept reading until I finished it.
April 8, 2013
interesting, but somewhat incoherent
August 8, 2024
📚 Jayne hidup di masa depan yg suram & terkendali. Dalam masyarakat yg memaksa orang² utk patuh & menghambat kebebasan berpikir, dia merasa hidupnya hampa.
Jayne dihadapkan pada pilihan: mengikuti aturan yg membatasi atau memberontak utk mencari kebebasan. Dis memutuskan utk melawan dgn mendukung pendidikan ilegal & orang² yg terpinggirkan oleh sistem.
Dgn menghadapi berbagai risiko, Jayne berusaha menciptakan perubahan bagi masa depan yg lebih baik.
🕵️♀️ Penulis berhasil menciptakan dunia masa depan yg terasa nyata & menakutkan 😭 Dunia ini penuh dgn aturan ketat, di mana orang dipaksa utk mengikuti norma yg ketat 😒 Misalnya, Jayne harus mendapatkan kembali keperawanannya & mengorbankan salah satu matanya demi mendapatkan status sosial yg lebih tinggi 👽 Gambaran dunia yg kelam ini membuat aku benar² merasakan tekanan yg dialami oleh Jayne 😭
Jayne sbg tokoh utama digambarkan dgn sangat baik 👍 Dia adalah karakter yg kompleks, yg terus-menerus berjuang antara mengikuti aturan / mengejar kebebasan 💪 Misalnya saja, saat dia memutuskan utk mendukung pendidikan ilegal, aku bisa merasakan betapa beraninya dia mengambil langkah ini meskipun tahu risikonya sgt besar 😭
Novel ini mengangkat tema² tentang kebebasan individu, pemberontakan & pentingnya pendidikan ❤️ Ini adalah tema yg sgt relevan di jaman sekarang, di mana kebebasan harus diperjuangkan 🔥 Penulis dgn cerdik menunjukkan bagaimana pemerintah berhasil mengendalikan masyarakat, yg membuatnya tidak bisa kreatif bahkan tidak bisa berpikir secara bebas 👽
Namun sayangnya, alur cerita ini terkadang terasa lambat. Ada bagian² ceritanya terlalu banyak dideskripsikan yg membuat aku sempat bosan 😔 Misalnya, deskripsi tentang bagaimana hiburan kosong dipaksakan sbg "berita" ini terasa terlalu panjang.
Meskipun Jayne adalah karakter yg kuat, tetapi karakter pendukungnya kurang mendapatkan perhatian 😒 Mereka sering kali hanya ada di latar belakang & tidak memiliki peran yg signifikan dlm menggerakkan cerita 😒 Akibatnya, interaksi Jayne dgn mereka jg tidak terlalu mendalam & kurang berdampak.
💌 Pesan yg bisa aku petik dari novel ini adalah pentingnya kebebasan berpikir & menolak tunduk pd sistem yg menindas 🔥 Jayne menunjukkan bahwa seseorang bisa memulai perubahan meskipun dgn risiko besar ❤️
Novel ini mengingatkan aku bahwa kebebasan jg tidak datang dgn mudah & kadang² kita harus berani mengambil langkah² sulit utk memulainya 🔥
Jayne dihadapkan pada pilihan: mengikuti aturan yg membatasi atau memberontak utk mencari kebebasan. Dis memutuskan utk melawan dgn mendukung pendidikan ilegal & orang² yg terpinggirkan oleh sistem.
Dgn menghadapi berbagai risiko, Jayne berusaha menciptakan perubahan bagi masa depan yg lebih baik.
🕵️♀️ Penulis berhasil menciptakan dunia masa depan yg terasa nyata & menakutkan 😭 Dunia ini penuh dgn aturan ketat, di mana orang dipaksa utk mengikuti norma yg ketat 😒 Misalnya, Jayne harus mendapatkan kembali keperawanannya & mengorbankan salah satu matanya demi mendapatkan status sosial yg lebih tinggi 👽 Gambaran dunia yg kelam ini membuat aku benar² merasakan tekanan yg dialami oleh Jayne 😭
Jayne sbg tokoh utama digambarkan dgn sangat baik 👍 Dia adalah karakter yg kompleks, yg terus-menerus berjuang antara mengikuti aturan / mengejar kebebasan 💪 Misalnya saja, saat dia memutuskan utk mendukung pendidikan ilegal, aku bisa merasakan betapa beraninya dia mengambil langkah ini meskipun tahu risikonya sgt besar 😭
Novel ini mengangkat tema² tentang kebebasan individu, pemberontakan & pentingnya pendidikan ❤️ Ini adalah tema yg sgt relevan di jaman sekarang, di mana kebebasan harus diperjuangkan 🔥 Penulis dgn cerdik menunjukkan bagaimana pemerintah berhasil mengendalikan masyarakat, yg membuatnya tidak bisa kreatif bahkan tidak bisa berpikir secara bebas 👽
Namun sayangnya, alur cerita ini terkadang terasa lambat. Ada bagian² ceritanya terlalu banyak dideskripsikan yg membuat aku sempat bosan 😔 Misalnya, deskripsi tentang bagaimana hiburan kosong dipaksakan sbg "berita" ini terasa terlalu panjang.
Meskipun Jayne adalah karakter yg kuat, tetapi karakter pendukungnya kurang mendapatkan perhatian 😒 Mereka sering kali hanya ada di latar belakang & tidak memiliki peran yg signifikan dlm menggerakkan cerita 😒 Akibatnya, interaksi Jayne dgn mereka jg tidak terlalu mendalam & kurang berdampak.
💌 Pesan yg bisa aku petik dari novel ini adalah pentingnya kebebasan berpikir & menolak tunduk pd sistem yg menindas 🔥 Jayne menunjukkan bahwa seseorang bisa memulai perubahan meskipun dgn risiko besar ❤️
Novel ini mengingatkan aku bahwa kebebasan jg tidak datang dgn mudah & kadang² kita harus berani mengambil langkah² sulit utk memulainya 🔥
April 17, 2020
A young woman must weigh the price of conformity in this gritty and all-too-plausible novel of where the education system may be going.
May 5, 2020
Consider an American society a couple generations from now in which teachers must be licensed to teach only a prescribed curriculum, and in which unlicensed teachers are jailed. A society in which ideas are copyrighted and media content is carefully controlled for the socioeconomic class it’s directed at, enforced by the Gestapo-like News Agency (don’t want to make the lower classes unhappy with their lot in life, after all). A society in which you inherit your parents’ social standing, which also determines your allowed education level and career choices, in which prostitution is licensed as a social safety valve, in which most black people have apparently been “resettled,” in which cadets from the Citadel in Charleston are allowed to kill prostitutes for professional practice, in which you can be implanted with an electronic movement-restriction monitor for offenses ranging from multiple traffic tickets to justifiable homicide, and where the only successful candidates for national office are carefully tailored data constructs (“meat” candidates only run for local office, where personal contact is still useful). Where euthanasia is readily available to the retarded or convicted and lower-class fetuses are aborted “for their own good,” and creativity and innovation are allowed only when it’s to the benefit of corporate shareholders.
That’s the thoroughly depressing background of this story of the life of Jayne, from childhood with a mother who encourages her to at least attempt suicide to atone for being bad, to getting pregnant as a teenager in an attempt to get off “school drugs” (just another way to control rebellious students, and the drugs also damage the genes to prevent troublemakers from breeding) which she was forced to take because of her uncontrolled curiosity and desire to learn class-inappropriate things. Her teenage sister joins the Judicious (or “Judas”) Girls, who have given up an eye, replaced by a spy camera in order to monitor those around them and also (they hope) to ensure their own safety and help them be “good” girls (and they have to take an oath of virginity, but a hymen can be reconstructed surgically if necessary). She goes on to a lifetime of illegal teaching (improved English and computer skills) of those who want to “test up” to a better job license, to being busted for it and finally to old age as a prison parolee in a world that seems to have improved a bit -- and in which she has become something of a folk hero to the young. This isn’t really the sort of novel you can “enjoy” but it makes a great impression. The theme is quite different from Ore’s earlier “Becoming Alien” trilogy but her simple narrative style pulls you in and makes you pay attention. The message, too, is clear: Too much safety is dangerous. And if in doubt, defy authority!
That’s the thoroughly depressing background of this story of the life of Jayne, from childhood with a mother who encourages her to at least attempt suicide to atone for being bad, to getting pregnant as a teenager in an attempt to get off “school drugs” (just another way to control rebellious students, and the drugs also damage the genes to prevent troublemakers from breeding) which she was forced to take because of her uncontrolled curiosity and desire to learn class-inappropriate things. Her teenage sister joins the Judicious (or “Judas”) Girls, who have given up an eye, replaced by a spy camera in order to monitor those around them and also (they hope) to ensure their own safety and help them be “good” girls (and they have to take an oath of virginity, but a hymen can be reconstructed surgically if necessary). She goes on to a lifetime of illegal teaching (improved English and computer skills) of those who want to “test up” to a better job license, to being busted for it and finally to old age as a prison parolee in a world that seems to have improved a bit -- and in which she has become something of a folk hero to the young. This isn’t really the sort of novel you can “enjoy” but it makes a great impression. The theme is quite different from Ore’s earlier “Becoming Alien” trilogy but her simple narrative style pulls you in and makes you pay attention. The message, too, is clear: Too much safety is dangerous. And if in doubt, defy authority!
February 28, 2017
Some really neat ideas (technologically, societally, politically) told from an interesting perspective.
That perspective gets lost in the second half of the book when this very personal story of struggle and rebellion and search for identity somehow turns into some grand scheme to, what, take down the government and become a national hero?
That perspective gets lost in the second half of the book when this very personal story of struggle and rebellion and search for identity somehow turns into some grand scheme to, what, take down the government and become a national hero?
January 12, 2012
The world in Outlaw School is more high-tech than ours, but innovation has been sacrificed for control, so progress in everything but security and government is grinding to a halt. Children are taught to accept their class and career designations and are indirectly punished for showing abilities or aspirations beyond them.
This dystopian world is refreshingly believable in its flexibility, in its lack of complete control. You are being watched, but only intermittently. You will be punished, but not immediately. And some people do slip through the system for quite some time in various underground or illegal-but-often-overlooked groups. Only a few fully embrace the system, but most accept it and others learn to work around it. It feels more realistic than dystopian novels where eyes are everywhere, everyone is completely mind-controlled, and the protagonist is somehow the one person who sees a flaw in the accepted way of life. At the same time, the flexibility in Ore's world can be a painful illusion: Almost no one can escape their assigned lot in life forever, and a claustrophobic atmosphere of futility pervades the novel quite effectively.
There are interesting side concepts as well. Most political candidates are now computers, for example, and girls with social aspirations literally lose an eye to become a Judicious (“Judas”) Girl: a human security camera and model of sexual purity.
While the world Ore created is fascinating, I wasn’t gripped enough by the story and characters. Sometimes everything would click, but other times the dialogue or action would seem off. This disconnect happened with the last cyberpunk novel I read, so maybe it’s just not my genre, but in that case the quirky, poetic prose made up for a lot of it. Here the prose is unremarkable and occasionally awkward when Ore starts stacking conjunctions. It was still worth reading for the thought-provoking aspects of the society, but I wouldn't reread it or seek out more like it.
This dystopian world is refreshingly believable in its flexibility, in its lack of complete control. You are being watched, but only intermittently. You will be punished, but not immediately. And some people do slip through the system for quite some time in various underground or illegal-but-often-overlooked groups. Only a few fully embrace the system, but most accept it and others learn to work around it. It feels more realistic than dystopian novels where eyes are everywhere, everyone is completely mind-controlled, and the protagonist is somehow the one person who sees a flaw in the accepted way of life. At the same time, the flexibility in Ore's world can be a painful illusion: Almost no one can escape their assigned lot in life forever, and a claustrophobic atmosphere of futility pervades the novel quite effectively.
There are interesting side concepts as well. Most political candidates are now computers, for example, and girls with social aspirations literally lose an eye to become a Judicious (“Judas”) Girl: a human security camera and model of sexual purity.
While the world Ore created is fascinating, I wasn’t gripped enough by the story and characters. Sometimes everything would click, but other times the dialogue or action would seem off. This disconnect happened with the last cyberpunk novel I read, so maybe it’s just not my genre, but in that case the quirky, poetic prose made up for a lot of it. Here the prose is unremarkable and occasionally awkward when Ore starts stacking conjunctions. It was still worth reading for the thought-provoking aspects of the society, but I wouldn't reread it or seek out more like it.
October 14, 2014
I can't read this, people. I just CAN'T.
It's so soulless, so mechanical, so lifeless and droll and just...ugh.
It's trying so hard to emulate Margaret Atwood's style of prose concerning dystopia, I can feel it, and it's fucking failing badly.
Most dystopias or "not-so-bright future" stories tell you up front why it is like it is. For Hunger Games, it was because shit happened and a new government divided everything into Districts to control. For Handmaid's Tale it was a mixture of environmental decay, low birth rate, and because the whole government got wiped out by crazies. For 1984 it was simply a "this could freaking happen you guys, be on your guard!" kind of warning to the West if it were to let people like Stalin stay in power.
See? Easy to follow, easy to understand, easy one-thing-leads-to-another scenario and timeline.
This doesn't have it.
Most of the time I don't know if this is set 100 years in the future or if it's technically set tomorrow on an alternative timeline. They make references to "last century". What last century? You mean the 1900s? Do you mean the 2000s? What time?! WHAT TIME!!
I couldn't care less about these characters. I got into 30 pages and I was beside myself with frustration and boredom. Why exactly are there Judas Girls? How did society come about to need them? Is this some kind of weird Madonna/Whore Complex mish-mashed with some weird twisted sense of feminism? What exactly do you mean they "lose an eye"? Do they mean they get a new robot eye so they're like, cyborgs? What?
Only vaguely is there the reason "Oh only the rich upper class people should be smart". Okaaay. Expand on that please. Actually offer some insight instead of plopping that one strand of information in the beginning and then just assuming everyone will remember it down the road because I sure as hell didn't.
This book makes me want to beat my head against the wall. This book sucks. A LOT. OF EGGS.
It's so soulless, so mechanical, so lifeless and droll and just...ugh.
It's trying so hard to emulate Margaret Atwood's style of prose concerning dystopia, I can feel it, and it's fucking failing badly.
Most dystopias or "not-so-bright future" stories tell you up front why it is like it is. For Hunger Games, it was because shit happened and a new government divided everything into Districts to control. For Handmaid's Tale it was a mixture of environmental decay, low birth rate, and because the whole government got wiped out by crazies. For 1984 it was simply a "this could freaking happen you guys, be on your guard!" kind of warning to the West if it were to let people like Stalin stay in power.
See? Easy to follow, easy to understand, easy one-thing-leads-to-another scenario and timeline.
This doesn't have it.
Most of the time I don't know if this is set 100 years in the future or if it's technically set tomorrow on an alternative timeline. They make references to "last century". What last century? You mean the 1900s? Do you mean the 2000s? What time?! WHAT TIME!!
I couldn't care less about these characters. I got into 30 pages and I was beside myself with frustration and boredom. Why exactly are there Judas Girls? How did society come about to need them? Is this some kind of weird Madonna/Whore Complex mish-mashed with some weird twisted sense of feminism? What exactly do you mean they "lose an eye"? Do they mean they get a new robot eye so they're like, cyborgs? What?
Only vaguely is there the reason "Oh only the rich upper class people should be smart". Okaaay. Expand on that please. Actually offer some insight instead of plopping that one strand of information in the beginning and then just assuming everyone will remember it down the road because I sure as hell didn't.
This book makes me want to beat my head against the wall. This book sucks. A LOT. OF EGGS.
Read
January 2, 2014Near-future sf with elements of satire. The US has even more rigid class and race hierarchies than it has now; schools overtly enforce class status by treating kids who are rebellious--or too smart for their designation--with drugs. Judas Girls (Judicious Girls) swear virginity and trade one eye for a camera, which monitors their peers. (If they've already had sex, their hymens can be reconstructed for a mere $60,000.) Jayne rebels in a self-destructive fashion and ultimately becomes an outlaw teacher, part of an underground network of people offering skills and knowledge supposed to be restricted only to certain classes. Ore is particularly sharp on the failures and successes of middle-class radicals ministering to the poor, and on the effects of the paranoia and emotional isolation of participating in an underground resistance.
Ore's prose is always full of abrupt transitions, a kind of knotty feel, but it's especially noticeable here. I think a lot more of this was supposed to black humor than I laughed at; not because the humor fell flat, but because it's not quite compatible with mine.
Ore's prose is always full of abrupt transitions, a kind of knotty feel, but it's especially noticeable here. I think a lot more of this was supposed to black humor than I laughed at; not because the humor fell flat, but because it's not quite compatible with mine.
September 3, 2007
The life of a woman in a not terribly distant dystopian future. She is trapped by her class, the drugs that she is required to take and the expectations of her family and peers. Becoming an unlicensed teacher gives her life a direction and the journey has many harrowing moments in her sad and hard life. Depressing, but maybe I read about dystopias to remind me that things could be worse... (October 18, 2005)
September 2, 2013
I enjoyed this book. The world Rebecca Ore describes is familiar. The roots of its society are visible daily. It is an uncomfortable vision of current reality and a future reality. The heroine was more confused than rebellious which did drive the plot, but it is a bit sloppy. The writing is fine, but not great. Hint: a few typos and misspelled words can make a big difference in the quality of a book.
November 13, 2024
reading this at the religious thrift store on my fifteen minutes smoke break (meaning every 15 minutes I needed a break from the brainwashing radio station they played constantly) was a mind altering experience
July 7, 2015
What do you do with a Judas girl?
Some of the concepts of Orwells 1984 taken into the future. An odd but enjoyable book. A caste system where it is illegal to teach the proles.
Some of the concepts of Orwells 1984 taken into the future. An odd but enjoyable book. A caste system where it is illegal to teach the proles.
dnf
February 8, 2019The sample chapters were so grimly dystopian
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews