Review

Outside In by Maria V.Snyder

When I finished Inside Out I couldn't wait to get into the sequel. Picking up from where we left off. Lots of change, chaos, panic, and disgruntled people.. Sounds like a typical office. 

Trella hasn't really learnt her lesson from Inside Out, she has gone backwards, back to her disinterested attitude she had before Broken Man. Everyone else is trying to cope with the changes around Inside and she is more interested in hiding in the Expanse. She's not a coward, she has ended up with all the responsibility that she really doesn't want or is ready for and naturally she pushes it all away, preferring to hide from it and hope that everyone else can do it without her. 
But, Trella is so good at leading, solving problems and seeing both sides of an argument, that she is a natural leader. People are drawn to her for that as it shines in her personality. 

The problems in the first book seem insignificant to the sequel, but I suppose things are never easy, and its realistic because these issues would happen in real life. From one extreme to the other, though. So many laws and duties and deadlines - to people not turning up for work at all and sabotage for power. 

Trella did frustrate me a little in the beginning when she pushes herself away from everything and almost everyone. She has been independent for so long, that I suppose learning to trust people is difficult but she doesn't try nearly hard enough. She is cruel to Dr Lamont and thankfully Riley calls her up on it and I was glad for that. Riley is the level headed character, fighting with his feelings for Trella and his inability to influence her and gain her trust. This obviously has a strong impact on their new relationship. 

The story premise was very interesting and I suppose borders on Sci-Fi, but only slightly. The writing really gained momentum in this book, and didn't let up. Snyder's world was very different, I suppose given it's a confined and closed environment that is so stark and dry she was really able to paint her own harsh landscape. Very different to the Study series and its lush and changing sceneries. Overall the writing was great, Snyder knows how to write a great story and can really suck you in! Snyder is certainly not afraid to put her heroine through HELL!!




Outside In is due in store (Target, BigW & Kmart) July 2011.. Check out Harlequin Teen for more or Maria V. Snyder's website

Review

Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

Queen of the Pipes - Trella - she is our Heroine and definitely someone you want fighting on your side. 

Trella is a scrub, her job/life is to clean the air vent and shafts, not a glamourous life, but she uses these to escape from her existence in Inside. To escape the noise, smells, people, the basic crapiness that is life on Inside, living in close quarters with approximately 22,000+ people... 

She is independant, resourceful, tenacious, very smart, and tough! Her world is turned up side down when she gives in to her curiosity to prove her friend Cogon and Broken Man wrong about a possible 'Gateway' or outside. But what she finds is something worth fighting for. 

I love Maria V. Snyder Study series and I suppose looking back, it might be a little dystopian, in it's own way. But, Inside Out touched on that genre more. I get into a dystpoian novel, get hooked and then don't want to read anymore. Not because it's bad, but because I worry, sad little person that I am. 
Authors are the masters of destiny and can very easily kill people you have inadvertantly fallen in love with. It sucks (gawd, what a baby). 

Although, I am finally realizing that the point of a dystopian novel is; yes our characters live in a crappy life/environment/world and horrible things happen to nice people. But the whole story is about those characters and their fight to make a better world for them to live in. Which makes for a great story!! 

At first I found Inside Out difficult to keep up with what was going on and where, because of the layout, but once I finally let go of that I got into the story better. Then I got hooked, it speeds up, takes a breath, then starts up again faster. I liked the delicate romance that was built with Riley and Trella, and I look forward to that heating up in Outside In. Poor girl needs a break!!