Book Review: Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

okay, so my internet hasn't been working for the past 4 days!!! (and it still isn't working). But luckily I'm taking refuge in the library, where there IS internet but it's limited to one hour per person. :( Anyways, here's another book review :)

 Title: Inside Out
 Author: Maria V. Snyder
 Publisher: Harlequin
 Release Date: 1st April 2010
 Rating: 4.5
 Goodreads Synopsis: 

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.

My Thoughts:

Another delightful dystopian novel under my belt! I was a bit doubtful at least as to whether I would like this or not since I have high expectations for dystopian novels (after reading Divergent and the Hunger Games), but I was really pleased with this book!

Trella, the main character, is a scrub, one of thousands who work in the lower levels, keeping the Inside clean for the Uppers. No one has ever been to Outside, although there are rumours and myths claiming that Gateway exists as a physical doorway to Outside. Before long, Trella has unintentionally started a rebellion; found impossible leads on the location of Gateway and pretty much turned Inside up-side down with the help of Riley, Broken Man, Cogon and her fellow scrubs.

I loved Trella, a.k.a Queen of the Pipes, despite her flaws. She is daring, fearless and always willing to take on a challenge – the type of heroine I love! I really admired her bravery and independence, especially when she was willing to sacrifice herself for the safety of her friends. On the other hand, Trella is alsofull of cynicism, always believing the worst in others and constantly jumping to conclusions. I was occasionally extremely frustrated by her behavior but I felt her good qualities balanced out her flaws, and this only made her seem a more believable character. 

I was quite content with the overall storyline. There were many twists and turns throughout the novel; some were predictable but others came as a complete surprise to me, which I liked. I was a bit confused about what happened towards the end; it felt like one second the characters were doing one thing and the next second, they completely changed direction and started doing something else. (Okay, that might’ve been a bad example, but that particular scene was really confusing to me). I was also hoping for more action but overall, I was still happy with the story. Oh, and I was really happy how the book jumped straight to the plot instead of spending the first half of the book setting the scene/describing the characters/ you get the picture JI thought the writing was a bit hard to get into, but once I got into the flow, I started to want more and more!

All in all, I was really happy with the book. Perhaps, with a little more action, I would have given it 5 stars J(Yes, I love novels with action ). I’d definitely recommend this book to readers who like dystopian novels, and as for everyone else, give this one a try! I personally can’t wait to read the second book, which is already out. Looks like I’ll be making a special trip to the bookshop this weekend to purchase Outside In!