Review of Outside In

My short review for now.

***Possible spoiler alert concerning Inside Out***

3 Stars

This book is part of the series started by Inside Out. Outside In can be read without reading the previous novel; however, if you are going to spend time to read a book of this length and have to decide between the two in this series, I would recommend reading Inside Out instead. Not to say that I didn't enjoy this book, but it lacks the crispness, development, and excitement of the previous novel.

Maria Snyder fell for a fatal flaw found in modern literature targeted for this audience, the creation of an underdeveloped character who has to rediscover themselves in the second novel. Now I am all for Trella being the person who ended at the first book, a strong hero who has lived through the struggle and now has to deal with creating a new society that doesn’t fall into the same trap as before the revolution. Alas, Snyder seems determined to back pedal and for the first 60+ pages, we have to deal with Trella as she appears in the beginning of the Inside Out. How terrible! Ducking her head and being a scrub who keeps to herself. Eventhough she is no longer a scrub, she might as well be the lost and insignificant person we first came to learn.

So, the book itself. Maria Snyder has improved her writing since her earlier books such as the Study series (starting with Poison Study), her prose have clearly been improved and her ability to convey her characters feels more personal. However, it is almost like I am reading a condensed version of the Study series all over again. Without going into detail, we face the age old relationship that is broken and mended (this is a call for Snyder to be creative and come up with a new plot line). The plot is predictable and despite the betrayal of certain people, the plot line is not one to blow your socks off.

Readers of the Hunger Games series will feel a sense of Déjà vu. I am attempting not to give away any spoilers in this review so I will continue thusly. The ending itself is not so disappointing, but I wish we saw the development of Trella instead of a regression of her character. Yes her dislike of trusting people is still apparent despite all that she has faced, and yes in the relationship sector there was a need for the events that happened. Yet, I still wished and longed for the character that we had grown to love and meet in Inside Out.

Now on to Snyder’s improvements as a writer. The characters seem real for the most part and relatable, so imagine my surprise when I find a defeated individual that is about as useful as mud. Without the support provided by certain people, it would appear as though the Rebel Leader Trella/Ella has left to become the Queen of the Pipes once again. Indeed, her exploratory nature is the reason that the society is able to expand and ultimately survive as is shown in the success of the rebellion in the previous book.

Why did I give this book only 3 stars? I intended to give it 4, yet re-reading Inside Out and some other novels gave me a sense of irritability in this novel. Why can’t the characters pick up where the left off in Inside Out?? Yes, it seems as though Trella is the only one who has such a stark regression.

Spoiler for Hunger Games

I honestly don’t know where that character went, however I felt a similar feeling with Mockingjay and my feelings towards Katniss.

Trella is not amazing in my minds view and the amazing part is the unique setting and material in this series. I wish I could give this book 4 stars (maybe I will upon re-reading it), but at this point it seems as though I would have been just as happy maybe even happier if Inside Out stood by itself. Yes the clever titles Inside Out and Outside In make it inevitable that there would be a sequel, considering the lack of closure in the previous novel, but it could have been more. I wish more time was spend on reconstructing the society as outlined in the end of this novel, but alas, I was faced with book one all over again.

Review of Ashfall

This book is amazing.

I had written a long review but lost it due to an issue. So I will attempt this review again.

Having read books such as The Hunger Games Trilogy, Inside Out, The Maze Runner Trilogy, The Gone Series, and Divergent; I can honestly say that this book set a whole new standard.

I was hesitant to read this book due to the lack of reviews and having not seen this book referenced in other sources. This book was a find such that I have not found in any other contemporary literature associated with this genre. With references to BlackWater, World of Warcraft, Homeland Security, The EPA, ArmyCore of Engineers, FEMA, and the Red Cross, this book relates the issues to everything that is currently at the forefront of the headlines of today and the past 20 years or so. However that not to say that this book isn't timeless, quite the contrary. It could have been written during the Roman Empire or a thousand years from now and it would still have been a delightful and exemplary book.

Without giving too much away, I am going to sink my teeth into why this book is so amazing. The book revolves around a likable and well formed protagonist named Alex. Who has his fatal flaws and his own development through the book. I will say now that this book could be used in teaching contemporary literature. Alex, who begins the book with the immediate issue that sets the course of the book. The eruption of the volcano at Yellowstone National Park begins the novel. As with any individual facing a unpredictable natural disaster, Alex and his fellow survivors know almost nothing about what is going on. Being a survivor of hurricanes (such as Andrew, Floyd, Alex, and Isabel to name a few) and of other natural disasters (unavoidable living in the Southeast), I have been exposed to situations that are reflected in the novel. The power outages, food issues, and overall loss of daily stability are accurately reflected in Ashfall. While I have not dealt with any disaster even close to the scale that is shown in the book, I felt as though it is completely within the realm of possibility and disasters (such as the 2004 Tsunami, 2010 Hati earthquake, and the 1980 eruption of Mount St.Helens to name a few). This book clearly depicts a doomsday version of a natural disaster.

Having gone completely off topic, I will return to the novel in question. There is nothing particularly unique with Alex as introduced in Ashfall. Alex is a rebellious teenager who fights with his parents and younger sister, plays WoW, and is a black belt in martial arts. His constitution is shattered when he realizes the enormity of the task facing him when he decides to hike to where his family has vacationed at his Uncle’s house. Dealing with solidarity that is promoted by the horrors of his initial exposure to what it takes to survive at his neighbor’s house, he soon is faced with having to realize his need to have a companion on the trip and this is where Darla steps in to the picture. Without giving too much away, she becomes his travel companion once they encounter each other about ¼ of the way into the novel.
What I love about Ashfall is that Mike Mullin does not depict Darla or Alex as being too much of one extreme or another (a shortcoming in the Gone series and the Hunger Games). They both have their own talents that are balanced by the other. It is only at one point in the novel where one is required to be a typical travel buddy (at the FEMA camp). What I mean by a typical travel buddy is one that goes with the expectations of being either too weak or strong in moral character as is shown by many other authors (Maria V. Snyder and Michael Grant come to mind).
I cannot stress how amazing this novel is and highly recommend it.

I will also most likely edit this review seeing as it is my first attempt at a comprehensive review. Comments and flames are more than welcomed.