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tlaynejones's review
4.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Vomit
Minor: Homophobia
fillen04's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Excrement, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Blood and Body horror
mdiffer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
What really kept me reading (engrossed) was the drama between the three main characters. That sweet, sweet drama. The writing was competent and the pacing felt appropriate. Characters were believable and felt real.
The plot of the book is standard sci-fi fare. It was easy predict the "big reveal" before the end of part 1, but that didn't stop me. It was a well-told story and a fun read.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Mental illness and Violence
Minor: Sexual content
hoax_meal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Grief, Confinement, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Gaslighting, Genocide, Kidnapping, Medical content, Classism, Excrement, and Homophobia
leguinstan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The main character and his love interest are incredibly flat-- outside of a basic personality profile and general background info, I barely got to know anything about Ambrose and Kodiak which made the romance between the two of them stale as all hell. I literally have no idea what Kodiak likes to do for fun and I struggle to picture what he and Ambrose would do together if they weren't stuck in their current predicament.
Luckily, said predicament is a popcorn-munching, edge-of-your-seat affair and once I hit the first big plot twist I stayed glued to my seat until I reached the very last page. While the twist wasn't a complete surprise to me since I watched a sci-fi film years ago
The thing is though--I think The Darkness Outside Us would have been an even stronger novel if it was written for adults instead of teens. To be clear, I'm not saying that it's an adult novel mismarketed for a teen audience. I'm saying that writing the story for teens prevents it from reaching its full potential. Because of the teen readership, the main characters' feelings about the more harrowing experiences in the story could not be explored in more depth. No disrespect intended at all to YA novels! I just feel in this particular instance the YA label on this story feels too limiting.
Long story short: while I have some serious complaints against the novel, I enjoyed the thriller aspects too damn much to give it less than a 3.5.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Blood, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia and War
sexual content: the main character of the story is a VERY HORNY teenager and does end up having sex with the teen love interest several times. It's not explicit but it's not subtle either. homophobia: soooo the main character accuses the love interest of being homophobic but uh... he's only homophobic by the main character's futuristic standards. So it barely feels like homophobia to me.lisashelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Terminal illness, Suicide, Mental illness, Death of parent, and Murder
ollie_again's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, and Cancer
Moderate: Murder, Gaslighting, Violence, and Torture
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Grief, and Blood
starryknightace's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Minor: War, Suicide, Blood, Mental illness, and Death
paulawind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Terminal illness, Mental illness, Vomit, Violence, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Excrement
planetesastraea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Ambrose's point of view gives us a funny, light-hearted and candid introduction to this world. He's silly and dorky and impetuous at times, which makes the story even sharper as Ambrose's different experiences of the world shape him.
I've always loved stories that repeat themselves- let it be through repetitive flashbacks, dreams, or even tales of reincarnation.
Schrefer uses this tool with great skill, some obvious foreshadowing details making the subtle, discreet ones even more delightful as the story unravels.
I didn't know what to expect of this book except "two boys in space fall in love". I certainly didn't expect the dark and twisted turns, the profound questioning of existence, and what makes a life worth living.
It had a lot more in store than I thought and I can't say I was disappointed.
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: War, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, and Xenophobia