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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It's 2050, and the world is becoming more and more inhabitable. The only refuge is the inside project that is accepting only a select few. When Ava gets in and her girlfriend doesn't, she has to navigate the project alone. Its creator, Jacqueline, is rich, powerful, and the epitome of girlboss feminism and plans to create a society in her image. However, no one can say anything if she has Shelby, her assistant, around- a trans woman who has become swayed by her beliefs.
Craft-wise, this book has shown me that having too many things to say in too short of pages can make your entire story and point fall apart. I think this author had something she wanted to say but clipped herself too short to have the full conversation she was hoping for. Everything had to move fast to shove in all of her ideas, and I think she could have achieved a lot of it without the jumping around and quickness infused in the story.
I don't like stories claiming to dissect feminism and intersectionality but don't do anything about it. It felt like the author was like, "hey, this exists," and then moved on every time. Nothing profound was said and the conversations felt surface level and like something a lot of queer people and honestly allies have already figured on their own. I think this story needed more page time, more depth, and maybe less stuff going on. Like I didn't need the perspectives of so many people. 2.5/.5
Craft-wise, this book has shown me that having too many things to say in too short of pages can make your entire story and point fall apart. I think this author had something she wanted to say but clipped herself too short to have the full conversation she was hoping for. Everything had to move fast to shove in all of her ideas, and I think she could have achieved a lot of it without the jumping around and quickness infused in the story.
I don't like stories claiming to dissect feminism and intersectionality but don't do anything about it. It felt like the author was like, "hey, this exists," and then moved on every time. Nothing profound was said and the conversations felt surface level and like something a lot of queer people and honestly allies have already figured on their own. I think this story needed more page time, more depth, and maybe less stuff going on. Like I didn't need the perspectives of so many people. 2.5/.5
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a compelling premise. i appreciated the social commentary and the perspective on the future effects of climate change, although the way Inside was built does feel a little silly. much of the aspects of the worldbuilding here are a bit hand-wavy, but thats fine because the point is the social commentary: the enemy is not men but the billionaire class. the book makes this point well.
i do think it struggles a bit in craft. the changes in POV felt a bit disorienting at different points, and even though the story is split into parts that denote the years covered, it still got a bit muddled within those sections what was happening when, especially in the latter half.
the characters were all pretty likeable, well-rounded, and interesting to read from, and i appreciated their diversity in spite of the confines of the premise.im not sure the overarching love story between orchid and ava needed to be there, especially because by the end it very much feels like ava has moved on where orchid has had a change of heart. im just not sold on it.
this would make a good book for group discussion! totally my kind of thing, just a little messy in the execution.
i do think it struggles a bit in craft. the changes in POV felt a bit disorienting at different points, and even though the story is split into parts that denote the years covered, it still got a bit muddled within those sections what was happening when, especially in the latter half.
the characters were all pretty likeable, well-rounded, and interesting to read from, and i appreciated their diversity in spite of the confines of the premise.
this would make a good book for group discussion! totally my kind of thing, just a little messy in the execution.
adventurous
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
Thank you to Gabbyreads for the rec.
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
I don’t normally gravitate towards sci-fi but this book may have changed that for me. I can’t believe this is the authors first book, I thought it was very well thought out and executed. Each character was real and relatable. I loved the feminist themes and thought the concept of a “woman only” sealed community was very interesting… and seeing how that concept falls flat when someone enforces a rigid framework of what THEY believe makes a woman. Thought provoking and interesting, I flew through this book.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes