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greatestheights's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Moderate: Medical content and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: War and Genocide
paytonsayshi8's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Death
Minor: Blood, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
cryptidkay'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
The author plays amazingly well with traditionally terrifying sci-fi tropes but at the same time including two characters who blossom and grow near and dear to a reader's heart (AND each other's). Doing such with only two characters (and the OS? I guess?) is amazing. There's no where for a reader to turn if they don't particularly like the main characters. No background folks to turn to (Rover? After what it's done? Eugh. No.). And that ENDING! Damn do I love a well-deserved happy ending
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Classism, Colonisation, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness
reader_in_the_meadow's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
The plot of this book was all over the place, but in a good way. It was such a well worked out idea that was told in an easy to follow way, so you couldn't miss a thing. Since I don't want to spoil here I am just honna say that the plot twist came right out of nowhere which was such a surprise. And I love when that happens! However, there were some parts where only info dumping was done, but at least they were pretty short.
Since there are only two acting characters in this book there is not much to say about diversity, besides that both of them are non-heterosexual young men. But the tricky thing Schrefer had to do was make both of these characters a whole own personality each so they really stand out. And oh boy, how he did that! They were both very well worked out and their dynamic was so good!
The writing in this book was not that hard to read which makes it easy to concentrate on the story. However it was a bit hard for me to understand some of the more scientific terms, since I did know many of them. The way the story is told is through the eyes of Ambrose, who acts as the main character in this story. I was able to completely immerse myself in the atory and the atmosphere that was built up while reading.
I really liked the dystopian idea, of the cold war not ending and instead accumulating two big countries on earth. It gave the whole story a kind of intense background and so much interesting story points.
However, I found the characters at some points very annoying and just stopped reading because I could not understand them at these times.
To sum up, The Darkness Outside Us is a very great Science-Fiction book with a thrillerish turn woven into it that I can only revommend. Still, please take note of the content warnings before buying.
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cancer, Excrement, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit
Minor: War
wildflower_sarah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Confinement and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Cancer, Death, Murder, Terminal illness, and Vomit
readingpicnic'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Vomit
orcamagicka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cancer, Gore, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Vomit, and Xenophobia
readundancies'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
The first part spends a lot of the time building the relationship between Ambrose and Kodiak, and we get all the cozy vibes from their burgeoning friendship in that slow burn kinda way that indicates we are in for some of that sweet, sweet escalation. It was delightful. Then Part 2 roles around with a major plot twist/reveal that was both enlightening but also not for me, purely based on my own preferences within the sci-fi genre.
From a characterization standpoint, Kodiak is pretty standard in his stoic and somewhat bullheaded nature whereas Ambrose is a bit more emotionally interesting, especially since we read strictly from his perspective. There’s a high level of EQ in him but also a very strong sense of frivolity as well, and it’s a strikingly odd dichotomy that I found was very satisfying to explore. Their romance was such a treat to get to experience, because the romance itself was not a priority, it was product of their relationship and a testament to them realizing they had better chances of surviving together versus apart.
Plot-wise, once the major reveal occurs, everything else just falls neatly into place. There's a great deal of resentment and tension between the pair and their ship's OS that I really enjoyed. The ending was not as strong as the rest of the story in that it feels very inevitable if not predictable, but even though I didn't feel completely fulfilled by the end, I think this was just so very well constructed as a whole. The writing quality is there. The characters are so easy to invest in. And my word, what a gripping intensity it has, that you just never want to put it down.
And I have to respect it, even though the overall plot went in a direction that I would not have preferred. I will also state that I think this could've even been a 5 star read for me if it was catered towards an adult audience instead even though I'm not entirely sure it can be considered strictly YA even now.
As many have said before me, this definitely was not marketed appropriately, so in the interest of giving it more due, I recommend this for anyone whose interested in the sci-fi genre, who are looking for a tale of two individuals whose survival is entirely dependent on one another as they venture across the uncharted vastness of the cosmos. They are unaware of their importance, both to their species and to each other, and we as the readers get the privilege of watching them grow together (even when they obstinately desire to be apart) as they explore what it means to be human, how love is both their saving grace and cross to bear in the face of isolation, and how one can still choose how their destiny will unfold even if their ultimate fate may be unchanged.
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Death, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Violence
mothie_girlie'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Sexual content, and Cancer
Moderate: Colonisation and Gaslighting
Minor: Body horror, Homophobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
irisheyz77's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual content and Cancer