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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
excellent! This book is one of the many reasons I like Maria V. Snyder. A great YA read with interesting world building.
I am done! Finally done with this book! Finally!!!! *runs around like crazy*
*coughs*Sorry, I have been suck to this book since December the 5th and thought I would never get through this one. Why did I keep reading you ask? Because this is a book I picked, along with my buddy, for our Blind Date challenge.
I couldn't just give up. I had to push through even though I grew increasingly frustrated with this darned book.
So I will try to write a review but be warned, it is very negative + chaotic.
The pacing was all over the place. At 20% in I wondered how we would ever fill an entire 100%. I had the feeling we were already at at least 80% at that point. That kept being a problem until about 70% then I wondered how the hell everything would still fit in those 30% that was left over. As you can see, it is all very conflicted.
The sheep stuff, it just had me rolling around the floor. The Force of the Sheep shall be with you *Mehsi rolls off her chair and laughs so hard*. Sorry, but they could have at least picked another name? And really, all that stuff with the plushies it just made me roll my eyes. It was just ridiculous and out of place. It was fun once, but then it kept popping up, and sorry, no.
The plot, at least when we know what the place is where our characters live their lives. Quite quickly, thanks to hints, I knew what was going on, and I just was not amused to see it confirmed. Can't we, for once, just have another direction? I have seen this plot SO many times, I even saw it happen in The Orville just a few weeks ago. :| Of course I won't spoil what the plot is, that would be mean of me, and while I hate this book, I won't be mean to spoil things.
Trella, or emotionless robot of boring and blandness. Queen of the Pipes she is, but I would rather say she is Queen of the bland people. With magical abilities. As up to a certain point she didn't seem to have a magical memory, but all of the sudden she can memorise ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to the point of weirdness. I know there are people who have photographic memory, but sorry, Trella didn't seem to be that kind of girl.
She was also just not interesting. Her motives were weird and out of place. Why would she, the Queen of the Pipes who never gave a shit about anything, suddenly be interested in things like rebellion or some words of a prophet? If it happened gradually, sure, but now it was just instant and after that she kept doing things that seemed out of place.
She was really cold as ice. People help her out left and right, but she never remembers them or their names. Boy, that was just painful when Jacy told her about a certain person and she was just looking at him as if he had grown bananas out his ears. :P
But she also couldn't get the simplest of hints. When people in the kitchen tell her something, she tells them off, only later to find out it was a coded message meant for her. That had me in stitches. And that is how it is the whole time. People tell her x, she is confused and tells them off, only to later find out that they meant it different.
Or when she hears R and his dad talk about Ella, she thinks that is a whole different person. *sighs*
The plottwist about the doctor? That was just making the story more ridiculous to me. Plus some other things that I can't tell as it would be spoilers. But let's just say that the whole situation had me laughing so hard. Oh my gosh what a coincidence. Oh my.
Cogon? I really liked him. If anything he was one of my favourite characters (next to Logan and his sister), and I was happy when near the end x happened, but then the writer of course had to let y happen and I was just pissed off.
The romance? Unnecessary and unneeded. I was so happy that up to a point there was nothing, but I knew as soon as X appeared that we would have some forced romance. And we did. I hate being right at times, you know? In the end I couldn't even find them sweet, I just found it meh and I couldn't care for it. At all.
The Broken Man? Well he could have stayed out of the story or disappeared for all I cared. He was annoying as hell. He demanded all sorts of attention, acted like a little kid not getting his toys. I get it man, you are in a wheelchair, you can't do much alone, but really. Do you expect someone who has helped you out so much already to risk everything further? She is already doing everything she can so you have things you need. She can't be around 24/7. You will just have to manage some things by yourself. But oh no. And of course he did certain things even though it was just the most stupid thing ever and he was warned NOT to do it. But hey, why listen to someone who has the best interests. *rolls eyes some more*
He was so ungrateful. :|
Ah yes, why count in years when you can do that in centiweeks and such. Well, I can tell you this, if you have already not much interest in a book it doesn't make it better if people tell you they are x number of weeks or centiweeks. In the end I just couldn't give a poop about it and I just thought them all to be ages I thought fitted them best. Every mention of OMG weeks just went passed me.
But I am already thankful we don't have a love triangle. Thank the heavens. When Logan popped up I was worried Riley and him would be rivals (and then to laugh while Trella didn't get the hint why they kept fighting, wait no, this would have been perfect).
The whole port as in teeth? It was just so disgusting that one had to pull their own teeth as a port. Ewwwwwwww. No thank you. That just had me shivering.
When Trella is wounded I was just shaking my head at how bad the injury was and how convenient that a certain thing was hit which meant that Trella couldn't get x. Sorry, I would explain better, but I don't really want to spoiler or spoiler tag things, so you will just have to do with this vague sentence.
It was also ridiculous that Trella didn't seem to care for anyone or herself. Oh I need to get x and y, but I am wounded and shouldn't move. Oh well *shoves pillow against wound and just keeps on crawling*.
Or when she did something highly out of character (the things people do for showers). Then there were other parts that just had me shouting at Trella to think for once. She has people who care about her (how silly that may be), but she doesn't seem to care about their feelings. Bleep bloop Trella is a robot.
What Anne-Jade to give Trella a listening device? Was that really needed? Ever heard of clip-on earrings?
The heartbeat analogy? Good Grief I was happy when that died a quick death.
Sentences like this had me just coughing and thinking why the need for eloquent words/sentences now?
"She wasn't quick to laugh; grief clung to her skin like perfume but hadn't doused her empathy for others."
and
"The loss lingers inside you, clinging like beads of moisture until rusts forms and spreads. Eventually, the structure can't hold the weight and it collapses."
and
"Liquid fire coursed through my veins, erasing all desire to fight. I wilted and dropped into oblivion."
Welp, this review has gotten very long, I could probably rant on and on about this book but frankly, after being stuck for days to this book I want to just get rid of it and not think about it. I am not going to read book 2. And I wouldn't recommend this book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
*coughs*Sorry, I have been suck to this book since December the 5th and thought I would never get through this one. Why did I keep reading you ask? Because this is a book I picked, along with my buddy, for our Blind Date challenge.
I couldn't just give up. I had to push through even though I grew increasingly frustrated with this darned book.
So I will try to write a review but be warned, it is very negative + chaotic.
The pacing was all over the place. At 20% in I wondered how we would ever fill an entire 100%. I had the feeling we were already at at least 80% at that point. That kept being a problem until about 70% then I wondered how the hell everything would still fit in those 30% that was left over. As you can see, it is all very conflicted.
The sheep stuff, it just had me rolling around the floor. The Force of the Sheep shall be with you *Mehsi rolls off her chair and laughs so hard*. Sorry, but they could have at least picked another name? And really, all that stuff with the plushies it just made me roll my eyes. It was just ridiculous and out of place. It was fun once, but then it kept popping up, and sorry, no.
The plot, at least when we know what the place is where our characters live their lives. Quite quickly, thanks to hints, I knew what was going on, and I just was not amused to see it confirmed. Can't we, for once, just have another direction? I have seen this plot SO many times, I even saw it happen in The Orville just a few weeks ago. :| Of course I won't spoil what the plot is, that would be mean of me, and while I hate this book, I won't be mean to spoil things.
Trella, or emotionless robot of boring and blandness. Queen of the Pipes she is, but I would rather say she is Queen of the bland people. With magical abilities. As up to a certain point she didn't seem to have a magical memory, but all of the sudden she can memorise ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to the point of weirdness. I know there are people who have photographic memory, but sorry, Trella didn't seem to be that kind of girl.
She was also just not interesting. Her motives were weird and out of place. Why would she, the Queen of the Pipes who never gave a shit about anything, suddenly be interested in things like rebellion or some words of a prophet? If it happened gradually, sure, but now it was just instant and after that she kept doing things that seemed out of place.
She was really cold as ice. People help her out left and right, but she never remembers them or their names. Boy, that was just painful when Jacy told her about a certain person and she was just looking at him as if he had grown bananas out his ears. :P
But she also couldn't get the simplest of hints. When people in the kitchen tell her something, she tells them off, only later to find out it was a coded message meant for her. That had me in stitches. And that is how it is the whole time. People tell her x, she is confused and tells them off, only to later find out that they meant it different.
Or when she hears R and his dad talk about Ella, she thinks that is a whole different person. *sighs*
The plottwist about the doctor? That was just making the story more ridiculous to me. Plus some other things that I can't tell as it would be spoilers. But let's just say that the whole situation had me laughing so hard. Oh my gosh what a coincidence. Oh my.
Cogon? I really liked him. If anything he was one of my favourite characters (next to Logan and his sister), and I was happy when near the end x happened, but then the writer of course had to let y happen and I was just pissed off.
The romance? Unnecessary and unneeded. I was so happy that up to a point there was nothing, but I knew as soon as X appeared that we would have some forced romance. And we did. I hate being right at times, you know? In the end I couldn't even find them sweet, I just found it meh and I couldn't care for it. At all.
The Broken Man? Well he could have stayed out of the story or disappeared for all I cared. He was annoying as hell. He demanded all sorts of attention, acted like a little kid not getting his toys. I get it man, you are in a wheelchair, you can't do much alone, but really. Do you expect someone who has helped you out so much already to risk everything further? She is already doing everything she can so you have things you need. She can't be around 24/7. You will just have to manage some things by yourself. But oh no. And of course he did certain things even though it was just the most stupid thing ever and he was warned NOT to do it. But hey, why listen to someone who has the best interests. *rolls eyes some more*
He was so ungrateful. :|
Ah yes, why count in years when you can do that in centiweeks and such. Well, I can tell you this, if you have already not much interest in a book it doesn't make it better if people tell you they are x number of weeks or centiweeks. In the end I just couldn't give a poop about it and I just thought them all to be ages I thought fitted them best. Every mention of OMG weeks just went passed me.
But I am already thankful we don't have a love triangle. Thank the heavens. When Logan popped up I was worried Riley and him would be rivals (and then to laugh while Trella didn't get the hint why they kept fighting, wait no, this would have been perfect).
The whole port as in teeth? It was just so disgusting that one had to pull their own teeth as a port. Ewwwwwwww. No thank you. That just had me shivering.
When Trella is wounded I was just shaking my head at how bad the injury was and how convenient that a certain thing was hit which meant that Trella couldn't get x. Sorry, I would explain better, but I don't really want to spoiler or spoiler tag things, so you will just have to do with this vague sentence.
It was also ridiculous that Trella didn't seem to care for anyone or herself. Oh I need to get x and y, but I am wounded and shouldn't move. Oh well *shoves pillow against wound and just keeps on crawling*.
Or when she did something highly out of character (the things people do for showers). Then there were other parts that just had me shouting at Trella to think for once. She has people who care about her (how silly that may be), but she doesn't seem to care about their feelings. Bleep bloop Trella is a robot.
What Anne-Jade to give Trella a listening device? Was that really needed? Ever heard of clip-on earrings?
The heartbeat analogy? Good Grief I was happy when that died a quick death.
Sentences like this had me just coughing and thinking why the need for eloquent words/sentences now?
"She wasn't quick to laugh; grief clung to her skin like perfume but hadn't doused her empathy for others."
and
"The loss lingers inside you, clinging like beads of moisture until rusts forms and spreads. Eventually, the structure can't hold the weight and it collapses."
and
"Liquid fire coursed through my veins, erasing all desire to fight. I wilted and dropped into oblivion."
Welp, this review has gotten very long, I could probably rant on and on about this book but frankly, after being stuck for days to this book I want to just get rid of it and not think about it. I am not going to read book 2. And I wouldn't recommend this book.
Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/
Pretty interesting story - didn't see the twist coming and would like to see what happens next.
This book was a fun read! It kept me on my toes, everything was constantly in motion and I liked Trella and the rest of the crew. I felt like this novel was definitely plot oriented more than character oriented, which I like most of the time, but I hope the next book I read is more character oriented...
Overall, I liked this novel and have been wanting to read it for a long time so I'm glad I got around to it!
Overall, I liked this novel and have been wanting to read it for a long time so I'm glad I got around to it!
Why I read it: Dystopia challenge, had 2nd book on my e-reader for review
The Plot: Trella is a scrub--she's one of thousands of people who live and work on the lower levels of what the reader can only assume is a giant building. The people who live in the upper levels seem to have it all. But one day Trella is introduced to a prophet who says he has evidence for "Outside". Even though Trella doesn't believe him, she sets out to help him find his evidence, if only to prove to her best friend that Outside doesn't exist. That's when it gets interesting. Without meaning to, Trella starts a rebellion.
The Characters: I liked Trella. There were times when it was a bit frustrating as a reader because someone would have information about Trella, things she didn't even know herself, but she never wanted to hear them. That bit of annoyance aside, Trella was a really strong, smart girl, which is always nice to see in young adult books. The characterization was done very well in Inside Out, and you can't help but care for these characters.
The Setting: Absolutely fabulous setting. So much of it is mysterious. We don't really know where these characters are. We only know they are in some type of structure that has levels. We have no idea what it's like outside of the structure, and even though most of the characters don't even believe there is an outside, we, as readers take our suppositions into the story with us, and assume that Earth is outside--but we don't know what state the Earth is in. It adds some psychological suspense to the story.
Who Should Read This? Fans of dystopia should really like this one.
Final Thoughts: I tried another book by Maria Snyder one time (Storm Glass, I think it was) and didn't really care for the writing, so I gave up on it. I'm glad I had the opportunity to give this author another try because the writing was excellent and I really enjoyed this book. I stayed up really late to finish it, and as a mother of young kids that's something I rarely do. It was so good that I went on to read the second one immediately.
Grade: A
Cover Thoughts: The cover is okay, although I think it could have been a little more interesting. It does seem to be fairly eye-catching.
The Plot: Trella is a scrub--she's one of thousands of people who live and work on the lower levels of what the reader can only assume is a giant building. The people who live in the upper levels seem to have it all. But one day Trella is introduced to a prophet who says he has evidence for "Outside". Even though Trella doesn't believe him, she sets out to help him find his evidence, if only to prove to her best friend that Outside doesn't exist. That's when it gets interesting. Without meaning to, Trella starts a rebellion.
The Characters: I liked Trella. There were times when it was a bit frustrating as a reader because someone would have information about Trella, things she didn't even know herself, but she never wanted to hear them. That bit of annoyance aside, Trella was a really strong, smart girl, which is always nice to see in young adult books. The characterization was done very well in Inside Out, and you can't help but care for these characters.
The Setting: Absolutely fabulous setting. So much of it is mysterious. We don't really know where these characters are. We only know they are in some type of structure that has levels. We have no idea what it's like outside of the structure, and even though most of the characters don't even believe there is an outside, we, as readers take our suppositions into the story with us, and assume that Earth is outside--but we don't know what state the Earth is in. It adds some psychological suspense to the story.
Who Should Read This? Fans of dystopia should really like this one.
Final Thoughts: I tried another book by Maria Snyder one time (Storm Glass, I think it was) and didn't really care for the writing, so I gave up on it. I'm glad I had the opportunity to give this author another try because the writing was excellent and I really enjoyed this book. I stayed up really late to finish it, and as a mother of young kids that's something I rarely do. It was so good that I went on to read the second one immediately.
Grade: A
Cover Thoughts: The cover is okay, although I think it could have been a little more interesting. It does seem to be fairly eye-catching.
I had this one on my to-read-list for a while. I love dystopian books, but the synopsis did not really grab me. So when I finished the Study series (loved it!) I decided to stick with Maria V. Snyder and give this one a go. Although it's very different from the Study books I must say that I was not disappointed. Trella is an interesting character: curious, feisty, rebellious and brave. The story had some good twists, a little bit of romance and a great ending. The only negative was that I found it hard to imagine the world that Snyder describes. I could not get a good picture of how Inside related to Outside and the architecture of the structure.
http://www.fragmentsoffiction.com/2011/03/inside-out-by-maria-v-snyder.html
http://www.fragmentsoffiction.com/2011/03/inside-out-by-maria-v-snyder.html
Overall Rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
For months I had been hearing so much praise for this book, but for some reason didn't pick it up until recently. I ended up borrowing it up from my library and diving in shortly later. Overall, I flew through this book, really wanting to know what was going to happen and understand this world more.
One aspect that I really loved was this crazy, mixed up world that Snyder created. I loved the mystery to world, not only to the reader but also to the characters of the story. It left you wondering throughout, about their society and was really original how she made the characters as uncertain about the truth as the reader.
I did at times feel as though it was a little slow, with many scenes being the same as the one before. Luckily though, it did pick up for the second half of the book and really started to make the reader invested in the world.
The only aspect that I was a bit disappointed in came through the characterization. I never really related or connected to Trella. I did find her to be very unique though, since she was one of the out casts and loners within Inside. I just wish I felt a bit one connected to her and some of the other characters, like Riley, a character that I wish she devoted more time to and developed further. Hopefully that will come in the next book though, 'Outside In.'
Overall, I definitely did enjoy this read and cannot wait to see what happens in the next book. I often got so wrapped in the world of Inside, since it was described so vividly. I have really been loving books with setting so unlike our own, that the world of Inside really drew me in.
For months I had been hearing so much praise for this book, but for some reason didn't pick it up until recently. I ended up borrowing it up from my library and diving in shortly later. Overall, I flew through this book, really wanting to know what was going to happen and understand this world more.
One aspect that I really loved was this crazy, mixed up world that Snyder created. I loved the mystery to world, not only to the reader but also to the characters of the story. It left you wondering throughout, about their society and was really original how she made the characters as uncertain about the truth as the reader.
I did at times feel as though it was a little slow, with many scenes being the same as the one before. Luckily though, it did pick up for the second half of the book and really started to make the reader invested in the world.
The only aspect that I was a bit disappointed in came through the characterization. I never really related or connected to Trella. I did find her to be very unique though, since she was one of the out casts and loners within Inside. I just wish I felt a bit one connected to her and some of the other characters, like Riley, a character that I wish she devoted more time to and developed further. Hopefully that will come in the next book though, 'Outside In.'
Overall, I definitely did enjoy this read and cannot wait to see what happens in the next book. I often got so wrapped in the world of Inside, since it was described so vividly. I have really been loving books with setting so unlike our own, that the world of Inside really drew me in.