Review of Inside Out by Maria V Snyder

Trella is a scrub. Along with thousands of others. The scrubs are the bottom of the food chain, so to speak, Inside. They work and sleep and that is basically it. They are controlled by the Travas and envy the Uppers. Trella is known as the Queen of the Pipes. She knows the inner workings of Inside like the back of her hand. She has been plodding along not questioning her life until her friend, Cog, introduces her to Broken Man, the latest in Prophets. Soon, ideas of 'Gateway' the almost-myth exit from Inside begin to take over Trella's mind. Before she knows it she is the face of a rebellion. The scrubs are looking to her to make changes. And she is determined to to prove Broken Man wrong about Gateway. What she doesn't count on is believing him.

It was a slow start for me, I must admit. But about 2/3 the way in I was very hooked. It has a wonderful ending and a good lead into Book 2. I Liked Trella as a character. She is a little selfish and thats sometimes good in books, you may know from previous posts I dont like the goody-goodies.

The book is well written and I think it could be quite an enjoyable read for even younger young-adults. 

The plot is good and what I would expect from teen-girl-dystopia. There is a particular twist at the end which really made the book for me.

I give it a 3.5/5

Review of The Line by Teri Hall

In this dystopian tale, Rachel and her mother, Vivian, live on The Property with uptight Ms Moore. The Property is far enough away from the nearest town that the Government Enforcement Officer's don't pay too much attention. The Property is however right on The Line. The Line is a National Border Defense system put in place many eons before for the safety of all U.S citizens. No one can get in, but no one can get out.

Rachel's already over-zealous interest in Away, the land that occupies the other side of The Line, is amped up after she finds a recording device with a muffled plea for help, the device is from Away. 

Ms Moore owns the property and is very strict, but what is she hiding about Away? Rachel is determined to find out and Vivian just wants to hide.

This was a very quick read and for the most part it was enjoyable. The characters and plot were interesting enough, however I found it lacking in many ways. I think the shortness of the novel was a big part of this lack. Mainly, there was not much character development or build up to the events towards the end of the book. It was a blink-and-you-miss-it type book, which was a shame as it had real potential as I love all things Dysopia. The sequel, Away, will hopefully fix my disappointment. I have not phyisically seen it, but if it is as short as The Line, I will feel as though it was meant to be one book that has been split in half for sales purposes perhaps?


The character of Ms Moore was the most enjoyable in the book as I felt out of all of them she had the most interesting growth. The main character of Rachel was bland and I felt like we didn't really get to know her at all. The male lead and potential love interest, Pathik, was unappealing, again due to the little we actually know about him.


I recommend it if you have a few hours spare one day, but don't expect your socks rocked.


2/5

Review of Matched by Ally Condie

This. Book. Is. Awesome.

In the Society everything is chosen for you. What movies you see, what books you read, who you marry...

Cassia Reyes has looked forward to her matching day for as long as she can remember. Everything is too good to be true when her perfect match and society-determined husband to be is none other than her best friend Xander Carrow.

The next day, whilst viewing Xander's match info, a face appears on her screen. It's not Xander. It's Ky Markham.

Before Ky flashed ever so briefly on her viewing disc, Cassia never had any reason to doubt what the Society does. After her 80 year old (therefore past his society-deemed use by date) grandfather gives her a secret poem that did not make it into the 100 poems allowed in the Society, and Cassia decides to share this with the newly intriguing Ky, Cassia's whole perception of life begins to change.

Why can't she read a poem she wants to read? Why can't she love who she decides to love?

Matched is simply perfect in every sense. I was sucked in from the first page and really didn't want to be sucked back out. The characters are all likeable and interesting and the plot is great. I love the dystopian genre and this is definitely up there with the best.

The writing style is immaculate. I love a book that makes you forget completely about real life, Matched is definitely this.

I recommend to anyone who likes the Hunger Games and the Uglies series.

I give it a 6/5!