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(More customer reviews)Trella was born as a scrub. As a scrub, she works ten hours, then gets ten hours off, with a break only every five hours. In short, she never gets time to herself. Trella often escapes into the pipes to find what isolation she can away from the crush of bodies and horrible living conditions that make up the life of a scrub. As such, she has earned the nickname (often said with a sneer) of "Queen of the Pipes." However, the nickname manages to get her pulled into a deeper plot when a new Prophet turns up, saying that he knows a way to get Outside--a possibility that would allow Trella to leave the life of being a scrub behind.
INSIDE OUT has been the best and most promising series of the Harlequin Teen titles I have read. Not only does Maria V. Snyder break the imprint away from the urban fantasy-heavy selection. From that angle, Maria V. Snyder's approach is refreshing. However, this is my first venture into Snyder's works. So even though I cannot truly comment on how INSIDE OUT fits in with her "Study" or "Glass" series, I have a feeling that the setting and ideas of INSIDE OUT are quite a departure from those works.
Trella is an interesting character. Like many young adult books, she's an outsider even amongst those she grew up with (although her protective friend, Cog, is an exception). She struggles between being a self-absorbed teenager and doing what is right (often contrasting in Cog's stellar example). I liked this very human picture of Trella and never disliked her for her faults. Rather, I think her development enhanced the story greatly. Her relationships with others highlight her strong and weak points while contributing the greater story. Particularly, I liked the relationship between her and Cog. He's the protective older brother figure that understands her better than she wants to understand herself and protects her even if she doesn't want or realize it: "I would never have had the patience to fight my way along the main paths, but Cog's thick body left a wake behind him. I followed along in this space, walking without effort and without touching anyone. A moment of peace" (p13).
I really empathized with Trella. She isn't the sort of girl to ask for help or trust. And she's definitely not the sort of girl who just gives herself up to the moment. She always has to be the one in control (as much as possible for a scrub). This is shown, as in the passage above, where she doesn't directly acknowledge Cog's help, but simple basks in the moment of peace she so badly needs. This sort of character is both strong and brittle, so I was very interested to see how the romance would come into play, because Harlequin Teen is definitely a line known for its romance. I figured that Trella's not the sort to throw herself into the arms of a man without a thought or trust anyone easily. In the end, these characteristics made the eventual romance pleasantly well-rounded and slow to develop (considered a positive by this reviewer, although I'm sure I'll be in the minority opinion).
Trella's character is perfect for her environment. The story fits the aspects of dystopia, because INSIDE OUT definitely tells the story of a society that suffers from class issues, overcrowding, misery, and poor living conditions. There are several divisions: Inside vs. Outside and Uppers vs Scrubs. The really great thing about these fragments of a society is that Snyder uses all to the fullest extent to tease out her themes. Trella, as a scrub, is ignorant of the Uppers life; the Uppers, in turn, are completely ignorant of the scrubs; both the Uppers and scrubs (except for the mysterious Controllers) know nothing about the Outside. All of this is explored slowly and through the growing perceptions of Trella. Working through Trella's view made the themes more subtle than they otherwise would have been otherwise, which I appreciated. And there's quite a list of themes. I'd have to say that if I had to boil everything down to one idea, it would be "control over people." Snyder explores the idea through propaganda (well done), procreation/health (well done), abuse and torture (decently carried out). Thus, there's both physical and mental control over people, which has always been an intriguing topic for me. Yet, the genre explores more than just dystopia: there's some science fiction that comes later in the story and a strong, but delicate touch of romance throughout the second half. Really, the world Snyder invented is fun to discover, because she releases information slowly and in bits.
Another thing I appreciated about INSIDE OUT was that everything was returned to with time. The very few things not engaged completely were at the very end and I assume left over for the sequel, OUTSIDE IN.
If anything, the only things I would criticize with the story are minor. The pacing was a little rough in a few areas and despite finishing the book in a night, I wasn't absolutely hooked. I enjoyed reading the book thoroughly, but was easily knocked out of my reading by a question or tangent thought (at one point I actually flipped back in the book to verify Snyder's adjusted week/year system). Regardless, I'm looking forward to the second installment to see where Snyder has Trella cause trouble next...
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Keep Your Head Down.Don't Get Noticed.Or Else.I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.
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