Inside Out: Inside Out, #1 -- Maria V. Snyder

Inside outTrella is a scrub. She and the other denizens of the lower levels exist solely to keep the place rust-free and running smoothly, allowing the other inhabitants of Inside -- the Uppers -- to swan around doing what they do best: living comfortably and being fabulous.

At least, that's what she's always assumed.

When yet another prophet appears in the lower levels, Trella assumes that he's just there to do what all of the other prophets have done: spew propaganda for the Pop Cops to keep the lower levels docile. But despite her cynicism, he's got something to say that surprises her.

According to Broken Man, there is a way Outside. And supposedly, he's got the proof. He just needs Trella to risk her position (such as it is) and her life (ditto) to fetch it. Suddenly, Trella finds herself at the center of a revolution, and with the unlikeliest of allies: An Upper.

Inside Out is a little bit Metropolis, a little bit Cube and a little bit Incarceron. (For a while there, I really thought it might be a little bit Soylent Green, too, but it (sadly for me) didn't end up going in that direction.) Trella's a reluctant heroine, prickly and even unlikable at moments -- as well as being QUITE the misanthrope, she thinks of herself as being superior to her fellow workers -- which makes her a more interesting heroine, and one who feels much more real than a Bella Swan (blank slate) or a Lucie Manette (revoltingly perfect).

Maria V. Snyder drops us right into the action, and except for right at the beginning, doesn't do a lot of explaining, which makes the world of Inside feel more real. She also does a nice job of keeping the situation from becoming too black-and-white: as Trella learns more and more, the situation becomes less and less simple.

The out-and-out villains do fall into the Twirling Mustache category, but there are shades of grey found in the actions of the secondary characters. Some of the coincidences and revelations were a bit Soap Operatic, but by the time they came out, I was fully invested in the story and the characters, so they weren't particularly bothersome while I was reading. (Upon further reflection, they seem a bit much. But not so much that I'm all Worked Up. Or even Irritated.)

While it wasn't a cliffhanger ending, I'm looking forward to the sequel -- and I'll definitely be handing this to fans of The Hunger Games.

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Previously:

Poison Study
Magic Study

Fire Study

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Book source: Review copy from the publisher.