Book Review - Outside In

Title: Outside In
Author: Maria V. Snyder
Publisher: MIRA Ink
Release Date: 18 Mar 2011
ISBN-13: 978-0778304135
Series: Inside (book 2)

Synopsis
 Me? A Leader? Okay, I did prove that there s more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we re free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again while still touching base with Riley, of course. He s the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there s outside and then there is Outside. And something from Outside wants In. 

My Review
First I'll apologize for how long it's been since I posted a review, but I've been ill for the last few days, but it wasn't the sort of ill where I could read as I had a temperature and headache. Anyway, enough of my moaning for sympathy, I'll get on with the review.
Outside In picks up right where Inside Out left off. Trella and her friends think they will be happy now they have overthrown authority and discovered more space, but life is never that simple, arguments break out, jobs refuse to get done, and something strange is trying to take over, computer systems are blowing up, wiping or overloading. Someone is planting bombs throughout Inside to create chaos and injury and in worse cases mass deaths. The people of Inside must learn to work together to get back on track, but they are more divided than ever.
I felt myself straight back into their world and part of their lives, Trella and Riley are up and down in their relationship and I spent a lot of the story wising they would end up together. I still love them both as characters and think they make a great couple. A lot of the other characters we met in book one are still around and play a more prominent role such as Logan and Anne-Jade and even Jacy. But their are also a lot of new characters, all bringing their own thing to the world of Inside and great characters. I love 'Bubba-Boom' he is such a great character! Bet you can't guess what his specialty is!!!
I have to be honest though, I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second. The first half was a lot of Trella exploring inside and characters interacting and the world of Inside trying to change, their was a lot of excitement with the bomb explosions and other dangers, but the second half I found slightly silly. Everything is explained to have been caused by the 'Outsiders', this had me thinking of course who are these 'Outsiders' i thought Inside was floating through space. I became skeptical, hoping it wouldn't become another cheesy 'aliens are boarding us' books, and I was left wondering who these beings are. It did get better again when some things were explained, but there is definitely a lot of back story we are not told. These other beings were exiled for 'something bad they did to us', but we never find out what. I'm still slightly confused as to what or who they were. 
However that said, I did still overall really enjoy the story, Snyder really has a magical way with words that can captivate and entrance you. I really feel part of the world and the characters become like friends, or enemies depending on who they are.
I hope there will be another part to this series, I'm desperate to know more. 


My Rating
I would give this book 9/10 an exciting gripping read.