Review--E-ARC Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

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.

**CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS FROM INSIDE OUT (BOOK 1) PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU INTEND TO READ INSIDE OUT FIRST**

NetGalley is my new BFF! Thanks to them I was able to read Maria V. Snyder's Outside In nearly 2 months early!!! And it was AWESOME!

It still amazes me how different her adult series and YA series are. One is set in the past, in a world that has magic and the other has a futuristic quality to it with so many unanswered questions and mysteries! But both are beautifully written so that you are sucked into these characters' world and know that anything is possible!

In Maria's sequel to her YA debut Inside Out, Trella and the others are in the aftermath of dealing with everything from the ending. They realize now that they are in Outer Space and that their ship has many more levels than they originally thought. But after so many years of living their lives a certain way, the uppers and Scrubs are having trouble coming together and working together and there is unease and some hostility between them. Even with the Committee they set up to try to make things even and fair, there are still too many problems.

Trella is in the thick of things. She still works with Doctor Lament even though there might be a possible connection between them and Trella is still unsure if she wants to explore that. But soon problems begin to occur with their ship. Major problems that even lead to their air supply being manipulated with and then there are problems with their computer systems, someone on the Outside is manipulating them.

This book was extremely well written and well paced. OMG the suspense was killing me the entire time I read that I barely wanted to stop. Tensions were running high for Trella between her and her friends, even Riley which really put me on edge! Riley and Trella's relationship started to developed further into something more and then more problems threatened to drag them apart. Seriously, this book could not have had more tension! It was thrilling! If I had been reading a paper copy the edges would likely be slightly bent. (Okay not really since I am OCD about my books, but you get the idea!)

Just when I think I'm piecing the mystery together I get thrown through a loop! It's so strange, the mystery and we get bits and pieces of it here and there. It doesn't aggravate me, it just makes me want to read more and more and have the next book ready and waiting! Some things are still unclear, like what the deal with the spaceship is and where they are going. More of that gets explored a tad, but only a tad. There still isn't much of an answer, much like we had at the end of Inside Out, but that's not a problem at all. It just means there has to be more books for us to read so we can figure out the mystery together!

There was quite a shocker at the end too. I seriously didn't believe it at the time. I find that to be a pattern too when reading, I can never truly believe it happened until it is confirmed about a few more times along the remainder of the book. And wow, was I shocked! There was still nice moments along the way though. Some funny ones too. 

I totally love how Trella and Riley's relationship develops. It seems more realistic for there to be such problems between them that they have to overcome.

Overall I adored this book and can't wait to buy it February 15 so I can have the hardcopy to treasure forever! So my rating for this book cannot be less than a 5/5 stars! It is seriously good and has a different flavor to it. If you want a break from the paranormal, but still have a story with suspense, action, romance, intrigue and mystery than Maria Snyder is the author for you!

I received this E-ARC courtesy of NetGalley

This title will release on February 15, 2011