Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder

Inside Out is a young adult novel that belongs to the relatively new dystopian craze. The setting is a place called the Inside. We follow a young woman named Trella whose world consists of two classes the Uppers and the Scrubs(which she belongs to). Scrubs exist to make the uppers lives more easy and to ensure Inside's way of life, while Uppers live in the higher floors where they run the logistics and politics of the Inside.The Uppers seem to have everything the Scrubs don't; better working conditions, families, and most importantly freedom(or so it would seem). There is one thing that unites the two groups, both the Uppers and the Scrubs are governed by the ruling and cruel Pop Cops who will recycle you and send you to Chomper for the slightest infraction. Trella is emotionally detached from her world having no reason to care for anyone or anything she sees the scrub way of life as hopeless. When the one person she cares for is captured by the Pop Cops she makes sure he doesn't go in vain. Trella and the band of Uppers and Scrubs she acquires along the way will change the world of Inside forever in the search for the mythical Gateway. Trella will learn to care and love, expose dirty secrets of her life and the Pop Cops, and see the effects she has on those around her. This book shows what happens when knowledge and power is in the hands of the few(elite) and the importance of bonding. Most importantly this book shows that when all is lost, one only needs HOPE to succeed.

I really enjoyed this book. I am generally a good guesser in plot twists, but not with Inside Out. The twists weren't far fetched, but were crafted carefully with originality at the forefront. I'm glad that I have finally found a book that I didn't know the ending to half way through.

The sequel to Inside Out by Maria V. Snyder is now available and is called Outside In.

This review was previously published on Library Thing http://www.librarything.com/work/8547272