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A review by woodslesbian
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Everyone go read this book without knowing anything about it I promise it's worth it!!!!
I went into this knowing that it was in space and after seeing it described as "not reading like YA," and I think that was the perfect amount of context to have for this one. Without spoilers, I started off the book going "well this is interesting, but I don't really care that much about Ambrose ogling this angsty guy, can we please get back to the mysterious stuff happening in this space ship?" and then at 45% my thoughts were just "OH SHIT. OHHHH SHIT!!!!" and remained so for basically the rest of the book--the author knows how to build tension and maintain it like nobody's business. I'm sorry for doubting you Mr. Schrefer!
In terms of feeling dissimilar to other YA, I would say that this is true in terms of contents and the way the book absolutely does not shy away from the full depths of space horror, rather than the actual writing style. The text itself is absolutely shaped by Ambrose being a 17-year old and that comes across strongly in the writing, but not in a bad way! The style feels more like it's just genuinely shaped by his age and his personality than like... trying to be overly-quippy or just sounding like every other YA book, you know? It did take me some time to get used to that, and to be sold on Ambrose's interactions with Kodiak, but again, by the end I was 100% on board and invested in these two characters and their journey.
That's all I have to say about this one, but because I really do feel like going in with very little information is the move for this book, rather than me not having opinions on it! I keep having to pause when going about my day to sit and process the things that happened in here even like two weeks after finishing it, it absolutely packs a punch. Absolutely crazy stuff, very fun! And I'm super excited to read the sequel!
I went into this knowing that it was in space and after seeing it described as "not reading like YA," and I think that was the perfect amount of context to have for this one. Without spoilers, I started off the book going "well this is interesting, but I don't really care that much about Ambrose ogling this angsty guy, can we please get back to the mysterious stuff happening in this space ship?" and then at 45% my thoughts were just "OH SHIT. OHHHH SHIT!!!!" and remained so for basically the rest of the book--the author knows how to build tension and maintain it like nobody's business. I'm sorry for doubting you Mr. Schrefer!
In terms of feeling dissimilar to other YA, I would say that this is true in terms of contents and the way the book absolutely does not shy away from the full depths of space horror, rather than the actual writing style. The text itself is absolutely shaped by Ambrose being a 17-year old and that comes across strongly in the writing, but not in a bad way! The style feels more like it's just genuinely shaped by his age and his personality than like... trying to be overly-quippy or just sounding like every other YA book, you know? It did take me some time to get used to that, and to be sold on Ambrose's interactions with Kodiak, but again, by the end I was 100% on board and invested in these two characters and their journey.
That's all I have to say about this one, but because I really do feel like going in with very little information is the move for this book, rather than me not having opinions on it! I keep having to pause when going about my day to sit and process the things that happened in here even like two weeks after finishing it, it absolutely packs a punch. Absolutely crazy stuff, very fun! And I'm super excited to read the sequel!