Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Review: Dark Inside - Jeyn Roberts

Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts
Series: Dark Inside #1
Genre: YA, post-apocalyptic
Published on November 1, 2011
Published by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 329
Read From: 10.4.12 - 10.5.12
Final Rating: 4/5 strawberries









SYNOPSIS
An ancient evil has been unleashed, and it's turning friends into murderous strangers. For those who survive the brutal earthquakes and the first wave of the killing, the world is a different, deadlier place. Society has fallen apart. No one can be trusted. For four teens struggling to stay alive in a world determined to kill them, it means all they have is one another - if they can trust one another - and the hope that their future holds something greater than mere survival.

Review

Cover Blurb: Yes, it stares at me, but I suspect that is is supposed to be creepy, and it creeps me out, and it also caught my attention with its very distinctly dystopian/apocalyptic feel, so I would say that it's a successful cover.

What I Liked: This isn't a story where you have to like the characters to enjoy the story, which is good, because while I don't dislike the characters, I'm not especially attached to any of them. I actually kind of like that, because then I won't mind if something bad happens to one of them, and I can just get involved in what's happening, rather than worrying about anyone in particular. I love the sense of isolation, and the theme that people are not basically good deep down. This book genuinely freaked me out, because while the mobs attacking innocent people are affected by some strange virus/creature - whatever it is, - it's also a very true fact that in times of crisis, people form mobs and attack each other anyway, so if you take the weird virus thingy away, this is a somewhat plausible storyline. And that is scary.

What I Disliked: None of the good guys carried a gun. Not one of them! That's a serious problem. Also, a major earthquake just happened, and Aries's friend just died, and she's seriously having romantic thoughts about someone? That just doesn't make sense.

Believability: Not entirely applicable.

Writing Style: The writing begins very choppy, and it didn't work, but as the story continues, it smooths out, and becomes engaging. The feeling isolation lends a lot towards the book's creepy level, and I liked how each chapter switches between characters. The story's pace is properly fast; it never gets boring.

Content: The violence isn't Michael Cadnum-graphic, but it is brutal and successfully put me off my pizza fondu a couple of times.

Conclusion: I am really looking forward to the sequel - what happens next? I can't wait! Apocalyptic books don't usually leave me feeling chilly, but this one did. It was dark, it had a very good level of mystery to it, it was creepy, and it played off a very good theme: people are not basically good deep down inside.

Recommended Audience: Fans of dystopian and apocalyptic fiction. Guys would enjoy this a lot, as will girls. Better for an older audience because it is scary and it is brutal.


Others in This Series:
1)Dark Inside
2)Rage Within


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