Keep Your Head Down.Don't Get Noticed.Or Else.
I'm Trella. I'm a scrub. A nobody. One of thousands who work the lower levels, keeping Inside clean for the Uppers. I've got one friend, do my job and try to avoid the Pop Cops. So what if I occasionally use the pipes to sneak around the Upper levels? The only neck at risk is my own…until I accidentally start a rebellion and become the go-to girl to lead a revolution.
So the first couple chapters it was kind of boring. But that was only because it was super descriptive, which it had to be so you could understand the rest. If you skip a page of the first few chapters, you're screwed for the rest of the book.
The setting: a bajillion years in the future. It's not just after the world ends because of a super-virus or a giant war, I don't actually know if anything happened to the earth, they're just kind of not there anymore. The place that they live in is shaped like a giant cube as far as anyone knows. It's called Inside. And whatever is outside of Inside, is called Outside. So far, it's pretty simple, right? Inside is inside; Outside is outside. You could have figured that out yourself. Well, no one knows what exactly is beyond Inside's walls, or how to get to it. A lot of people believe there's something called Gateway that will open up like a door to let them out. Most people, though, just believe that this is all a myth. Gateway isn't real to them, and it's just a story to tell to kids.
In Inside, there are four levels of rooms and sectors and there are two levels of people: Uppers and scrubs. Uppers are obviously the richer, more pampered citizens. They live in apartments and rooms that are just for them and their own families. Scrubs don't have it so easy. Scrubs have to share their beds with three-hundred-some other scrubs who are off duty while they work. Each scrub has an assigned job: ten hours on, ten hours off and so on. There are lots of different jobs for scrubs and uppers alike. Scrubs jobs are more physical while uppers get the technical jobs of keeping track of the scrubs through computers. Obviously scrubs grow up to think all uppers are pompous, high-and-mighty snobs.
The first character I'll go over is the main characters, duh. The first and most important is Trella. Or sometimes Ella when she has to sneak around in the upper levels. She's a scrub. Trella's assigned to taking care of air ducts and vents which includes changing filters and making sure the vents are clean and clear. She's the most fantastic, awesome, action-packed character. Romance is probably the least important thing in her life (until the end, but whatever). Trella has a kind-of big brother, he's not biologically related to her, but he was taken care of by the same person as her. His name is Cogon. Or Cog.
Second main character was just mentioned. Cog. He's like a big teddy bear. He smiles at every scrub he meets, knows everyone's name, and helps out with whatever he can. Anyone would do him a favor if he asked. He's a scrub like Trella, but he can't fit in the air ducts so he's maintenance and repairs. Cog is like the best person in Inside and he sacrifices so much for Trella I can't even describe. Honestly, anyone would be happy to have a friend like that; even Trella who doesn't let herself really get close to somebody. There's no reason to, in her mind.
Next character is Riley. He's an upper that Trella drops in on and talks to until she gets comfortable with him. You can probably guess what I mean by 'comfortable', and you probably aren't surprised by that. He's adorable. I love him so much. Riley is tremendously protective while still being unbearably cute. I can't even begin to tell you how delightfully childish he is in comparison to Trella.
This character is probably one of the biggest characters in this entire series (there's two books in this series). His name is Sheepy. He is a sheep. He is a stuffed animal, too. I'm not even joking, he has a huge influence on this series! How do you think the Force of Sheep was formed? That's a question you can't answer because I'm sure you haven't read the second book and if you have, maybe you should switch to a different review . . . You already know about this book. Stop reading.
There are lots of minor characters that have a bigger role towards the end of this book and through the next book. Like Jacy, any Tech Nos, some other people helping out Trella, and the rest of the scrubs.
Oh! I almost forgot Broken Man. He starts it all. He sets Trella off and she just goes from there. So, obviously he's pretty important in this story and the next.
All I can say is that this story is different than other dystopian books. I don't think it should really be considered dystopian in the beginning because no one thinks that their overseers (I don't know what they're called I guess) are bad for them. Everyone thinks what they're doing, they're doing for their people's sake. And when you read the book, you don't know what's happened to the earth. The ground could be totally scorched right outside Inside; it could be green and full of sunshine; or they could be at the bottom of the ocean as far as they know.
Super interesting, suspenseful, action-packed, and just fun to read. Once you get past the initial confusing parts. But seriously, read those parts. You'll regret it later if you don't.
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