Title: Inside Out
Author: Maria V. Snyder [Website] [Facebook]
Genre: Young Adult, Dystopian, Romance
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Format: e-book
Source: Provided by Publisher via NetGalley
Parental Advisory: none

“Used to curses and hostile glares, I shrugged.  The mass of people in the tight corridor jostled and pushed me along.  Life in the lower two levels teamed with scrubs at all hours of the week.  They moved from work to their barracks and back to work. We were called scrubs because rust and dust were the twin evils of Inside and must be kept at bay; however, scrubs also maintained the network of mechanical systems which kept both uppers and lowers alive.”

Summary (from the publisher):
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.

Opinion:
Inside Out is a unique view of the usual conflicts between the societal class structure of haves and have nots. The Lowers are charged with the care taking of the world in which both they and the Uppers live.  Keeping mechanics purring, maintaining the cleanliness of duct work and a variety of other custodial tasks the Lowers are thought to truly be the bottom of the barrel.

To add insult to injury they do this all as a result of living in a police state.  They are made lower not by choice or even by circumstance, they are such by being oppressed by the higher class. They are forced into labor,  made to dress a certain way and even eat according to the choices of others.  These people do not have any freedoms at all.

Main character Trella is a Lower, her responsibility is to crawl through duct work sanitizing it so that the Uppers have clean air.  She should be a relatively simple character but Snyder has created her with depth and complexity.  Sure, she knows her station in life and she knows she shouldn’t want more but she does.  She wants to know what Upper is like, she wants to experience the differences and what she perceives as the luxury and most of all she wants the freedom to do so.

This is where everything in her life (and frankly the lives of everyone) starts to change.  Trella explores the duct work, memorizes its every nook and cranny until she’s fluent in the language of her surroundings.  She’s bold and in some ways carefree enough to expand her exploration over time until she finally finds herself in Upper.  Only now she’s not entirely alone.  She’s met Riley, an Upper boy.

Their romance is certainly intriguing as it builds over their mutual desire to seek a better understanding of how the division of power both came about and can further be destroyed.  The latter is where most of the story is told.  Will there be a revolt?  Will there not?  How do they get there and stay safe if it does? All questions to ponder as you read this book.

In addition to building a convolutedly simple and sparse world — it seemed quite box-like to me — Snyder does an excellent job with character development.  From the almost rabid Pop Cops to the group of unexpected conspirators from Upper and Lower we meet a great variety of personalities.  Through them all we learn lessons on trust and loyalty, love and friendship, but above teamwork.

Inside Out is an excellent dystopian read with a strong female in the lead.  It has the potential to teach readers valuable and useful lessons all while keeping them entertained.