Outside In: Review

Recently, I read Outside In by Sarah Ellis. Although the book was nominated for a Red Maple award, I didn't have high hopes for it because the Forest of Reading books don't usually intrigue me.  None the less, the book had a great plot and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Summary: The book is about a girl named Lynn who lives with her careless, free spirited, and annoying mother, Shakti. The story really begins when Lynn starts choking at a bus stop. A girl in a kilt does the Heimlich Maneuver on her, but runs off before Lynn gets a chance to know her. Lynn and her friends, Kas and Celia, try to track down the girl, but they aren't successful. Meanwhile, all 3 of them are preparing for the choir competition. Although Lynn was really excited to go, Shakti didn't mail in her passport application form. This resulted in Lynn yelling at Shakti about how she wanted to go to the choir competition to get away from her.


Lynn is disappointed that she's missing the competition, but it may be a good thing. Lynn finally meets the Heimlich Maneuver girl. Her name is Blossom and she is an Underlander.

It took a while for Lynn to fully understand the Underlanders. They live underground and make or trade for the things they need. The Underlanders  also use things that the "Citizens" throw out. Blossom, her father Fossick, and her brothers Larch and Tron are a family, but they aren't biologically related. The Underlanders have to stay a secret, otherwise Blossom, Larch, and Tron would be taken away and Fossick would go to jail. Lynn thinks that their lifestyle is amazing, and swears to secrecy.

After a while, Shakti, Kas and Celia are all mad at Lynn. Shakti is mad that Lynn stayed out all night with people she doesn't know, and Kas and Celia think that Lynn has found better friends than them. Lynn ends up telling her mother about the Underlanders, but makes her promise not to tell anyone. Shakti agrees, but she gets irritated and spills the whole story to the news.

Lynn's very upset and worried about the Underlanders. They are no longer at their home underground. Lynn attempts to find them and...

I won't spoil the book, but I must say, I didn't really like the ending. I felt as though there was more to be said.

Characters: The main character was Lynn. I thought Lynn was a realistic, well-rounded girl. The only problem I really had with Lynn was that there was no description of how old she was, or what she looked like. I would guess that she's around 13. The other characters were also well described, and I liked most of them.

Setting: There were many different settings in this book. My favourite setting was the Underlanders' home. There was a thorough description of it, and there were also interesting things described, within such as cardboard chairs and toilets that you have to climb up to. I could easily imagine every setting.

In the end, I thought the book had a great plot and it really made me think. My favourite quote from the book is this:

"You could. You could call Sunday Wednesday. Be awake and living at 3 a.m. Use T-shirts instead of sheets. Eat lettuce like an apple. Blow your nose on socks. Take four unrelated people and make a family."

 I loved this quote because it's true (and well written). You could call Sunday Wednesday and blow your nose on socks.  It's just uncommon in society.

I loved Outside In and will definitely read more books by Sarah Ellis.