Review: Dark Inside by Jeyn Roberts

Dark Inside 

Author: Jeyn Roberts
Series: Dark Inside, Book One
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Genre: Young Adult Dystopian
Format: Hardcover, 336 pages
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Source: Mid-Columbia Libraries

Synopsis: 
  
After a massive earthquake rocks the Earth destroying whole cities and killing millions, strange things begin to happen. People begin to turn on friends and family and mass killing sprees are wreaking havoc across the globe. The world is in complete chaos. Four teens are struggling to survive and the only way to do that is to work together. But how can they trust each other when the rest of humanity is trying to kill them? All they have left to hold onto is the hope that the future holds something brighter if they can survive this apocalypse.

My Review:

Dark Inside was a dark and mysterious story. It was very brutal and made me think of zombies. Although humans haven’t turned into monsters that eat each other, they have turned into killing machines. Something is driving most humans to turn on each other and brutally murder people that they may have once cared about. Now, I’m not a huge fan of zombie books, movies, TV shows, etc. So even though this wasn’t zombies exactly, the idea was so similar that it kind of turned me off to the book. However, I did like the underlying idea that humanity brought this upon themselves. Jeyn Roberts discusses ancient civilizations far ahead of their times such as the Romans who eventually crumbled. It appears that in this story, humans have been selfish and violent for far too long and now some greater, unknown force is going to put an end to it once and for all. All technology stops working, which I though was a little cliché. There is no electricity, no cell phones, no radio, and no internet. Running water still appears to work in most places though.

The author wrote the story from the perspectives of four different teenagers. She dedicates different chapters to each teen. This made it kind of confusing for me until I finally got to know each of the characters names and backstories. During the first half of the book, I found myself asking “ok, which one is Michael again?” It was hard for me to distinguish between the characters. About halfway through though, I started to catch on. There are also chapters dedicated to a mysterious person she calls “Nothing.” These chapters really creeped me out. They are extremely dark thoughts that feel ultra-personal. The “Nothing” chapters are also written in first person whereas all other chapters are written in third. I wasn’t really sure how I felt about that, I guess indifferent.

Alright, so we have Mason. His character is in a very dark place throughout the book. He struggles with his emotions and guilt. Every time he loses someone, he feels like he should have done more or could have done more. He has an attitude throughout the book that he deserves to be punished. He feels that he doesn’t deserve to find any other survivors because he doesn’t deserve the companionship of other people. This kind of bothered me, but also made his character more interesting. He is a survivor, but has almost a numb feeling to him.

Clementine is a cheerleader from a small town in the Midwest. She is trying to find her brother who lives in Seattle. She surprised me. Of course, when I found out she was a cheerleader, I was prepared to be annoyed by a whiny girl who couldn’t do anything for herself. But surprisingly, she does quite well on her own. She stays calm and keeps her wits about her. Finding her brother is definitely a driving force for her and I think that is what truly keeps her moving forward. She has several close calls, but always seems to manage escape. She did have her occasional “cheerleader” moments, but for the most part, she was calm and collected.

Michael is probably the least developed character of the four teens. I kept getting his and Mason’s characters/experiences confused. Maybe the names are too similar for me. I don’t know. At first, Michael seemed like he was going to be a courageous leader to the survivors, but after a while we discover that he is in fact, still just a kid who is as scared as anyone else. He feels guilty for not being able to be strong enough, but I sympathized with him. I think he beats himself up for feeling scared, but he’s only human. I would have been worried if he wasn’t scared of crazy humans chasing him down trying to kill him. He begins to try and redeem himself throughout the book as he meets the other teens. He wants to help the other survivors no matter what and develops a “no man left behind” policy for himself.

Aries is the strongest character in the book to me. She was in Vancouver, British Columbia when the massive earthquake ripped through the entire west coast of North America. Instead of running and panicking like most people were doing, she systematically started searching for her friend Sara in the rubble and helped other survivors she encountered along the way. She is a true leader in the book. People look up to her and trust her judgment. She is resilient and strong. She is the perfect leader because her number one priority is keeping her group alive. She isn’t afraid to admit when nothing can be done though, as hard as it is. She seems to deal with loss well. Either that or she just suppresses all her feelings. I think that in actuality, surviving is the number one priority and none of these kids has time to process what they are feeling.

Overall this book was okay. I wasn’t super impressed, but I wasn’t bored by it either. My biggest complaint is the confusion between characters. They are four different people in four different places in North America so it was hard to follow at times. The story was very dark and apocalyptic which intrigued me, but also felt very zombie like which turned me off. The “Nothing” character is very fascinating and I am looking forward to reading the next book to learn more about him/her/it. The second book, Rage Within, is currently available for purchase and is on my list of books to read. Happy reading, all! 

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