3 Days of Outside
Outside
(Book 1)
by
Shalini Boland
The future is divided by Perimeters: high-security gated communities where life goes on as normal. If you’re inside you’re lucky. If you’re outside, life expectancy takes a nose dive.
Riley is fortunate to have been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes crashing down when someone breaks through and murders her sister.
She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go with her otherwise she’ll be dead before she’s past the security gate. But what awaits her outside is more unbelievable that she ever imagined.
Cut to the present day where Eleanor's world is falling apart. This time next year, civilisation won't be quite so civilised...
Riley is fortunate to have been born on the right side of the fence. But her life of privilege comes crashing down when someone breaks through and murders her sister.
She forsakes her own safety to go in search of the killer. Luc decides to go with her otherwise she’ll be dead before she’s past the security gate. But what awaits her outside is more unbelievable that she ever imagined.
Cut to the present day where Eleanor's world is falling apart. This time next year, civilisation won't be quite so civilised...
Make no mistake, The Outside is a fast paced, intriguing read that pulls you in and hangs on until the very end.
A world divided into perimeters by terror was a staggering notion but this one is a very believable and gripping read!
Shalini weaves a world into your mind that rivals Mad Max's story by far. Leaving a lasting impression in my mind forever.
Riley is brave and scared all at the same time. Luc is sweet but I was so very leery of every male in the story because of how her little sister was murdered.
Their mother has completely lost it and gone off the wagon and their father is not so much useless but his hands are tied. They live in the Perimeter which turns out to be a better place to grow up than Riley realized. She has been weapons trained and she knows how to survive. But on the outside she is quickly seeing how dirty and gritty life is and how the comforts of the perimeter are not how everyone lives.
Eleanor's story runs in tandem though it's more in the present than Riley in the future. Her trivial world of friends, love and boys is crashing down as chaos and terror take a toll on the world as a whole.
So many deaths, so many wounded and lost. Eleanor finds love and gets so wrapped up in him that she is taken by surprise when things do finally go to the dogs.
Any of it is manageable so long as she has Connor.
But jealousy and an evil mind hatch a plan that separates them and she is devastated, her friend tells her he's dead and she is left to grieve her young love..
Riley and Luc are out to search for her sister's escaped murderer. She begins to doubt she has made the right decision. Her mom who got loaded after her sister's death is now moved out of the perimeter and gone to stay with her own parents. Riley loves her mom but hates that she has had to go through the grief alone. Her Pa is so broken he really isn't much comfort either, Riley has mixed feelings about leaving him with nothing more than a note as to where she has gone and why.
She and Luc face outstanding odds along their journey finding bandits, lunatics, as well as nice, honest hard working folks. Or at least they thought they encountered nice folks, that turned out to be iffy.
Suppressed feelings between Riley and Luc bubble and fade in Riley's uncertainty. They make narrow escapes and have their lives on the line on more than one occasion.
She gets so close to taking out THE James Grey, he is a self proclaimed messiah and nut job supreme adding a sinister, greater good edge to the story. Loved the whole fork fiasco, bravo.
Riley faces bombshells upon her return and is faced with the harsh reality and the real reasons besides just the death of a child, that her mom has gone off the deep end. Her mother's story was played out so well that when the light bulb moment happens, things shift into place. Having an understanding of her as a woman and all she has been through gives such depth to an already deep story.
This book has such substance that it needs time to settle after reading and at times I had trouble digesting what my mind was figuring out. I mean Shalini Boland literally blew my mind!
Bravo, good job, so glad I have book two in my possession!
I would indeed read this book again and I definitely recommend it. A Dystopian high in grit and reality, love it!
Why I Write YA Fiction
Shalini Boland
I'm just a big kid.
I write in the Young Adult genre mainly because I identify most with that age group. I’ve never really felt like a proper grownup. (Except when I’m arguing on the phone with British Telecom).
Brave or stupid?
It’s a biological fact that teens’ brains are wired differently to adults’ brains. Which is probably why adults and teens clash so much. Teens don’t necessarily make the same informed choices that adults do. They might just do things as opposed to, erm, thinking things through. I’ve had readers say, ‘Why did such and such a character do that? It was just dumb.’ But another reader might class the same action as extreme bravery.
That’s the beauty of writing YA fiction; you have these amazing vibrant characters who just do stuff of their own accord. Sometimes, I swear they take over my laptop and write themselves.
Ahh, teen angst, I love it. It’s deliciously self-indulgent, but absolutely justified. All that sexual tension and hormonal activity racing around teen bodies is a recipe for deep introspection/rage/misery/burning love. Those moments when they gnaw the skin off their knuckles and stare at the ceiling, fuelling their angst with music and dark literature.
Coming-of-age
Forging their way in the world. Making mistakes and finding their place when everyone else seems to know theirs. I especially like dumping my teens into scary settings without parents. Making them grow up quickly. Throwing them into tricky situations where they have to lose their childish ways and come through for someone else.
I don’t write FOR young adults. I write for myself, for the memory of the teen I used to be, if that makes sense. I imagine being back at that age and how it truly felt to be neither child nor adult, but something in between. In your own exclusive world that no one else really understands. When I write, I pull out all those feelings I once had and keep them close to the surface – that first kiss, the insecurity, the excitement of new experiences. It’s all there inside us, if we care to remember. I think that’s why adults enjoy reading literature about teens – it takes us back to that time and place; like the smell of cheap aftershave or an illicit cigarette.
book 2
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