Review: Outside by Laura Bickle

The Outside by Laura Bickle
Publisher: Harcourt Children's House
Release Date: September 3, 2013
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes & Noble

One girl. One road. One chance to save what remains…

After a plague of vampires is unleashed in the world, Katie is kicked out of her Amish community for her refusal to adhere to the new rules of survival. Now in exile, she enters an outside world of unspeakable violence with only her two “English” friends and a horse by her side. Together they seek answers and other survivors—but each sunset brings the threat of vampire attack, and each sunrise the threat of starvation.

And yet through this darkness come the shining ones: luminescent men and women with the power to deflect vampires and survive the night. But can these new people be trusted, and are they even people at all?

In this edge-of-your-seat thriller, it’s up to one Amish girl to save her family, her community, and the boy she loves . . . but what will she be asked to leave behind in return?

My thoughts:
If you read my review of the first book in this series, The Hallowed Ones, then you know that I am a HUGE fan of this author.  Laura Bickle managed to completely scare the daylights out of me with her insane vampires and I couldn't wait to get my hands on The Outside, the sequel.  Where The Hallowed Ones scared me and made me want to take shelter The Outside showed me that humans will overcome whatever is thrown at them and made me slowly crawl out of my hole.

I have to say something though about this book. While I did like it this one is very heavy handed in the religion aspect.  I understand why because Katie is Amish and her faith is a huge part of who she is, but I felt like it was kind thrown at you and right in your face.  The Hallowed Ones definitely had the religion in it, but I just didn't feel like it was a huge part of the book.  I felt more like I was learning along with Alex about how the Amish lived.  In this one I felt like Katie was going through more of a faith meltdown and that part did turn me off.  Like I said I understand why the religion was there, I mean it had to be when everything Katie knew was turned upside down, but I just wish it wasn't on every other page.  I think in my opinion there were other things that could have been given more attention.

Even with the religion being a strong part of the book I still really enjoyed it. Bickle's vampires are like no other and truly give me the creeps.  I had goosebumps several times throughout and I honestly never knew if Katie and her friends were going to survive or not.  This book made me sit on the edge of my seat the entire time I loved it.

I loved Alex.  He stood by Katie and never once pressured her or made her choose between her faith and him.  It is rare that we get to see two main characters who are love interests not fight and this was one of those rare times.  They just understood each other and it was refreshing.  Katie was an awesome character who would do anything to help anyone even at the expense of her own life.  I really admired her for that even when I was screaming at her to run.

My only other wish for this book was that I wanted more of a conclusion.  I don't quite buy into the ending so I would have liked something a little different.  I guess after the build up I just wanted a more balls to the wall approach if you get my meaning.  I am definitely a fan of Laura Bickle's for life though and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next!

3 snowflakes

Review: The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Release Date: September 25, 2012
Purchase: Amazon / Barnes and Noble

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community? The suspense of this vividly told, truly horrific thriller will keep the pages turning.

  
My Thoughts:
The Hallowed Ones has scared the ever living daylights out of me and I LOVED it!  If you are looking for that creepy Halloween read look no further!  I can guarantee this one will satisfy your spooky craving and leave you shivering with goosebumps.  

In the first few chapters I thought this book was going to turn out being more of a psychological thriller rather than in your face creatures of the night scary, but boy was I WRONG.  I will NEVER forget page 120 and I will NEVER walk into a huge store cooler again *shudders*  To put all this into perspective for you I was so scared out of my mind that I would not open my closet or go into my guest room because the lights were off in there and I was terrified something would grab me!  I have also sworn off my basement..nuh huh not going in there ever again.  What makes this book so scary are the vampires.  I know we have all read about them before, but lately it seems all the vampire books are about the dreamy vamp.  Don't get me wrong I still love my dreamy vamps, but every once in awhile it is nice to bring back the scary vampires and all the gore. Laura Bickle does this brilliantly!

The story starts off normal enough with Katie and Amish teenager getting ready to leave her community for Rumspringa. This is where young men and women are offered the opportunity to see the world and make their choice whether they want to commit to the Amish lifestyle or not. Most come back and pledge their faith, but some discover that they are meant for more. Katie isn't sure which side of the fence she will fall into and when a helicopter crashes into the field by her house, Katies dreams of going off are sidelined by the impact this crash has on her community. Katie finds out that the Outside has been taken over by something and that her little community is one of the only safe places left in the US, but for how long??  When Katie takes matters into her own hands things really get put into perspective and holy vampire babies does IT.GET.REAL!

I haven't ever read a book set in this type of setting so I was enthralled by all the Amish culture and practices. I will say that this book tends to be a little heavy handed with the religion, but I didn't feel preached too. The author did a wonderful job at keeping the background, history, and faith as just a part of the book. It felt more like I was in a history lesson and I really enjoyed it learning about the Amish way of life.  The only other thing that didn't quite sit well with me was the ending. I am not sure if I liked how it all went down.  I liked the blood crazed vampires and to see that they do have somewhat of a thought process kinda bummed me out.  I am going to give the author some leeway here though because I have faith in her and I have a feeling she will keep these vampires scary.

I thought this book was fantastic!  It totally held my attention and I am eager for the sequel!

4.5 Snowflakes