REVIEW: The Outside by Laura Bickle

Title: The Outside
Author: Laura Bickle
Publication Date: September 3, 2013
Source: Via Oyster Books

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?

ADD THE OUTSIDE TO YOUR GOODREADS TBR

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AMAZON / KOBO

I didn't think that The Outside could top the first book, The Hallowed Ones but I was wrong. The Outside was full of action, Greek mythology, science fiction & vampire nuns. Yes, you read that correctly. Vampire. Nuns.

Katie, Alex & her English friend, Ginger are shunned from the Amish community and sent into the dangerous Outside. With the hope of locating Alex & Ginger's families, they set out on a journey north. Ginger was also in The Hallowed Ones. She was an older lady who bought puppies from Katie's golden retrievers. She was trapped inside the community when hell broke loose. I loved Ginger. She was like a mother figure to Katie.

The Outside deals with loss, survival & faith. Katie sticks to her guns when it comes to her beliefs and how she was raised. Alex clings more to science and the Greek gods. It's interesting to read the stories and see how they are applied to the situation that they are going through.

The vampires are still blood thirsty monsters. We experience many more in The Outside than the first book. Their journey is not an easy one. Every night brings the threat that they may not see the next morning. A lot of this reminded me of The Walking Dead. Just in the survival/fighting lifestyle that they were leading. A few of the situations that they encounter are touch and go. It would be terrifying in real life!

My favorite scenario is when they camp out inside the department store. It was such a touching/feeling moment. And I loved the survivors they run into along the way but i'm not sure that I'm a fan of the solution that they discovered. It was a strange one but it didn't change how I felt about the story as a whole. It worked. And overall, it was fantastic.

You need these books in your life. Trust me. You will not be sorry.

4 KA-BOOMS!