Outpost - Book Review

Outpost (Razorland #2)
by Ann Aguirre

What is it about:
Deuce’s whole world has changed. Down below, she was considered an adult. Now, topside in a town called Salvation, she’s a brat in need of training in the eyes of the townsfolk. She doesn’t fit in with the other girls: Deuce only knows how to fight.

To make matters worse, her Hunter partner, Fade, keeps Deuce at a distance. Her feelings for Fade haven’t changed, but he seems not to want her around anymore. Confused and lonely, she starts looking for a way out.

Deuce signs up to serve in the summer patrols—those who make sure the planters can work the fields without danger. It should be routine, but things have been changing on the surface, just as they did below ground. The Freaks have grown smarter. They’re watching. Waiting. Planning. The monsters don’t intend to let Salvation survive, and it may take a girl like Deuce to turn back the tide.

What did I think of it:
Sometimes you come across a book that touches on subjects you have often wondered about as well and that makes you wish you had written it yourself.

Enclave, the first book in the Razorland Trilogy, is such a book for me and I have been looking forward to Outpost ever since I finished reading Enclave.

Was Outpost worth the wait?

Absolutely!

Deuce is a wonderful heroine in my opinion. In Enclave it took me some time to get to like her, but it's the growth Deuce goes through in these books that makes it worth getting to know her. She's a though heroine, not your typical girly YA heroine who needs a hero to protect her. Better yet: it's often Deuce who has to do the protecting. I really like how Deuce can stand on her own, while Aguirre manages to give her enough softer characteristics that make you cheer and rejoice for Deuce when she discovers she doesn't have to do it all on her own and that there are other people who will stand by her.

Then there's the other major characters:
Fade: who's complex, hurt and insecure about where he and Deuce stand with each other. I loved him in Enclave and still love him in Outpost, although in the first part of the book there were times I wanted to whack him on the head.
Tegan: hurt and traumatized by events in Enclave she just wants to leave the past behind her. I loved the scenes between her and Deuce and wished there had been more.
Stalker: a character who at first glance seems rather straightforward, but who has more layers than an onion and has just as much bite as well.

There are lots more intriguing, cool and wonderful characters in Outpost, but to name all of my favorites would take forever. So let's leave it at this.

The story:
After the grim events in Enclave, Outpost starts out on a much brighter and more peaceful note than Enclave. But clouds are soon gathering on the horizon and it doesn't take long for the story to take a dark turn. I loved how Aguirre build the tension in this book. She gives us hope, doubt, despair and lots of other emotions in between. This book ends with quite a cliffhanger and with some of the hints given in Outpost I got the feeling the last book in this trilogy will be epic.

All in all Outpost is an amazing book that kept me up reading deep into the night to finish it. I will be rereading it often and I'll be pre-ordering book three as soon as possible.

Why should you read it:
Post Apocalyptic Awesomeness!