Outpost (edition 2012)

'Outpost', sequel to 'Enclave', deserves high marks. I'll admit it took me a few chapters to really remember the unique 'voice'used in this series, but after that, it was smooth sailing through this novel!

Unlike some 'middle' books, 'Outpost' has a clear, well defined story with a beginning, middle, and end.

'Outpost' is just as dark as 'Enclave', so don't expect this to be all sunshine and roses. There's blood. There's entrails. But that all comes with some awesome action and a good plot. (Which is something I usually don't like very much!) 'Outpost' is a good mix of action and romance and even has a well defined 'fish out of water' plot to it.

Like the first novel, the font type and size is different than your standard YA novel and might take a while to get used to. Personally, I would love if they enlarged the font a little or changed the font type. I found the look of the text distracting and kept having to re-read because there were so many words on a line and the lines were so close together.

If you enjoyed 'Enclave', you should, by all means take a look at 'Outpost'! ( )

I read a whole bunch of YA dystopias at the end of 2011 for library school. The first book in this series "Enclave" was my favorite of the ones I read then. This was a great follow-up to "Enclave" and I delayed reading it because I was afraid that it would not live up to it's predecessor but it does.

I love Deuce I think that she is a really strong female character and I found her struggles to fit in in Salvation to be really realistic. The way that she has lived her entire life thus far is wrong according to the townspeople. That is a lot to get used to. She also fears for the townspeople because she seems the threat of the Freaks and she knows they won't be able to survive. What we learn about the Freaks is also surprising and very interesting. I cannot wait until the third book comes out.

This is one of those book series that I adore but that I try not to foist on others because I know that a lot of people prefer other YA dystopian trilogies. ( )

fabulous. powerful, gripping, I had trouble putting it down. I forced myself yo read it in bits so I could savor it.

I (surprisingly) received this as an ARC, and I'm so glad I did.

the story picks up with Deuce, Face, Stalker, and Regan having settled into Salvation. ( )

The second book in the series, following Enclave. The story picks up with the main characters trying to fit into life in Salvation. When planting time arrives and freaks start attacking, Deuce, Fade, and Stalker volunteer to gaurd against the attacks. As far as sequels go this was a decent read although there was a large portion of the book where it seemed not much was happening. It did manage to redeem itself towards the end and left me anxious to read the next in the series. ( )

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

OUTPOST is a very different book from ENCLAVE. Instead of a group of teens governing themselves a la THE LORD OF THE FLIES, Deuce, Fade, Stalker, and Tegan find themselves literally adopted into the town of Salvation. Instead of focusing primarily on hunting Freaks and surviving, Deuce has to learn gender roles, attend school, and accept parental affection…yeah. It’s a big change. Aguirre still writes well and the characters have maintained believable consistency in their new circumstances, but the dramatic departure from the debut was jarring to say the least.

The whole first half of the book felt like one long lecture on gender stereotypes. The townspeople kept trying to get Deuce to conform with their puritanical notions regarding women. She naturally objected and then there were lengthy passages about gender equality etc. Not that I disagree, but it became somewhat tedious after the third ‘girls can do anything boys can do’ monologue. The romantic developments helped to breakup these parts, and only deepened my love for Fade. It was nice to see Deuce soften where he was concerned and see her own sense of wonder at her emotions regarding him. Unfortunately, that storyline ended up moving in several cliche directions.

The story did pick up when the group finally ventured outside the walls of Salvation, but they didn’t stay out there long enough to fully compensate for the slower beginning. That’s partly due to the Freaks themselves. Yes, they are still cannibalistic feral creatures, but it’s almost as if they’ve evolved. They almost end up being viewed like some indigenous people group that Deuces group just doesn’t understand. Yes, they are hostile, and yes, they eat people, but they also have baby Freaks and build houses. They just didn’t feel the same as they did in ENCLAVE.

As an audio book, the production level was good, and I appreciated that the narrator altered her voice subtly when delivering dialogue from other characters My only complaint is that she was a little too sunny in her delivery for Deuce. Still, this is a series with merit, and while OUTPOST didn’t wow me in the way that ENCLAVE did, I’m invested in these characters and where the story is headed. I’ll be interested in seeing how it ends when HORDE is published on October 29, 2013.

Sexual Content:
Kissing. References to rape ( )