The Darkness Outside Us

Written by Eliot Schrefer

Narrated by James Fouhey

They Both Die at the End meets Gravity in this mind-bending sci-fi mystery and tender love story about two boys aboard a spaceship sent on a rescue mission, from two-time National Book Award finalist Eliot Schrefer. Stonewall Honor Award winner!

Two boys, alone in space. Sworn enemies sent on the same rescue mission.

Ambrose wakes up on the Coordinated Endeavor with no memory of a launch. There’s more that doesn’t add up: evidence indicates strangers have been on board, the ship’s operating system is voiced by his mother, and his handsome, brooding shipmate has barricaded himself away. But nothing will stop Ambrose from making his mission succeed—not when he’s rescuing his own sister.

In order to survive the ship’s secrets, Ambrose and Kodiak will need to work together and learn to trust each other . . . especially once they discover what they are truly up against. Love might be the only way to survive.

* Chicago Public Library's Best of the Best Books of the Year * A Booklist Editor's Choice of the Year * A BCCB Blue Ribbon Book of the Year * A YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults & Amazing Audiobooks for Young Adults Book of the Year *

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Jun 1, 2021
• ISBN: 9780063089358

Eliot Schrefer

Eliot Schrefer is the New York Times bestselling author of many books for kids and teens, including The Darkness Outside Us and its sequel, The Brightness Between Us, as well as Charming Young Man, Endangered, and Queer Ducks (and Other Animals): The Natural World of Animal Sexuality. His books have twice been named finalists for the National Book Award in Young People’s Literature and have garnered a Printz Honor, a Stonewall Honor, and the Green Earth Book Award. He is on the faculty of the creative writing MFA program at Hamline University and lives with his husband in New York City. Visit him online at eliotschrefer.com. 

Reviews for The Darkness Outside Us

[Aviana · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absorbing, thought-provoking and heartrending. I was hooked on the mystery in the beginning, then hooked on the existential horror and on the relationship between the two. Definitely worth another listen. I enjoyed the narrator, he did a pretty good job on the voices, but the story and characters were definitely what made this one a great listen.

[Bontle Senne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Don't try to find out anything about it or skip ahead. Just go with the ride.

[Dominika Tylečková · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book was so intense and mind-bending. I loved every minute of it. It is more than just a gay romance, it has everything - action, comedy, heartbreak. Totally worth reading.

[Elizabeth Mellen · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was amazing, for fans of Illuminae, The Loneliest Girl in the Universe, and Winter's Orbit. I was expecting more romance vibes, especially with the "sworn enemies" bit, but they are barely antagonistic to each other, and what I thought would be *personal* enemies, was more like - we're from countries that are at war with each other, cold war/space race style. But I didn't miss the book I'd been expecting, because this was sci-fi thriller with a dash of romance that I am there for - sentient space ship, the difficulty of being so alone that you maybe start to crack, a planned rescue mission that isn't quite what it seems? Yes, please.

[Suzanne · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Cosmically heart wrenching and beautiful, I was thoroughly surprised by the depth of this story

[BeTTiE P · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I don’t normally go for fantasy, but decided to try this one, I am so glad I think, i kept me engaged the whole time, I found so original, wasn’t expecting the twist and kept wondering how it would end. I loved their relationship too and how it grew and changed. The narrator was amazing too! When he did the sexy voice I couldn’t stop laughing!

[Febrian Giovanni · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I’m not expecting this kind of nerve-wracking sci-fi book! I thought this book is a YA romance book with a little bit of sci-fi. But no! This book is 80% Sci-fi. It’s so epic!

The Darkness Outside Us is not just a story about a romance between two men in Space! It’s about survival, humanity, adventure, mystery, and thriller! Fantastic! All of my favorite genres in one book! And don’t forget the romance. I love Ambrose's inner monolog about Kodiak; I find it adorable.

(maybe if you are not a fan of sci-fi books, you will find this book a little bit boring.)

[Lena Schweizer · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Such a clever, clever book with twists and turns and all the feels. Probably my favourite book of the year. The pace was perfect, not rushed but moving fast at times…the love between the characters was so gently painted…all in all a complete triumph.

[Rachel Jones · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was beautiful and haunting and full of hope. The space mystery was the perfect kind of unsettling and the narrator did a fantastic job!

[Andy Marion · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

One of my all time favorite books. Twists you will never see coming, incredible writing, wonderful narration. Queer space opera at its finest, just read/listen you won't regret it!

[Grace Mix · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, I adored Kodiak's voice the most, its what has kept me listening! I hope they read the squeal!

[Johanes Escape · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Left feeling so bittersweet. Love the ending. Finishing a great book is like reaching an end of a thrilling journey. This book is has captivating characters and a unique plot. Looking forward for the sequel.

[Emm NaPe · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I rarely make reviews of books, even the ones that I have liked a ton I haven’t rated or reviewed them.

However this book has earn a special place in my heart, this story is truly exciting and immersive. I was hesitant coming into this since I read “they both died in the end (TBDITE)” and I saw a synopsis saying that this was like that book. Honestly I was not a fan of “TBDITE” and that almost made me not read this book.

This is not at all like TBDITE. So much better, interesting and deep. You fall in love with the characters and you root for them, even this book being a romance book, the romance doesn’t feel imposed there is a LOT going on and this is truly one of the best romantic stories I’ve read. It is not overly melodramatic but very very exciting and despite all they go through it is very uplifting in the end.

Great book, excellent recommendation. Ready ASAP.

[Delia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have to admit I only got to the book at my second try. At first it was a little bit difficult to get into it, so I stopped listening to it. I’m so glad I gave it another chance. It is one of the best books I have read in a long while. I took the advice in the beginning to heart and didn’t read any summaries or anything. That turned out to be a very good thing because this book is a journey with a lot of twists and turns in the best possible way. It might start of slow and superficial but it has a lot of intelligent premises and deep emotions. And it keeps getting better and better. It’s one of these books that start out pretty simple and you discover more layers and layers while you are reading/ listening. I can recommend it with my whole heart.

[Chris Healey · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved this book! Excellent read. Gay sci-fi done right. Read!

[ameera · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The greatest story ever. Ever. Ever.????. One that makes you wish you have amnesia so you could listen/read it again ???????

[Vesper · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

like the other reviews said it's hard not to spoil it, but I will say it's amazing! takes you through a lot of unexpected things but as a fair warning there is some gore? it's nothing too bad though imo. overall just a really really beautifully written and narrated book.

[Sandra Neumeier · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This whole book was a rollercoaster for me. I didn't like the main character at first. He was flat, unsympathetic and trying to be funny, but wasn't. The second character seemed like a cliché. It was boring and flat to see the characters interact with each other and their environment and situation. But I felt the author got better describing both guys and their personalities after some time and they got more depth.
After some chapters the story get's super interesting and mindfu**ery which was really cool to listen and think about. You start asking yourself questions about what you would do in such a situation.
All in all I had fun listening to it, but it took some time to get in to.


One downside was that the whole story - and beware here comes a spoiler:
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.
.
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...is completely ripped off from the movies moon or oblivion.
I don't think it's bad, I was just wondering for hours why I already know the story.

[WENDEL RODRIGUES GONÇALVES · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this book, the middle is sooo good, I really recommend to read, but I expect more to the final of the book.

[April · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So far one of my favorite book
It has all the emotion to keep u continue to read Loved it so much

[Andreea Peia · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely amazing book. Great plot, characters, it keeps you on your toes of what would happen next and on every chapter there is somethong new to be discovered.

[neve goldsmith · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Couldn’t get on with the narrator unfortunately and
not the best at physical reading.
(5 star because it’s probably amazing and It won’t let me not rate it)

[Justice Nshangalume · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It is the cute thing I have every read. And Ivey all thought the whole thing .

[Zedda TheStrugglingArtist · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow. Wow. Wow. There’s so much to say about this book, from how beautiful it’s written, to the characters and the story itself. I don’t want to say more cause if I do I might spoil the story, so please PLEASE just read it you won’t regret it

[migle · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wow, speechless, this was amazing...I laughed, I sobbed, I found hope again

[sublunarie · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Do not talk to me about anything but Ambrose and Kodiak ever again for the rest of my life!!

[izzysbookrecord · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

That was … unexpected. I am absolutely going to read the sequel, as this kept me hooked for the entire time.

[inpariswithyou · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

WARNING: This is marketed as a "tender romance within a mind-bending mystery" and sold at a YA price point, but this book is NOT a romance and it is NOT YA.

What you do have here is a very well-written, extremely engrossing sci-fi thriller with a moralistic romance subplot that feels extremely tacked-on. You have characters who feel like they're in their early twenties saying they're seventeen. (For instance, the main character -- who is presumably still in high school, even though his spacefaring programs feels a lot more like a graduate program to me -- talks about getting drunk and kissing four classmates in one day.) I am making this up, but it feels to me like Schrefer wrote a New Adult sci-fi thriller and then, to get it published, had to age it down and heat it up. This bothers me. (I'm an aspiring writer of New Adult fantasy.)

Of course, this begs the question: what makes a book YA? Censored content: lack of explicit sex and cuss words, but violence is okay? A light tone, easy topics? This book has no explicit sex, but there is a lot of violence and some really, really heavy topics. Like... really heavy. I am very much not a young adult, and this book has me perturbed. It feels almost as though books shouldn't be marketed as "Young Adult" or not but should rather have some sort of "Suitable for YA" rating system... but I digress.

I've got a lot more thoughts, but I can't write them here without huge spoilers. So, I'll just say this: The book is worth the read. It's got some pacing issues, but the twists are great. (Don't read the sequel's blurb or you'll get spoiled.) Don't go into it expecting a teen (i.e., cozy) sci-fi romance and you'll come out the other end better for it. And don't go into it if you hope to publish your own New adult cozy fantasy traditionally or you'll come out hatin

[Eric Lynch · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I like this book at the beginning, but I didn't care for the story and that they both die throughout the whole book. Overall its still a good book.

[tuusannuuska-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am always very skeptical going into a new book, knowing it's YA sci-fi (especially if there's going to be a romance element). However, this book was nothing I expected.

The romance was a side plot supporting the main story (which is usually the complete opposite with YA) and the central plot was what kept me turning pages. The main characters were 17 and 18, but that was something I effectively forgot about outside of the instances where the ages were mentioned. This would have worked even better if the book wasn't marketed towards the YA crowd and the characters were actual adults (as that was how they behaved).

From the get go, there's a strong sense of "do not trust anyone or anything", but I did not see the twist coming. (I'm pretty sure I gasped out loud.) The structuring of the book was very smart, and I absolutely cried like a little baby when the truth hit. So cleverly done.

I'm very much of two minds about the very end of the book, but I think it was the only way to wrap the story up without making this a very different story.

Easily my favorite YA sci-fi!