The War Inside

By M. Kircher

The end of the world is only just the beginning. So eighteen-year-old Thea discovers when her solitary life on a dying Earth is shattered by a mysterious dream, a devastating choice, and a strange gift that propels her on a journey towards the restoration of all mankind.

Thea is bitter and alone; eking out her miserable life on the sunless, cloud-covered Earth she inhabits. A terrifying dream convinces her to save the life of an injured girl, and despite her misgivings, Thea decides to rescue sixteen-year-old Viviana. She soon learns that gentle Viv has a life-threatening infection, as well as a freakish patch of glowing skin over her heart. When this light spreads to Thea, causing her palms to glow, she is forced to trust Caden, an arrogant, lazy, and annoyingly handsome boy she despises. Caden has a map to the last city on Earth, and the only place that might have a cure for both Viv's infection and the strange light on Thea's hands. As the trio embark on a journey through the barren wilderness, Thea and Caden discover, and try to fight, their mounting attraction to each other. Along the way they are joined by Rain, Naomi, and Enoch who explain that the light is not a curse, but a powerful gift meant to heal the polluted Earth and reconnect the remnants of humanity. When the group learns that Viv is the key to this planet-wide redemption, and that there are deadly shadows who will do anything to keep humans in the darkness forever, they each must make the difficult decision to help Viv fulfill her destiny...and save the world.

Don't miss "The War Inside", an exciting young adult dystopian/fantasy novel by debut author M. Kircher.

• Language: English
• Publisher: M. Kircher
• Release date: Mar 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311569387

M. Kircher

M. KIRCHER graduated with a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts from Gordon College. She devours YA, science fiction, fantasy, and romance on a regular basis and is immensely happy to pour her time and energy into creating stories for other people to enjoy. Bob Ross and J.R.R. Tolkien tie for her two favorite people of all time.M. Kircher lives in Connecticut with her husband, energetic son, and new baby girl.

Book preview

Chapter 1

It was the blood that caught Thea’s attention. Dark crimson smeared across the cheek of a pale face. She crouched down over the body to get a closer look. The girl had been injured recently; the edges of a jagged gash that ran across her forehead were just starting to swell. The blood gathered in a pool over the girl’s left eyebrow and dripped downward, outlining the curve of her finely boned jaw. Thea had never seen her before. She was small, probably twelve or thirteen years old, with a crop of mud-caked hair and long eyelashes.

Thea pushed herself back up and looked around. It was dark. Really dark. Her nose wrinkled as she peered into the gloom. Where was she? Even in the dead of night, she should’ve been able to see the outlines of the other houses, but there was only a dim shaft of light illuminating her and the girl. She peered upward. Where was the light coming from?

All of a sudden, strange noises echoed out of the darkness behind her, and Thea quickly twisted to see what they were. But there was nothing. A gaping, black void. She cocked her head and listened intently, her ears straining and her heart beginning to pound. There! She heard it again. It was then that Thea realized the sounds were voices.

Her muscles tensed as the circle of light surrounding her and the girl slowly expanded outward until the figures of two men emerged from the shadows. They were only a few yards away from her and the bloody mess of a girl at her feet. Thea could tell that the men were angry; they were yelling and pushing each other, but she couldn’t understand what they were saying.

She took a step forward over the body of the girl. The larger man, she realized, was Darren, a brutish male who lived on the outskirts of the Valley, his shack not too far from her own place. But the other man was a stranger, like the girl. He had jet-black hair and a thin frame, but Thea could tell there was deadly strength hiding beneath those bones. She watched as the two men struggled, tugging back and forth at something between them, their corded arms straining with the effort. She willed her pupils wide, taking in as much of the dim light as possible, but the object of their brawl remained unclear.

Hey! Over here! she yelled and waved her arms, but neither Darren nor the stranger seemed to hear her, though they were only a couple of lengths away from her and the girl. Thea wasn’t scared of either of the men. No, it was the darkness that was starting to make her feel itchy—and the strange light overhead. She looked down and wiggled her fingers. And the way that everything seemed slightly out of focus.

Something wasn’t right.

Thea bent her knees and felt around in the mud until her fingers caught the edges of something hard. Perfect, this was exactly what she needed.

She dug the medium-sized stone out of the muck. After judging its weight in the palm of her hand, Thea leaned back and flung the thing at Darren’s head, putting the full power of her body into the throw. But instead of getting his attention, the rock missile sailed right through Darren’s skull as if it were made of flesh-colored smoke! Thea gasped. The man hadn’t even so much as flinched as the rock tore through his almost skin; he just continued to wrestle his dark-haired opponent as if nothing had happened.

Thea sucked a breath in through her teeth, trying to settle the distinctly uneasy feeling that was clawing at her stomach. She glanced back down at the injured girl and jumped back in surprise. She was gone! The girl had just…disappeared. Vanished into thin air. Thea blinked and ground the palms of her hands into her eyelids. What the hell was happening to her?

And that’s when the voice spoke for the first time.

Keep her alive, it whispered softly from the empty space behind Thea’s right ear.

Her muscles tensed, and the hairs on the back of her neck prickled. Thea whirled around, ready to face this unknown assailant, but as she did she noticed for the first time that her staff was clenched tightly in both hands. Had it been there a moment ago? For the life of her, Thea couldn’t remember. Either way, its familiar presence felt reassuring. She flipped the weapon around and shoved its rusty metal tip out into the darkness.

Who said that? Thea demanded, her tone hard and threatening.

Keep her alive, the voice repeated, like the edges of a cold wind. The words wrapped around her and sent a chill straight down her spine. The voice had moved. Now it spoke from somewhere just beside her left shoulder. She pivoted toward the sound, the thick treads of her boots grinding into the dirt and her staff poised to strike. But no one was there.

And then Thea saw the two men vanish, their bodies suddenly melting into black void, just like the girl. Her chest tightened. A hundred fights she’d fought, and nothing frightened her more than this bizarre encounter and the disembodied voice taunting her in the night.

Show yourself! Thea screamed at the space where the voice had whispered last, but everything was silent. There was nothing around her but darkness and the beat of her frantically pounding heart. Thea braced herself.

And then someone was shaking her.

Chapter 2

Get up! a bony woman with auburn hair twisted into a tight bun barked in Thea’s ear and poked her fingers into Thea’s side. Thea managed to peel open her eyes, her lids like sandpaper, and peered around groggily. The woman frowned. I don’t have all day, girl, she snapped and yanked down the tattered blankets.

Mirrim, Thea groaned, her head still foggy with sleep. Wha’ the? What’r’you doing here? She yanked the covers back up. Go away; it’s too early to deal with you.

Ha! the woman spat and gave Thea another good shove. As if I care. Wake up, I need a favor.

Thea moaned and threw her arm over her head.

But Mirrim was not a woman to be deterred by something as ineffectual as an arm. She grasped the raggedy, gray blankets wedged beneath Thea’s torso and with a quick heave rolled her onto the cold, wooden floor below.

Thea landed with a thud, her right hip exploding in pain as her elbows crashed into the unforgiving planks.

Ow! she grunted. She was awake now. Awake and mad.

She rolled onto her stomach and pushed up off the floor, brushing the tangled mess of her own auburn hair off her face. Out of the corner of her eye, Thea saw that a small twig had caught in the shoulder of her bed shirt, and she flicked it off impatiently. She glared at Mirrim. Why did the bag of bones think she could just barge in any time she wanted?

Get out of my house, Thea growled and jutted her chin out defiantly.

Mirrim crossed her arms, widened her stance, and thinned her lips into a straight line. The woman was settling in for a fight. Thea’s hands clenched. She would not let Mirrim get under her skin. She would stay in control.

Apparently, Mirrim was determined to test this resolution.

My, my! Someone’s in a snit this morning, aren’t we, Thaaay-ya? Mirrim cackled, drawing out Thea’s name in a way that made her grind her teeth with irritation. The woman shoved her hands on her hips and cocked her head to the side. Don’t you think it’s a bit rude to speak so disrespectfully to your own mother? she demanded.

Thea sighed and rubbed her forehead. It was too early for this kind of crazy. Her head felt fuzzy, and something was nagging at the back of her mind. She tuned out Mirrim’s ranting for a moment and tried to think.

Yes, that was it. The blood and the girl. The two men being swallowed into the darkness and the creepy voice. The whole thing had been a dream. Of course! A nightmare caused by some kind of hallucinogenic reaction to bad meat or chemicals in the water. Thea wanted to be relieved, but Mirrim’s shrill voice was making it extremely difficult to concentrate. She took a deep breath and held up her hand, cutting Mirrim off midstream.

What do you want? she asked in measured tones.

Humpf! If you think that I raised you to talk…

Enough! Thea yelled, finally losing her temper. Tell me why you’re here, or I throw your bony butt out into the mud right now!

Mirrim squared her shoulders and lifted her chin. Well, if you must know, Miss High and Mighty, I need some more of that tree sap. The rain’s been getting through my roof at night, and all the firewood’s damp. Can’t burn anything.

All this for tree sap? It was enough to drive Thea mad.

Why don’t you fix your roof then? Thea said as her eyes scoured the floor. She reached left, under her bed, and pulled out a pair of worn leather pants. She tugged them on as Mirrim answered.

Well, Alex said he was going to do it the other day, but…

But as usual, your men don’t deliver on their many promises, Thea cut in. She shook her head and pulled a thick woven shirt over her curls. As her tousled mop of hair popped out of the neck, she sighed. Mirrim never expected her men to actually do any of the things they promised her. She just came to Thea whenever something needed building or repairing.

Fine, she said. If it’ll get you to stop badgering me, go ahead and take some. Thea gestured to a cluster of small clay pots on a shelf in the corner of the room, and Mirrim quickly scurried over. Thea took a strip of cloth from the makeshift table beside her bed and began to twist her thick curls into a knot. She yanked hard on the ends and tied the whole thing on the side of her neck. By the end of the day, wayward tendrils would escape their tight confines and plaster themselves all over her face. She should just hack it all off.

As Mirrim messed about in her things, Thea bent over to tie a leather belt around her waist and pull on her boots.

And don’t let this give you any ideas about that roof, Mirrim. I’m not fixing it. Not this time.

Mirrim nodded absently as she peeked under the lid of one of the jars. It must have been the right one, for she snatched it up and thrust it in her pocket.

Sure, sure. Whatever you say, she muttered and hurried out the door before Thea had finished tying her laces.

You’ve got to be kidding me! Thea exclaimed when she looked up saw the empty spot where the jar had stood. Freaking woman took the whole thing! She leaped to the doorway, but it was too late. Through the early morning gloom she could see Mirrim’s thin figure beating a hasty retreat. She was fast, too, having spent most of her life skirting the angry fists of drunken men. Thea wished, not for the first time, that there were locks left somewhere. Anywhere. She’d travel a hundred miles and trade ten jars of sap for just one lock and key—anything to keep that pest out of her hair and her house for good.

Now that she was dressed and in a thoroughly horrible mood, Thea decided to skip breakfast and hunt. And she would have to find some more sap now that her supply was gone. She grabbed her staff from its resting place by the door and stepped out into the dewy, gray mist.

* * * *

Thea didn’t know why everyone still called this morning. It was the same all day, every day. The thick layer of clouds overhead, and dim, damp, and cold below. The whole world was one soggy, slate-colored mess. The weather only shifted when it rained, which was often, or when night fell, darkness rolling over the earth like an inky tide.

Stinking depressing is what it is, Thea muttered and wiped her nose on the sleeve of her shirt. She’d been born under the canopy and would probably die staring up at its ominous, pressing weight, but that didn’t mean she’d ever get used to it. There was something innately human about wanting to feel the sun warm your goose-pimpled flesh, burrowing into the very core of you until every atom radiated heat and vitality and life. But that would never happen for her. Or anyone. Ever again.

Thea’s boots squelched through the mud as she trudged across the wide plain toward the forest ahead. She settled her staff over both shoulders, the crooks of her elbows resting on its smooth, familiar shape.

When she reached the line of trees that marked the edge of the plain, she ducked inside, keeping her head down and the rusty metal tip of her staff out in front of her. Dark, leafless branches tangled overhead, and thorn-covered vines clutched at her feet. The farther Thea moved into the wilderness, the darker it became. It was as if she were piercing the black soul of the horrible, lifeless place.

* * * *

She emerged hours later covered in mud but swinging more than one grungy carcass off the back of her belt. She paused a moment, letting her pupils readjust to the slight increase in light outside of the trees. Thea was pleased, the dark mood created by Mirrim hours ago all but gone as she greedily contemplated a day or two of hot meat roasting over her hearth.

It took about five minutes for Thea to recross the plain back to her tiny, one-room shack. It was set slightly apart from the rest of the shabby dwellings, closer to the dark river that bordered the edge of the forest and wrapped around her settlement. Those who lived here called it the Valley because of the three tall mountains that loomed over their stretch of flat, muddy land like grim sentries.

Thea liked living away from the others, and they seemed content with the arrangement as well. So when she heard the deep bellows of angry men near a small group of houses to her right, she instinctively turned away. She could go another way, avoid trouble, and still get home. But as Thea altered her route, she couldn’t help but spot something strange out of the corner of her eye. Something small and bent lying on the ground. She paused. No, it couldn’t be.

Thea’s breath caught as she turned back toward the fight and slowly inched closer, keeping her body low and the walls of a dingy shack between her and the figure on the ground. Then she saw the two men locked in an angry embrace. Instantly, she recognized Darren and the dark stranger from her dream.

She shut her eyes. She couldn’t possibly have dreamed this. That would be insane! She slid one eyelid open just a hair, and her stomach twisted. It was the same girl all right. A tiny, inert lump with a face covered in blood.

Thea sneaked a bit closer to the body, trying to keep herself hidden behind corners and walls, but Darren and the strange man were so absorbed in each other that they didn’t notice her creeping around from behind.

The girl was very small. Her features were delicate, beautiful in a childlike way. Thea pushed back the girl’s choppy bangs with the blunted end of her staff. Yep, there was the cut, just like in her dream. She let out the breath she’d been holding with a nervous whoosh. Blood was everywhere. Thea also noticed that girl’s left arm was bent beneath her at an angle that meant it was either broken or dislocated.

Suddenly, there was a loud thump, and Thea looked up to see that the stranger had wiggled his way out of Darren’s grasp and managed to flip the larger man onto his back. She tensed, ready to flee if he saw her. The dark-haired man pinned Darren to the ground with one forearm and with his other hand slipped something small and glinting into the back of his belt. While his opponent struggled beneath him, the stranger raised his head, and a pair of light-gray eyes locked onto Thea. Her heart stopped. There was something about his gaze that intimidated her. Something that spelled death.

They stayed that way for a moment, just staring at one another, until his eyes slid down to the girl. Thea saw the corner of the man’s mouth tilt upward into a smile. Quickly, the stranger hauled Darren onto his feet and wrapped a thin arm around his neck. He yanked hard on Darren’s throat until the large man slumped forward, his blockish head lolling to one side. Thea didn’t know if he was dead or not, but she wasn’t going to stick around and find out.

She stood and began to back away from the injured girl, flipping her staff around and pointing it in front of her. Dream or no dream, this mess was none of her business. The stranger kicked the limp form of Darren out of his way and narrowed his eyes at the two females. He started walking toward her and the girl.

That was it then. Thea turned and ran.

Behind her she could hear his footsteps accelerating, and her chest tightened with fear. Then—Oh thank god—Thea heard the sound of shouting. Some of the others had happened by and noticed Darren’s body.

She looked back over her shoulder and saw a group of men and women picking through Darren’s pockets. The dark-haired man was gone! Thea whipped her head right and left, searching for any sign of him, but the stranger had vanished. She wasn’t taking any chances, though, and picked up her pace, heading toward home.

Keep the girl alive! a voice thundered at her out of nowhere, almost shattering her eardrums.

Thea was so startled that she tripped over her own feet and fell flat on her face. What the hell was that! She quickly scrambled up, but there was no one close enough to have spoken so loudly. She took a tentative step forward, her fingers clamped around her staff, but the voice roared at her again, almost as if it was inside her head.

Keep her alive! The words reverberated through her skull.

Thea clutched her head. It was just like the dream. Except this time the voice wasn’t soft and whispering. It demanded she pay attention.

I’m actually losing my mind, she muttered and clenched her fists. This wasn’t happening. Dreams were not real! This voice was just some leftover chemicals her system was trying to flush out. She’d heard of it before—people having strange reactions to the toxins in the water or wild game they killed. Thea looked around to make sure no one was close enough to hear her and whispered fiercely, Leave me alone! She paused and waited a moment, listening. When all was silent, she knew she was right.

Thea squared her shoulders. She cared about one thing and one thing alone. Herself. The only way to deal with these hallucinations was to ignore them; they’d go away soon enough. Her boots made crunching sounds in the gritty mud as she stalked toward her house and away from the tiny girl, lying broken and bleeding behind her.

Thea didn’t once turn to look back. And there weren’t any more voices as she walked away.

Chapter 3

That night a storm rolled over the Valley. Despite Thea’s best efforts at waterproofing, frigid droplets found their way through the plastic scraps that served as her roofing and plopped here and there around the small, dingy room that she called home.

The fire crackled as Thea stretched herself across the hard wooden planks of her bed. Her stomach was full of half-burned nutria, and she felt slightly nauseous. The trick was to cook the rodents slow, trying to keep as much of the juices in the meat as possible. But Thea wasn’t much good at cooking, so everything always came out dry and slightly singed. She hoped that the animal didn’t carry any pollutants like the two squirrels she’d eaten yesterday obviously had, but it was insanity to throw away meat these days. You either starved or ate what you could find and took the chance that it might kill you.

Her eyes felt heavy as the rain thrummed overhead. She wrapped a couple of threadbare blankets around her shoulders, and when another drop plopped onto her hair, Thea reflexively shifted her body out of its way. She was used to the leaks.

Tucking the blankets in closer around her, she stared at the flickering flames and tried to forget everything that had happened today. Slowly, she fell into the blissful oblivion of sleep.

* * * *

Boom! A loud clap of thunder startled Thea awake, and she looked around her in a panic, her chest heaving and her body covered in sweat. It was still dark outside, the storm raging overhead. She took a deep breath. She was safe, alone in her own house, in her own bed.

Thea ran a trembling hand through her tangled curls and wiped the cold sweat off her forehead.

She had dreamed about the girl again. It had been almost exactly the same as before, except this time the disembodied voice that was now haunting both her waking and sleeping moments had been much more insistent.

Keep her alive! it had screamed at her out of nowhere as Thea stood next to the bleeding girl.

Why? Thea shrieked back into the black, gaping void. Why should I care what happens to her?

And this one time, the voice had answered her.

Save the girl, save yourself, it bellowed enigmatically.

What? I don’t understand! Thea demanded angrily, but the voice had been silent then. And her questions went unanswered.

Then the clap of thunder woke her up.

She tucked the damp, tangled strands of her hair behind her ears and slumped forward into the thin blankets, her forehead resting on her kneecaps. The rain pounded steadily outside. If she went out now, it’d take days to dry. Thea’s skin felt prune-ish just thinking about it.

Not to mention, the girl was probably dead by now, if she wasn’t some pollution-induced fantasy conjured from the depths of Thea’s chemically addled brain. She’d been lying outside all day, unprotected and seriously injured. Thea stared into the covers.

Crap, she muttered. Crap, crap, crap.

You just didn’t go around helping people. Even people who might only be a figment of your imagination. You left them to their own messes. Or their messes became your messes. And then everything went to hell.

However, this whole dream-slash-reality thing was really starting to freak her out. Maybe if she just did what the creepy voice told her to do, it would all go away.

Thea punched her pillow, groaning loudly, then peeled herself out of bed and grabbed a handful of clothes off the floor.

She was going to regret this.

* * * *

The rain soaked through Thea’s thick leather pants and shirt in seconds, chilling her to the bone. Her teeth chattered, and her boots kept sticking in the now-inch-deep mud as she stalked through the darkness from her tiny shack

Reviews for The War Inside

[lizasarusrex · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

When I learned that this was a dystopian book, I immediately jumped on it. A girl is left alone on what is left of Earth, which is very little, as the planet is dying itself. People have become detached completely from society and are no longer found in pairs or group situations, avoiding attachments to one another completely. The world has changed drastically, and the characters are in the dark when it comes to what is going on all over the Earth.It was great how the author slowly killed off the planet and how much humanity, or lack there of, was changed drastically. I could vividly see the images the author was trying to portray, so all the writing was very expressive and the use of adjectives was amazing.Since the book is from Thea's point a view, I thought we would be opened up to her mind much more than we were. She seemed like she had no thoughts or feelings about pretty much anything. Also, since we are watching her character develop along the way through the story, I would've liked to know more about how she felt about what was happening around her. What I did gather from her was that she seemed overly cheerful or happy considering her situation, which I found odd. Maybe it was from lack of getting to know her.By the end of the book, I did find myself left with unanswered questions I wish would have been closed up, but maybe this is an indication of a sequel to come. Who knows.There is so much more to this book, but I don't want to spoil the whole book for you. Pick it up, check it out. It's unique in the dystopian genre and I think you'll most likely enjoy this book assuming you like dystopian books. I would rate this book a 4/5. Can't wait for follow up books.

[mybookaddiction_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A-freaking-mazing. I love end-of-the-world, dystopian stories, and this one was spot on. It’s theme of what is causing the world to be in such a depressing condition, is easily believable, considering our world’s love of technology and the ever-increasing distance we seem to be putting between ourselves and others. Although the Internet and social networking seem to be doing the exact opposite, it’s easy to see that people (especially teenagers) rely on that screen to separate them emotionally. I often find myself preferring to type a quick message on Facebook than actually call and talk to a live person, let alone drive to see someone in person. It’s scary how easily I could see humanity devolving into a similar condition of no trust and constant avoidance of others. I don’t give 5’s very easily, but this one came very close. For a first-time novel, Kircher did an excellent job of characterization and world-building. Rain is my favorite so far, though I can’t quite put my finger on why. I’m glad Thea listened to the dreams and rescued Viviana in the beginning. I can’t imagine how scary going against all you’ve lived and been taught would have been in that situation. Kircher’s underlying themes of trust and kindness being the key to saving the world, come at a time when it seems a lot of humanity is forgetting that. I hope these books find a wide audience. They are easily as good as The Hunger Games, and I can’t wait to see the reception of this author and her future books, both for this series and any others she might dream up one day.Rating: 4.5HEAT Rating: NoneReviewed By: Daysie W.Review Courtesy of: My Book Addictions and More

[mcushing7 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I am giving this book 5 of 5 stars because it was an imaginative, brilliantly descriptive read!!! I loved it!!! Seriously! I will say I was a little skeptical at first because of the “Dark Nature” of the authors writing, but once I realized that it was her intent to give off that “dark” feeling in her writing and was able to see what the outcome could be, with the hope and possibility of a brighter future that the author was trying to imply…. I FELL IN LOVE!!!OK… so I have to state that this book is very different than anything I have read. I have read plenty of Dystopian novels but this one is a cold and dark dystopian novel which was a little hard for me to get into at first, maybe for the sheer fact that it is a scarier reality for me than other Dystopian Novels. Basically you can read the synopsis of this book from Goodreads or Amazon… but what drove the overall point of this authors writing home for me…. Was an excerpt from Enoch.Here is the excerpt from Enoch… it describes the situation of this story beautifully….“Our planet is dying as you all well know, but it wasn’t always like this!” Enoch Explained. “Before the blackout and before the canopy of pollution that blankets the earth, the sun shone brightly. The Earth was green and lush, and the sky was bright blue, just the color of your eyes, Rain. People were different then. They had families, married, and made children out of love. They grew old together. People sang and danced and created art. It was a wonderful time. But then people became greedy and absorbed in what they called technology. This technology ate up more and more of their time and hearts. Soon they forgot about each other. They forgot to care about their families. They even forgot that there was a whole beautiful world outside that they were polluting to death with chemicals and trash. Before the change ~ people tried to be good and do what is right. After ~ it was every man for himself ~ dark and tragic!!!”When I read this passage… the whole novel totally clicked for me and I found myself unable to stop reading it!!! I am unable to wait for the sequel because the author left off with a cliff hanger ending…. But that is fine… it makes me await the next book even more. I found myself in love with Caden and Thea actually developing feelings for each other while venturing on their travels to the last know city on earth, The Stronghold. These feelings are what mark a change to the cold heartless world they live in… because they find themselves starting to feel and care about each other and their friends… and this is something that no one ever did in their world. It leaves us all with hope and that is all right with me! And I really like Caden’s bad boy character and Thea’s tough girl character! Throw in Rain and Viv, and Naomi and Enoch and you have a fabulous cast! Thanks so much to M. Kircher for writing such an amazingly imaginative, fabulously descriptive, Dystopian Novel.

[grubac_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Note: I received this book in exchange for an honest reviewThe war inside is a really great young adult book with an imaginary and dark futuristic world, interesting characters, great writing and the plot that makes you want to keep reading, and reading, and reading.Imagine a future without the sun….the planet so polluted that the sunlight can no longer reach it. Without it, everything is dark, dreary and life is hard. People are alienated and think only of themselves. Even though the book is dystopian, the world and the writing have a fantasy feel to it that I loved. The characters and the dynamic between them is great. Headstrong and independent Thea and annoyingly handsome, arrogant and cocky Caden cannot stand one another. Thea is used to being alone and taking care of herself and only herself - just like the rest of the world does. It is the survival of the fittest rule that you either learn very young and live or don’t learn. But then Thea started having these weird dreams that, despite her own rules, compel her to save an injured girl. She soon learns that the girl is anything but usual. Viviana in unusually kind, positive and good-natured. But she and also has strange glowing skin over her heart that freaks Thea out. When this strange light spreads to Thea’s hands and Viviana’s life is hanging by a thread, Thea has no choice but to trust Caden who supposedly has the map to the last city. The three of them set on a journey that is just a beginning of a great and dangerous adventure that may impact not just them, but the future of the whole planet. I've already placed an order of the book for the library so that my students can read it and enjoy it as well. I am REALLY looking forward to the sequel.