iNSiDE by S.A. Gales

iNSiDE – at a glance

The School Reading Lists’ five word review: Teen Sees Through Unravelling Utopia.
Children’s book title: iNSiDE.
Children’s author: S.A. Gales.
Cover design: Micaela Alcaino.
Genre: Dystopia.
Published by: Faber.
ISBN: 9780571385829.
Recommended for children aged: 12+.
First published: Paperback August 2025.
This children’s book is ideal for: Readers who will enjoy a dystopian warning and reflection upon current fears; and the very human need to separate and other those who don’t fit the system. It’s a gripping adventure packed with exciting twists and turns.

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Our review:

Relevant, enthralling and emotive, Inside is both an action-packed and emotionally intricate tale of a teenager, Naya, as she comes to realise the dystopian and unnatural world in which she lives. Raised in an indoor city through fear-mongering about pollution, sun exposure and sickness, she has struggled to work her way up through the ranks of the city’s police force, Neo-Settlers Developers and Engineers (NSDE). When Naya is sent on a shocking mission to the outside and starts intermingling with the adapted humans who live there, she slowly begins to question the morals and values that have shaped her since birth.

There is a wide choice of themes to delve into in this book: utopia, othering, colonisation, genetic adaptation, mixed identity, strained parental relationships, exceptionalism, climate change and moral ambiguity, to name just a few. Naya realises that she is different from other people in the city of Emas, particularly in the way she can communicate with the changing structures of the building, and in how she struggles with much of the training she is required to undertake. When she arrives outside, she is feared by the very people she has been taught to fear herself. As time goes on, she and the people she had been brought up to believe were dangerous creatures called “Spirivits” gradually gain one another’s trust. Although Naya has been briefed to use their trust against them, she increasingly connects with the humanity of these people and begins to understand and empathise with their challenging circumstances.

Despite Naya’s struggles in Emas and with the NSDE, we see her develop critical-thinking and problem-solving skills—though perhaps still with a touch of naïvety. I began this review with the word relevant quite deliberately, because what could be more pertinent in 2025 than literature that encourages young people to explore others’ viewpoints and connect with those who appear vastly different from themselves?

The story ends on a slight cliff-hanger, with many questions still unanswered and new ones raised; I sincerely hope this means we can expect a sequel in the not-too-distant future!

Inside is due to be published in August 2025, and I cannot wait for more readers to become engrossed in this gripping tale.

Many thanks to Faber for the review copy.

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