Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointing, Disconnected Look at Dystopia
Review: Clumsily executed, poorly edited and pandering to contemporary paranoia surrounding the state of the American family, education system, government and media, this novel utterly fails to construct a coherent, compelling vision of the future. Instead, the reader is haphazardly bludgeoned with images of totalitarianism, oppression and mutilation. Today's problems with these institutions are very real, as is the threat of eroding civil liberties and the blurring of lines between media, government and monolithic corporations. But this novel does nothing to illuminate, preferring to resort to superficial criticism and sarcasm. Disguised as social commentary, Ore's ham-handed predictions regarding the future of "open source" are just another obvious attempt to cash in on present-day fears. Plagued with poor characterization, disconnected plotting and uncountable editorial errors--including misspelling the main character's name on several occasions--the book is a painful, utterly unsatisfying read. The ending feels tacked on: a pat, ill-conceived attempt to justify the life of the main character. Equally unjustifiable is wasting any time reading this annoying, sloppy work.
Rating: 
Summary: What happens when education becomes a crime?
Review: Have you ever wondered about a world where just looking up a concept on the Internet could get you arrested? Or that sharing information with others would make you a criminal? The most interesting concept in Ore's book is the way she shows how society enforces its own unjust laws, perpetuating the system so that the system doesn't have to put forth any effort-- we do it to ourselves (through the Judas girls, especially). At the end, we get just enough hope to feel okay, but not so much it feels like a fairy-tale come true. This is a world that "could be" our own, with a few tweaks here and there "For our own protection." The writing is good, the characters round and well-drawn. I can't decide whether this is a feminist utopia or dystopia-- and maybe, since nowhere is it so black-and-white that it's easy, that is the best way for it to be.
Rating:
Summary: What happens when education becomes a crime?
Review: Have you ever wondered about a world where just looking up a concept on the Internet could get you arrested? Or that sharing information with others would make you a criminal? The most interesting concept in Ore's book is the way she shows how society enforces its own unjust laws, perpetuating the system so that the system doesn't have to put forth any effort-- we do it to ourselves (through the Judas girls, especially). At the end, we get just enough hope to feel okay, but not so much it feels like a fairy-tale come true. This is a world that "could be" our own, with a few tweaks here and there "For our own protection." The writing is good, the characters round and well-drawn. I can't decide whether this is a feminist utopia or dystopia-- and maybe, since nowhere is it so black-and-white that it's easy, that is the best way for it to be.
Rating: 
Summary: Intresting
Review: Media brainwashing. Class systems. Should you go with the flow and live as comfortably as possible or fight the system and try and make a difference. An airplane book with some depth.
Rating:
Summary: A bleak look at the future earth
Review: Middle class Jayne knows what is expected of her by society. Conformity is the name of the game for girls like Jayne if she wants a "happy" life one-day with an all seeing spouse. Her legal alternative is state control drugs to keep her from thinking. Her other option is becoming a Judas girl. However, instead Jayne becomes pregnant and is sent to a rehabilitation center where wayward girls are mentally placed in Cyberia. Jayne wants nothing to do with legal society and escapes into the OUTLAW SCHOOL, where teaching occurs without a state-sanctioned license. If caught by the News Agency wing of the government, Jayne and ilk will need rehabilitation for committing such a terrible crime against the state. If OUTLAW SCHOOL seems like the heir apparent to Huxley's 1984, it is. The story line is grim as society is totally class bound with no hope for non-elite talented risk takers. Jayne is a fabulous protagonist who dares to dream. The alumni, staff, and students of the OUTLAW SCHOOL add to the overall harsh depressing landscape by acting as a counterpoint to the acceptable norms of society. Not for everyone because the plot is somber gray, Rebecca Ore paints a hellish technological future with upper class big brother in full control. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: School Days
Review: Ore has written a gritty and all-too-plausible novel of the education system and its lasting impressions on a young mind. OUTLAW SCHOOL is original and filled with dark comedy. This novel doesn't start in the not-too-distant future; it starts with the first period bell tomorrow! Gary S. Potter Author/Poet.
Rating:
Summary: Clever and well-written
Review: Ore presents her version of a not-too-implausible future. All information and knowledge is under strict copyright and how much one has access to is determined by their authorized social rank. Computer programs run against "meat" polliticians. Society gives out medication and even surgery like candy to children with undesirable traits. The book's heroine is Jayne, a middle class kid with unconcerned parents. Alienated at school and showing a thirst for knowledge undesirable for her class, her school prescribes her mind-bending, behavior-modifying drugs. To get off them, she allows herself to be impregnated, which causes even more rejection and disapproval from her society until she is institutionalized. Bitter and enraged by her conformist society, an older Jayne joins an outlawed teacher syndicate, teaching such banned information as the psychology and computer systems to all of society's bottom feeders in the hopes that they can improve their lives through the education society feels it best they not have. This book is a perfect mix of the Bell Jar and 1984. Ore merges a surreal backdrop and many very believable characters, easy to be concerned about. The previously mentioned concept about computer programs running against people for government positions is particularly clever. If we are accepting of our leaders being so obviously coached for public appeal and conformed to the establishment of parties, why not vote for a machine? The situations faced in this book are not only faced by denizens of the early twenty-second century but by all whom hear the first period bell Monday morning. It's honestly the best new book I have read in many, many moths.
Rating:
Summary: If You Like To Question Society, This Is The Book for You
Review: Ore's Outlaw School is an intricately woven blanket following the life of Jayne, a woman living in a world where lies are passed as truth and the "real" truth is hidden at all costs. This book is very enjoyable for its quickly-changing environment and its strong development of its characters. There is a strong contrast between the straightforwardness of Jayne's character (even her problems are clean-cut, with one good and one bad choice; she never faces the gray choice) and the complexity of other characters. For example, Jayne's continually fighting a battle between the presented truth and the "real" truth. Once Mick, her teenage lover, tells Jayne that she can't be monitored when purchasing a pregnancy test (which was a threat, according to her society), she continually sees the lies which are presented as truths to herself. She no longer seems to be confused by facts; if they were presented to her by society, they were wrong. Society, according to her, never told the truth; everyone deserves to be told the truth. However, other characters do not agree with this, creating a gray area which Jayne avoids. They are happy living in lies, and once they know they are being lied to, they are unhappy. Jayne also fights a continual battle in which she must decide whether to volunteer for suicide or continue living. However, in her mind, she could never commit suicide. She insists that she will never commit suicide, that she will survive no matter what. However, Suzanne throws herself into situations where she is likely to die; in the end, she never really desires death. She lives her life in the gray, complicating herself with dreams of ending her life as a dominatrix and her desire to continue living. Suzanne also lives in the gray because while she is a dominatrix in sexual positions, she has very little control over her own life. She is not always strong, while Jayne is always sure of her choices, showing a certain amount of personal strength. She is one of the more ambiguous characters that presents herself in Jayne's black-and-white world. Ore's distopian view of the future, where the hero is an outlaw, is akin to that of Shockwave Rider and Neuromancer. However, while technology is a strong theme and Jayne fights a battle against technology, Outlaw School's main focus is not on technology, making it different from the average cyberpunk novel. Most of the text focuses on characterization. Ore's strongpoint is her ability to create realistic characters with intricate personalities. For example, Jayne is presented as someone with a troubled, haunting past that will never leave her. Throughout the book, different aspects of her past continually mix with her present. No matter how far she travels from home, the past still haunts her; she can never leave it behind. For example, when she moves to South Carolina, she goes to a funhouse with Suzanne and relives the painful experience that changed her life forever. She relives it over and over in the funhouse, even though Suzanne insists that Jayne has control over what she experiences. Jayne also sees herself as a rebel, one who refuses to fit into her own class in society. She is continually trying to break through the restraints society puts on her, from her childhood days when she's too smart for a middle-class child to her adult days when she refuses to choose a legal profession. Jayne continually fights to help others break through the class barriers. The main purpose of this book is its focus on the issues of society. Society creates its own truth, so what happens if the truth it creates is not true at all? Can one trust their own society? Where is our society heading? Are we going to be thrown into a world that focuses on the caste system, like the society in this novel? Is the caste system a good choice, keeping the wealthy in the wealthy class and the poor too far down in society to advance? There's a strong focus on reality. If people are happy in a world of lies, should they be shown the truth? If one knows the truth, is it their duty to pass on the truth to the rest of society? Technology appears often in this book. Technology allows the sick to live in a world of beautiful pictures, letting them leave the world of pain and disease. However, they see it as painful and tortuous, and it does not stop Jayne from later recalling her pain when she was under its influence. Also, technology allows for computer-created politicians to come into power, passes on the false reality that is passed as truth, and allows for police to track many criminals who are only in search of the truth that is hidden for hackers to uncover. With all of the dangers that technology presents, should it play such a strong role in our lives? If we give technology full power now, is our society heading towards this presented distopia? This book also has underlying issues about gender roles (mainly focusing on female subservience and weakness), self-mutilation, and sexuality. In this futuristic society, women mutilate themselves so that men can observe their lives and keep them safe. Many women willingly trade an eye for a camera that allows men to view their lives. However, Jayne refuses to fall into this category, no matter how tempting it appears to her as a child. Later readers see the detrimental effects of this socially-encouraged lifestyle. Finally, Jayne questions her heterosexuality multiple times throughout the book. This book will be enjoyed by anyone who considers themselves to be rebellious, who had a troublesome childhood that follows them everywhere, who questions the role of technology in their life, who wants to think deeply about where society is heading, who enjoys studying distorted gender roles (The Handmaid's Tale, for example), or who simply wants a taste of a different style of cyberpunk/science fiction.
Rating:
Summary: If You Like To Question Society, This Is The Book for You
Review: Ore's Outlaw School is an intricately woven blanket following the life of Jayne, a woman living in a world where lies are passed as truth and the "real" truth is hidden at all costs. This book is very enjoyable for its quickly-changing environment and its strong development of its characters. There is a strong contrast between the straightforwardness of Jayne's character (even her problems are clean-cut, with one good and one bad choice; she never faces the gray choice) and the complexity of other characters. For example, Jayne's continually fighting a battle between the presented truth and the "real" truth. Once Mick, her teenage lover, tells Jayne that she can't be monitored when purchasing a pregnancy test (which was a threat, according to her society), she continually sees the lies which are presented as truths to herself. She no longer seems to be confused by facts; if they were presented to her by society, they were wrong. Society, according to her, never told the truth; everyone deserves to be told the truth. However, other characters do not agree with this, creating a gray area which Jayne avoids. They are happy living in lies, and once they know they are being lied to, they are unhappy. Jayne also fights a continual battle in which she must decide whether to volunteer for suicide or continue living. However, in her mind, she could never commit suicide. She insists that she will never commit suicide, that she will survive no matter what. However, Suzanne throws herself into situations where she is likely to die; in the end, she never really desires death. She lives her life in the gray, complicating herself with dreams of ending her life as a dominatrix and her desire to continue living. Suzanne also lives in the gray because while she is a dominatrix in sexual positions, she has very little control over her own life. She is not always strong, while Jayne is always sure of her choices, showing a certain amount of personal strength. She is one of the more ambiguous characters that presents herself in Jayne's black-and-white world. Ore's distopian view of the future, where the hero is an outlaw, is akin to that of Shockwave Rider and Neuromancer. However, while technology is a strong theme and Jayne fights a battle against technology, Outlaw School's main focus is not on technology, making it different from the average cyberpunk novel. Most of the text focuses on characterization. Ore's strongpoint is her ability to create realistic characters with intricate personalities. For example, Jayne is presented as someone with a troubled, haunting past that will never leave her. Throughout the book, different aspects of her past continually mix with her present. No matter how far she travels from home, the past still haunts her; she can never leave it behind. For example, when she moves to South Carolina, she goes to a funhouse with Suzanne and relives the painful experience that changed her life forever. She relives it over and over in the funhouse, even though Suzanne insists that Jayne has control over what she experiences. Jayne also sees herself as a rebel, one who refuses to fit into her own class in society. She is continually trying to break through the restraints society puts on her, from her childhood days when she's too smart for a middle-class child to her adult days when she refuses to choose a legal profession. Jayne continually fights to help others break through the class barriers. The main purpose of this book is its focus on the issues of society. Society creates its own truth, so what happens if the truth it creates is not true at all? Can one trust their own society? Where is our society heading? Are we going to be thrown into a world that focuses on the caste system, like the society in this novel? Is the caste system a good choice, keeping the wealthy in the wealthy class and the poor too far down in society to advance? There's a strong focus on reality. If people are happy in a world of lies, should they be shown the truth? If one knows the truth, is it their duty to pass on the truth to the rest of society? Technology appears often in this book. Technology allows the sick to live in a world of beautiful pictures, letting them leave the world of pain and disease. However, they see it as painful and tortuous, and it does not stop Jayne from later recalling her pain when she was under its influence. Also, technology allows for computer-created politicians to come into power, passes on the false reality that is passed as truth, and allows for police to track many criminals who are only in search of the truth that is hidden for hackers to uncover. With all of the dangers that technology presents, should it play such a strong role in our lives? If we give technology full power now, is our society heading towards this presented distopia? This book also has underlying issues about gender roles (mainly focusing on female subservience and weakness), self-mutilation, and sexuality. In this futuristic society, women mutilate themselves so that men can observe their lives and keep them safe. Many women willingly trade an eye for a camera that allows men to view their lives. However, Jayne refuses to fall into this category, no matter how tempting it appears to her as a child. Later readers see the detrimental effects of this socially-encouraged lifestyle. Finally, Jayne questions her heterosexuality multiple times throughout the book. This book will be enjoyed by anyone who considers themselves to be rebellious, who had a troublesome childhood that follows them everywhere, who questions the role of technology in their life, who wants to think deeply about where society is heading, who enjoys studying distorted gender roles (The Handmaid's Tale, for example), or who simply wants a taste of a different style of cyberpunk/science fiction.
Rating: 
Summary: A Boring Book that Barely Qualifies as Science Fiction
Review: Outlaw School is like a boring, badly executed version of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale. There is zero depth to the vaguely technical aspects of the story. The entire story is disjointed, and there is an overwhelming lack of a plot. The only truly spectacular thing about this book is that it ends.
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