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kharlan3's review against another edition
Graphic: Child death, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and War
mar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
All that out of the way - it took me until about 1/3 of the book to get properly into it, but once Sona's and Eris's paths finally cross, DAMN. it gets GOOD. I love their fierceness, their enemies-to-lovers dynamic, I love the found family of it all of the Gearbreakers. Any minor criticisms I might have fade in comparison to how much I enjoyed this book. I just KNOW I would've become completely obsessed with it if I read it in high school, it's so unlike any other YA book I've read.
My favourite part of the book was Sona's internal conflict - her hostility towards her own body, the disgust she feels for Godolia and what they turned her into versus the power she feels when piloting a mecha, her attempts at forming a new identity for herself as a Gearbreaker. It's so compelling, and I love that she's not just fighting to get revenge for her parents, but for herself, too. It's so angsty in that distinctly YA way, but it GOT to me, okay!!! The ending is a gut punch after gut punch and I cannot wait for the sequel. I Am Not Immune to teen girls who had their childhoods stolen away fighting against the regime, taking down huge mechas and falling in love 🥺
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Torture, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit
starccato's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Stalking
applesaucemaybegood's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Medical content
Moderate: Grief, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Vomit
mo345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Infidelity, Mental illness, Slavery, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Alcohol
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
- The battle scenes in this book are AWESOME. I was on the edge of my seat every time.
- I do think there were maybe a few too many characters in the crew to keep track of, and I wanted a bit more worldbuilding, but I'm hoping that all comes in the sequel. I'm following Eris and Sona through to the (probably bitter) end.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Sona has been turned into a Valkyrie--an elite class pilot to the the giant Windups that Godolia uses to control the people of the Badlands; her body is no longer her own. As a Gearbreaker, Eris has devoted her life to taking down Windups and hating Godolia. But when Sona offers Eris a chance to escape capture, the girls team up with the rest of Eris' Gearbreaker crew to take Godolia down.
This book is so good! It has an incredible mix of fantasy and scifi elements, and the world-building and mechas are so incredible to read about! Sona and Eris are chaotic and feral main characters with hatred in their hearts and fire in their veins but I love them so fiercely.
I really like the writing in this book, as well, and all the amazing elements of Found Family, enemies-to-lovers, and more! This was honestly the Queer SciFi I needed to read and I highly highly recommend!
My only (tiny) complaint is that I sometimes forgot whose POV chapter I was on, so there could have been a little more distinction between Sona and Eris' voices.
I can't wait for the sequel!
Pub Date: June 29, 2021
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder