snowkab's review
5.0
5-star. Amazing read.
I read it over the weekend, and it was everything I wanted. There was action, ethics, realistic teenage behavior, mysteries, and great pacing. At no point did I feel like I was bored and could just set it down. I needed to know what happened to Key's memories (and I was only partially right!), and I needed to know how everything was going to end.
The worldbuilding was pretty nicely integrated with the narrative. The only thing that stood out to me was the slang "cast" which I never quite figured out. Was it a movie? Was it any video? Perhaps I just skipped over the sentence that explained it. Sometimes I do skim-read when I'm excited.
As the author acknowledges at the end, there is some body horror in this book (particularly in the first chapter) which was unexpected (to me) and not what I generally look for in my books, so if you're sensitive to graphic depictions of surgeries, perhaps skip this one.
There was tons of representations! We've got a trans girl, and a pan guy, and an aroace girl, and they're all explicitly these things. I have a terrible tendency to skip over character description, so I think there were some characters of color (Pravaa?) but I'm not certain. Aisha also seemed of color to me (her religion is Muslim-coded to some extent), but again, I didn't read too closely.
This was one of my favorite books of the year. It stands alone as it is, but it's open to a sequel. I'll be keeping my eye on the author.
I read it over the weekend, and it was everything I wanted. There was action, ethics, realistic teenage behavior
Spoiler
they swear and have sex, who knew?The worldbuilding was pretty nicely integrated with the narrative. The only thing that stood out to me was the slang "cast" which I never quite figured out. Was it a movie? Was it any video? Perhaps I just skipped over the sentence that explained it. Sometimes I do skim-read when I'm excited.
As the author acknowledges at the end, there is some body horror in this book (particularly in the first chapter) which was unexpected (to me) and not what I generally look for in my books, so if you're sensitive to graphic depictions of surgeries, perhaps skip this one.
There was tons of representations! We've got a trans girl, and a pan guy, and an aroace girl, and they're all explicitly these things. I have a terrible tendency to skip over character description, so I think there were some characters of color (Pravaa?) but I'm not certain. Aisha also seemed of color to me (her religion is Muslim-coded to some extent), but again, I didn't read too closely.
This was one of my favorite books of the year. It stands alone as it is, but it's open to a sequel. I'll be keeping my eye on the author.
kayqueue13's review
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
dekedescombes's review
3.0
Maybe it’s because I don’t usually read YA or sci-fi, but the plot vs page count felt very off. The first two thirds should have only been the first third of print, and the last third should have been spread over two thirds. Most of the action and character growth got crammed into the end so things were resolved before the tension finished building. Too bad, too, because I really enjoyed the plot elements and characters.
I was disappointed by the asexual representation. I picked this up for that reason but it seemed pretty irrelevant, like it was a throw away fact. The one line about being ace could have been removed and the story would not have been impacted at all. That’s a big deal for a book that’s being marketed in asexual spaces as having an ace MC. This feels like something the right sensitivity reader could have told the author.
I was disappointed by the asexual representation. I picked this up for that reason but it seemed pretty irrelevant, like it was a throw away fact. The one line about being ace could have been removed and the story would not have been impacted at all. That’s a big deal for a book that’s being marketed in asexual spaces as having an ace MC. This feels like something the right sensitivity reader could have told the author.
biblioemily's review
3.0
3.5 stars. TW for problematic outing of a trans person and traumatic experience of an aroace person. In general the LGBTQ rep feels like checking off boxes instead of being integrated into each character's experience. The storyline will appeal to Hunger Games fans and the concept of the Scela exosystem is intriguing. I'd recommend it to 8th grade & up (some swearing, 1 sexual encounter mentioned)
reallybadalex's review
2.0
To be fair it’s probably not two stars bad but hell if wasn’t the most disappointing book I’ve literally ever read.
Edit: I’m still fucking pissed and I’ve lowered my rating.
Edit: I’m still fucking pissed and I’ve lowered my rating.
ginnikin's review
4.0
Wow. It's a hard read, and I had a hard time getting into it, but it's worth it. Nevertheless, it is NOT pulling its punches.
cramaley's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
bizzybee429's review
4.0
”Humanity will die in the stars.”
Hoooo boy. So I have this thing that I do where I hype up a book so much in my mind before reading, and then when I read it and it’s not exactly what I pictured I end up hating it and giving it two stars. This book was nothing like what I expected – and yet I still loved it. I loved it so much. And that is a feat in and of itself. Hullmetal Girls is a unique, chilling narrative with so many subliminal messages that, together, conduct a deep and gritty examination of consent, tyranny, and what it means to be human.
First things first – nothing is black and white in this story. The organizations, the dueling sides of this story, and the people who are a part of them are full of some messed-up people who will do what they need to do to get what they want, and that makes it so awesome to read. The characters at the forefront of this novel – Aisha, Key, Praava, and Woojin – are all flawed and human, despite not being entirely human physically.
What really stood out in this novel was character strengths, especially in Aisha and Key. Though I don’t think the dual narratives were handled in the best way, I was intrigued by Key’s background and felt for Aisha and the struggles life has put her through. The two are two sides of the same coin, one coming from nothing and the other coming from everything, and their friendship??? BINCH I CRY EVERYTIME. I LIVE FOR THIS. HATE TO FRIENDSHIP IS MY LIFE.
Though Praava, Woojin, and the other main characters weren’t as developed as Aisha and Key, I still enjoyed reading about them. Another fave of mine was Marshal Jesuit, who is just a full-grade badass. I respect her and I love her.
Also, catch me assigning Hogwarts houses to all the main characters in my head (Praava, the Marshal and Aisha are Slytherins. Woojin is a Hufflepuff. Key is a Gryffindor. I will fight anyone on this).
Also can we talk about the rep in this book???? bc we so should??? In this novel we have:
- an aroace mc
- a pan mc
- a trans girl mc
- literally no one is white
- three of the four main crew are women, and most of the secondary characters are women as well
HELL yeah. Also God is established as using she/her pronouns. God.
I super enjoyed the world-building in this one as well – I never tire of shit in space. Literally give me a book in space and I’ll cry and definitely read it. And this concept was so cool!! Humanity destroyed Earth and has been roaming the galaxy for centuries looking for a new planet…. AND THERE’S CYBORG SUPER SOLDIERS…. And an informal caste system…. If you’re not interested yet why not??
The writing was stunning, and I had a plethora of quotes to choose from. However, the plot was still easy to follow. The plot itself was okay. The concept behind it, as said before, was amazing, but I feel like it could have been better executed.
Every time there was a void jump – I immediately lost interest. It took me, like, three days to get through the first void jump scene and I think it’s because the rest of the book was easy to picture in my mind, but jumping through outer space? I just couldn’t see it. And that made me not want to keep reading.
I also thought the climax of the story was a bit cheap – if it was supposed to be the climax??
Spoiler
For those who’ve read it – I’m referencing the part where the Chancellor orders the scela to kill the rebels and the bracelet doesn’t work.However, though the plot itself had its faults, the writing and the characters in this novel fully make up for it. The overarching themes of consent, the tyranny-liberty cycle, and the inevitable corruptness of those in charge are done beautifully. I would recommend this novel to any scifi fans, as well as those who love reading about corrupt governments and interesting, diverse characters.
Book trigger warnings: body horror. So much body horror
I was provided an eARC through NetGalley in exchange for a complete and honest review.
Pre-Review
um, WOW. I got bored in the middle there but I shouldn't have lost faith OR interest because that ending was as gripping as the first half. this was as good as the blurb implies.
full rtc
--
Pre-Read
im sobbing please let the arc gods grant me a copy of this soon july is so far away
lautir's review
2.0
I'm having a hard time rating this one since YA scifi is so rare.
The setup is solid and fairly typical, the writing isn't anything fancy. But it moves along quickly which I appreciated. I was mostly interested in picking up what differentiates it from general scifi vs YA scifi, and it seems to just be a simplification of the world and mechanics. There were so many bigger issues that could have been addressed given the makeup of the Scela (AI + mechanically enhanced human soldiers) but it wasn't really touched on.
Also the ending climatic sequence didn't make any sense which did kind of ruin things for me.
So fine overall, would be a good intro to scifi book for a younger audience.
The setup is solid and fairly typical, the writing isn't anything fancy. But it moves along quickly which I appreciated. I was mostly interested in picking up what differentiates it from general scifi vs YA scifi, and it seems to just be a simplification of the world and mechanics. There were so many bigger issues that could have been addressed given the makeup of the Scela (AI + mechanically enhanced human soldiers) but it wasn't really touched on.
Also the ending climatic sequence didn't make any sense which did kind of ruin things for me.
So fine overall, would be a good intro to scifi book for a younger audience.
wunder's review
3.0
There were some interesting ideas here, but I could never get traction with this.
When chapters alternate between characters, the viewpoint needs to be clear. The two main characters were training partners, so they were doing the same things. I routinely got them confused. But they were from different social classes, so they should have had different voices, even different slang. One missed opportunity was a very late revelation that the first division families almost always had only one child, while the lower class families had more. That was wasted. Reveal that earlier and the non-understanding of family can be a clear distinction. Throw in some slang, call the first division people "firsters". Have the lower class people be fussy about saying "hatch" instead of "door" because they maintain that stuff.
The plot was dominated by surprises, which means the characters and the reader are not a part of figuring things out. We just sit and watch. Yes, part of the setup is that the Scela lose their agency, but they can think and work to find out. And we don't have clues about what they are finding out. The author can help. When a mission is redirected, have someone try to tell them but miss the shuttle launch. Then we know something is up but the main characters don't. See Hitchcock on suspense versus surprise.
And I don't buy someone blurting that they are aroace in a book that has zero romance. And the only sex is a second hand report. Hey, nice shoutout, but these are emotion-suppressed cyborgs. Use that in a book where it matters.
I'm being tough, but I wanted this book to have better editing and workshopping. I want this author to get better because I want to read more from her. Bonus star for hope.
When chapters alternate between characters, the viewpoint needs to be clear. The two main characters were training partners, so they were doing the same things. I routinely got them confused. But they were from different social classes, so they should have had different voices, even different slang. One missed opportunity was a very late revelation that the first division families almost always had only one child, while the lower class families had more. That was wasted. Reveal that earlier and the non-understanding of family can be a clear distinction. Throw in some slang, call the first division people "firsters". Have the lower class people be fussy about saying "hatch" instead of "door" because they maintain that stuff.
The plot was dominated by surprises, which means the characters and the reader are not a part of figuring things out. We just sit and watch. Yes, part of the setup is that the Scela lose their agency, but they can think and work to find out. And we don't have clues about what they are finding out. The author can help. When a mission is redirected, have someone try to tell them but miss the shuttle launch. Then we know something is up but the main characters don't. See Hitchcock on suspense versus surprise.
And I don't buy someone blurting that they are aroace in a book that has zero romance. And the only sex is a second hand report. Hey, nice shoutout, but these are emotion-suppressed cyborgs. Use that in a book where it matters.
I'm being tough, but I wanted this book to have better editing and workshopping. I want this author to get better because I want to read more from her. Bonus star for hope.