kerrithebookbelle's review against another edition
I ended up not finishing this book, DNFing at about 35%. Unfortunately, I found that I could not connect to the writing and could not follow the plot very well. The science behind the exos were interesting but the constant connection and communication between the human and their exo took too much time and took away from my being able to really connect to the characters.
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!
Thank you to the publisher for the opportunity to read this book!
esseastri's review against another edition
5.0
I tried every possible avenue of book industry ins and outs to snag an ARC of this book since I've been dying of excitement since it was announced, but it turns out that all I had to do was show up at Denver Comic Con, squeak excitedly, and vaguely melt in Emily Skrutskie's direction while she signed my copies of her other books. (Seriously, Emily, it was amazing to meet you and I'm so, so grateful. Also sorry for stalking you on Twitter. I don't know if it's less creepy that I told you? Anyway, thanks for the ARC!!!)
So, the two things that I hate in this world, probably more than anything else, are Surgery and Amnesia Plotlines. Hullmetal Girls has both of these things--it opens with crazy body-modifying surgery and the amnesia is a plot point for 90% of the book.
And I loved every page of it anyway.
Honestly, that's the most ringing endorsement for this book that I can think of. It took things that I hate and made me love them. (Okay, maybe I was still skin-crawlingly uncomfortable during the body horror parts, but I was weirdly okay with it? I loved everything else about this book so much that the parts that squicked me were worth it.)
Honestly, I'm having trouble writing an actual review because I just want to scream wordlessly and jump up and down excitedly. I love this book, but I don't know how to articulate why.
Hullmetal Girls is an adrenaline rush from page one onwards. You're dropped into the action immediately and it's non-stop from then on, a raging fire of excitement and revolution that sweeps you and the characters into the rush and doesn't let up. The prose is pounding and beautiful and alive, like a heartbeat. This is something that carries over from the Abyss books--Skrutskie is a master of a particular kind of turn of phrase that's poetic but grounded, a sort of hybrid of colloquial jargon and literary metaphors that just feels balanced and right. It's indescribable, but there are certain phrases in this book and her previous ones that just leap off the page and stick in my heart.
Her characters do that, too. Aisha and Key have taken the "angry girls are bitches" argument and smashed it into the ground. These girls have so much heart--they care so viscerally about everything they love and everything they are striving for, but they are not afraid to defend those things, to rip into the world with their teeth and fight. They are angry, deservedly so, and they are allowed to be angry, and it's so refreshing. The things they are struggling with--family, lost memories, their new bodies, the connections they forge with each other and with Praava, Wooj, and the Marshal, their lives on board the Fleet--are real and impossible, and the consequences of their struggles are heartwrenching. But their willingness to get back up and keep fighting despite their own minds trying to stop them is truly fantastic to see unfold, and it's...so satisfying. It's so satisfying to see girls get to stand up and fight and be angry without anything getting in their way. It's satisfying to see angry girls be badass and not get punished for it.
It's also really satisfying to see the word "aroace" used in print in a book to describe a main character, a character whose head we spend half the book in. Two other characters are pan and trans respectively and seeing those words in print in a book without any judgement or explanation or hand-wringing is also satisfying.
There's something really visceral about the world Skrutskie has created for this book. The Fleet feels really real in a way I can't explain. The situation of the Fleet--a humanity that wrecked its planet and has spent 300 years on spaceships searching for a new homeworld--also feels oddly relevant and possible in a weird way, and I loved the idea of it. The Scela, the mechanically-enhanced soldiers/policeforce made my Pacific Rim-adoring heart just soar, and the idea of a multi-way drift-compatible robot-neural handshake among not just two pilots but a whole squad was the coolest thing. Creepy, because shared headspace is a wild concept, but SO COOL. And the natural language of it, how it's described and dealt with and is almost its own character brings me back to complimenting Skrutskie on her ability to choose words and syntax that just fits in each situation she drops her characters into.
Ultimately, I can really only say what I've already said: that this book did the impossible and made me love so many things that I hate. It satisfied every hope I had when I heard the original concept and then some, exceeding my every expectation. It was worth the arduous ARC hunt, and I'm so grateful that I got a copy early so that I can gear up to just shove it at people when it comes out in July and shout at them excitedly about how much they are going to love it, how they are going to fall in love with these angry girls just as much as I did. These broken machines of hollow girls slowly relearning that their hearts should win over their heads every time will inspire readers and take them on a wild ride of a plot that will not let them down. I don't know how else to say that I love this book.
I. Love. This. Book.
So, the two things that I hate in this world, probably more than anything else, are Surgery and Amnesia Plotlines. Hullmetal Girls has both of these things--it opens with crazy body-modifying surgery and the amnesia is a plot point for 90% of the book.
And I loved every page of it anyway.
Honestly, that's the most ringing endorsement for this book that I can think of. It took things that I hate and made me love them. (Okay, maybe I was still skin-crawlingly uncomfortable during the body horror parts, but I was weirdly okay with it? I loved everything else about this book so much that the parts that squicked me were worth it.)
Honestly, I'm having trouble writing an actual review because I just want to scream wordlessly and jump up and down excitedly. I love this book, but I don't know how to articulate why.
Hullmetal Girls is an adrenaline rush from page one onwards. You're dropped into the action immediately and it's non-stop from then on, a raging fire of excitement and revolution that sweeps you and the characters into the rush and doesn't let up. The prose is pounding and beautiful and alive, like a heartbeat. This is something that carries over from the Abyss books--Skrutskie is a master of a particular kind of turn of phrase that's poetic but grounded, a sort of hybrid of colloquial jargon and literary metaphors that just feels balanced and right. It's indescribable, but there are certain phrases in this book and her previous ones that just leap off the page and stick in my heart.
Her characters do that, too. Aisha and Key have taken the "angry girls are bitches" argument and smashed it into the ground. These girls have so much heart--they care so viscerally about everything they love and everything they are striving for, but they are not afraid to defend those things, to rip into the world with their teeth and fight. They are angry, deservedly so, and they are allowed to be angry, and it's so refreshing. The things they are struggling with--family, lost memories, their new bodies, the connections they forge with each other and with Praava, Wooj, and the Marshal, their lives on board the Fleet--are real and impossible, and the consequences of their struggles are heartwrenching. But their willingness to get back up and keep fighting despite their own minds trying to stop them is truly fantastic to see unfold, and it's...so satisfying. It's so satisfying to see girls get to stand up and fight and be angry without anything getting in their way. It's satisfying to see angry girls be badass and not get punished for it.
It's also really satisfying to see the word "aroace" used in print in a book to describe a main character, a character whose head we spend half the book in. Two other characters are pan and trans respectively and seeing those words in print in a book without any judgement or explanation or hand-wringing is also satisfying.
There's something really visceral about the world Skrutskie has created for this book. The Fleet feels really real in a way I can't explain. The situation of the Fleet--a humanity that wrecked its planet and has spent 300 years on spaceships searching for a new homeworld--also feels oddly relevant and possible in a weird way, and I loved the idea of it. The Scela, the mechanically-enhanced soldiers/policeforce made my Pacific Rim-adoring heart just soar, and the idea of a multi-way drift-compatible robot-neural handshake among not just two pilots but a whole squad was the coolest thing. Creepy, because shared headspace is a wild concept, but SO COOL. And the natural language of it, how it's described and dealt with and is almost its own character brings me back to complimenting Skrutskie on her ability to choose words and syntax that just fits in each situation she drops her characters into.
Ultimately, I can really only say what I've already said: that this book did the impossible and made me love so many things that I hate. It satisfied every hope I had when I heard the original concept and then some, exceeding my every expectation. It was worth the arduous ARC hunt, and I'm so grateful that I got a copy early so that I can gear up to just shove it at people when it comes out in July and shout at them excitedly about how much they are going to love it, how they are going to fall in love with these angry girls just as much as I did. These broken machines of hollow girls slowly relearning that their hearts should win over their heads every time will inspire readers and take them on a wild ride of a plot that will not let them down. I don't know how else to say that I love this book.
I. Love. This. Book.
alexanderczigler's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoy a good story depicting the day-to-day life of humans that have left the planet earth behind. Hullmetal Girls falls right into that category. What I liked most about the book is the world building and the likely social and political issues that the protagonists are fighting against.
I enjoyed the story and the characters in the book but there were a couple of times when I realized I felt indifferent to the outcome of the actions of Aisha and Key. I think I simply failed to understand some of their back-story and/or motivation.
In a book that centeres on significant body and brain modification I would have enjoyed a lot more details about of the psychological and emotional lives of the characters before and after their modifications.
All in all I think the author made a good job keeping the story consistant and down-to-earth and I enjoyed reading the book.
I enjoyed the story and the characters in the book but there were a couple of times when I realized I felt indifferent to the outcome of the actions of Aisha and Key. I think I simply failed to understand some of their back-story and/or motivation.
In a book that centeres on significant body and brain modification I would have enjoyed a lot more details about of the psychological and emotional lives of the characters before and after their modifications.
All in all I think the author made a good job keeping the story consistant and down-to-earth and I enjoyed reading the book.
dykeduncan's review against another edition
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.
jadecross's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
katherine_alexis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
pippinthepuffin's review against another edition
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me a copy to review.
DNF'ed around 54%
To explain a few things: I read over half of this book before I decided to DNF and I really didn't want to because this was sent to me as an ARC and therefore I feel that I should read the whole book and give a proper review and most importantly, I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK! In the beginning, I was somewhat enjoying it. It wasn't the greatest book that I have ever read but that is okay as it was the beginning. But then the story was just making me so mad.
First, I detest long expositions. They are probably the number one reason why I DNF a book or at least give that book a low rating. I love being thrown into a story with little information (hence why I don't usually read the synopsis for a book) And this exposition went on for about 150 pages, which was about half the book. To clarify, I consider the exposition to end when the book starts the main conflict. For this, it was Key finding out her past and Aisha dealing with her family issues and them hating each but then having to work together to solve their issue. Sounds pretty good right?
What Went Wrong:
Key. She was truly the reason that sent me over the edge. She has no memories before becoming Scela and at around the 150-page mark we find out that she was ArchAngel, basically the leader of the Resistance Group. And this was used as a major plot twist. I just did not appreciate it because up until this point Key doesn't question at all why she became a Scela. If you, all of a sudden woke up as a super powerful solider with no memories wouldn't you have questions? I know I would. But she is just a doormat and then the author all of a sudden gives us this huge flashback and then the plot starts and ugh. I would have much rather enjoy Key if she questioned why she was there if there were flashbacks to her past to fuel her questions, and then maybe use a plot twist like she was the Commander's daughter or there are Aliens or something.
Now Aisha. She has her own issues. Her aunt is the major figure in the resistance. And Aisha is solely depending on her aunt to keep her siblings alive. So what does this aunt do? In exchange for not making Aisha's siblings homeless, she makes Aisha become a spy for the resistance. When I was reading this I was ranting about how stupid this decision was as Aisha's higher-ups don't seem like terrible people. Side note: this was the one good point in this book that I really enjoyed. The leaders except for the Commander (but I can even understand her cold heart) actually had feelings. They seemed to care about Aisha, Key, and the other Scela. (I will get to the other Scela in a minute.) In my opinion, Aisha should have just gone and told her higher-ups to listen, "My aunt is a big wig in the Resistance and she wants me to spy on you in exchange to keep my siblings safe. Can you help me?" And I am sure that they would have gone "Totally, we would love to have you help us get this thorn out of our side." Though I can understand for the author not wanting to do this because it is not as exciting but there is the chance that they could say "What if you are a double agent and we will hurl you into space to get rid of you."
Next issue that I had with the characters was the two other Scela in Aisha and Key's group, Woojin, and Pravaa. The story is told in Aisha and Key's POVs but Woojin and Pravaa had their backstories mentioned and I think that it would have been really interesting to see that further developed.
Also, there is LBGTA+ representation in the book, but from what I have heard from other readers since I DNF'ed before I got to those scenes was that there was some issues with this and I encourage you to read other reviews on GoodReads to learn more about this.
Now this book wasn't all bad. Like the previously mentioned non-heartless leaders. There was also the interesting dichotomy of the Resistance and the Government. The Resistance wanted to find a planet so they could get off the ship and be free of the Government but the Government likes to be in control of the people. Well, Aisha, Key, and the two other Scela in the group find a habitable planet and well you can see why this is an issue.
So that was my rant. It was quite cathartic actually. If you have any thoughts about this book, book rants, or DNF reviews please leave a comment! I would love to hear from you!
DNF'ed around 54%
To explain a few things: I read over half of this book before I decided to DNF and I really didn't want to because this was sent to me as an ARC and therefore I feel that I should read the whole book and give a proper review and most importantly, I WAS EXCITED ABOUT THIS BOOK! In the beginning, I was somewhat enjoying it. It wasn't the greatest book that I have ever read but that is okay as it was the beginning. But then the story was just making me so mad.
First, I detest long expositions. They are probably the number one reason why I DNF a book or at least give that book a low rating. I love being thrown into a story with little information (hence why I don't usually read the synopsis for a book) And this exposition went on for about 150 pages, which was about half the book. To clarify, I consider the exposition to end when the book starts the main conflict. For this, it was Key finding out her past and Aisha dealing with her family issues and them hating each but then having to work together to solve their issue. Sounds pretty good right?
What Went Wrong:
Key. She was truly the reason that sent me over the edge. She has no memories before becoming Scela and at around the 150-page mark we find out that she was ArchAngel, basically the leader of the Resistance Group. And this was used as a major plot twist. I just did not appreciate it because up until this point Key doesn't question at all why she became a Scela. If you, all of a sudden woke up as a super powerful solider with no memories wouldn't you have questions? I know I would. But she is just a doormat and then the author all of a sudden gives us this huge flashback and then the plot starts and ugh. I would have much rather enjoy Key if she questioned why she was there if there were flashbacks to her past to fuel her questions, and then maybe use a plot twist like she was the Commander's daughter or there are Aliens or something.
Now Aisha. She has her own issues. Her aunt is the major figure in the resistance. And Aisha is solely depending on her aunt to keep her siblings alive. So what does this aunt do? In exchange for not making Aisha's siblings homeless, she makes Aisha become a spy for the resistance. When I was reading this I was ranting about how stupid this decision was as Aisha's higher-ups don't seem like terrible people. Side note: this was the one good point in this book that I really enjoyed. The leaders except for the Commander (but I can even understand her cold heart) actually had feelings. They seemed to care about Aisha, Key, and the other Scela. (I will get to the other Scela in a minute.) In my opinion, Aisha should have just gone and told her higher-ups to listen, "My aunt is a big wig in the Resistance and she wants me to spy on you in exchange to keep my siblings safe. Can you help me?" And I am sure that they would have gone "Totally, we would love to have you help us get this thorn out of our side." Though I can understand for the author not wanting to do this because it is not as exciting but there is the chance that they could say "What if you are a double agent and we will hurl you into space to get rid of you."
Next issue that I had with the characters was the two other Scela in Aisha and Key's group, Woojin, and Pravaa. The story is told in Aisha and Key's POVs but Woojin and Pravaa had their backstories mentioned and I think that it would have been really interesting to see that further developed.
Also, there is LBGTA+ representation in the book, but from what I have heard from other readers since I DNF'ed before I got to those scenes was that there was some issues with this and I encourage you to read other reviews on GoodReads to learn more about this.
Now this book wasn't all bad. Like the previously mentioned non-heartless leaders. There was also the interesting dichotomy of the Resistance and the Government. The Resistance wanted to find a planet so they could get off the ship and be free of the Government but the Government likes to be in control of the people. Well, Aisha, Key, and the two other Scela in the group find a habitable planet and well you can see why this is an issue.
So that was my rant. It was quite cathartic actually. If you have any thoughts about this book, book rants, or DNF reviews please leave a comment! I would love to hear from you!
agentlesound's review against another edition
4.0
Enjoy that it doesn't necessarily follow the typical storyline for a book like this - but more skirts around the edges. I also feel the ending for our 2 MCs was as realistic as it was satisfying and sad. Not everyone can get the HEA they want, but it makes for a stronger story.
vickycbooks's review against another edition
I honestly am just a big jumble of EMOTIONS™ after this book because wow there were so many things going on and this was a wild ride.
I'm probably going to have to sleep on this decision, but the best way I can describe my feelings is this is an adult science-fiction plot shoved into the young adult format and I have a lot of thoughts about this.
There were so many political machinations going on that this felt adult sci-fi. If you've ever read adult sci-fi, you know there's usually a lot of "bigger picture" stuff going on rather than just focusing on the characters. It's oftentimes more detached, third person, alternating, and just has a wider, more intricate plot and less focus on the characters.
That's almost exactly how it was for Hullmetal Girls--the big, overarching plot was well-plotted and intricate--I had no idea who to trust and my loyalties kept wavering between the Fractionists (the rebel group) and the General Body (the government).
But, it was written in a very YA style. There were two points of view in first person and there was an obvious non-romantic bond between the characters that really grew. There was a lot of focus on saving family (more of a YA trope than an adult one) and their backstories made it feel like Skrutskie picked these characters to make this book more YA.
I guess what fell flat for me was just how the adult and YA aspects of this novel melded together into what's supposed to be a YA book. I love YA, but I feel like this book's concept would have had way more success in the adult SF sphere vs. the YA (but it still could have flourished as YA).
For it to appeal better to the general YA community, I feel like this needed to have gone more in depth with the characters and really dig into their personal feelings and desires. There needed to be at least a hundred more pages of personal thought and introspection to get that character growth that would really help the reader connect more with the narrators rather than the plot.
I feel like we ended up getting a little of each YA and adult--some introspection, but not enough for us to really relate to the characters, and a lot of political machinations.
This book is almost ahead of its time in the way it's trying to bridge the gap between YA and adult, and although I commend this, I feel terrible that it's not getting the love it deserves because I don't think we were prepared for something so badass and gritty.
A big par of this is just how YA isn't really used to this type of body horror. There's one thing to have prosthetic cyborg body parts in Cinder, or even LIFEL1K3. It's another thing to deal with cybernetic enhancements that actively make people stronger, faster, bolder while also tampering with their humanity and agency.
You read adult SF, and things like sentient artificial intelligence (and even romance with sentient AIs) are normal. If you read this in an adult SF headscape, it'd feel pretty normal too.
But for YA, the idea of cybernetic enhancement and losing part of your agency is very unfamiliar based on the history of YA sci-fi, and one of the reasons why I couldn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to was because I felt like we didn't get that background and introduction to how to deal with losing your agency in this way and what happens when characters bodies are tampered with to such a great extent.
A lot of the terms felt unfamiliar to me, and it could be because these terms are a norm in adult SF, or just because Skrutskie didn't introduce it in a way that I could understand.
For me, it was kind of like I was being thrust headfirst into a very new and different type of science fiction that I'm not entirely used to. It didn't feel like a space opera--wasn't melodramatic enough and was far too cunning.
So I guess we could call this not enough exposition, leaving the reader confused.
Despite all this criticism I have going on, there were a lot of great things about this book.
The ending was so wild. I ended up getting really sucked in for the last 20% of this novel as I finally discovered what group I'm supposed to be rooting for (think outside the box) and seeing the political machinations really fall into place.
Although I struggled with the cybernetic worldbuilding, I think the space Fleet-wide worldbuilding was done wonderfully and I understood the way the fleet worked and why the divisions existed and how they formed and why they continued to be perpetuated (rather than being thrust into District 12 being District 12 just because).
There's a lot of pluses to this--angry badass cyborg girls, bunches of diversity, a very cool plot, family and friendship and finding your people.
Overall, I think it was worth it for me to read this, but I do wish it was a little more polished in a way that it would be easier for a YA reader to connect with. Definitely recommend you check this out if the summary appeals to you!
I'm probably going to have to sleep on this decision, but the best way I can describe my feelings is this is an adult science-fiction plot shoved into the young adult format and I have a lot of thoughts about this.
There were so many political machinations going on that this felt adult sci-fi. If you've ever read adult sci-fi, you know there's usually a lot of "bigger picture" stuff going on rather than just focusing on the characters. It's oftentimes more detached, third person, alternating, and just has a wider, more intricate plot and less focus on the characters.
That's almost exactly how it was for Hullmetal Girls--the big, overarching plot was well-plotted and intricate--I had no idea who to trust and my loyalties kept wavering between the Fractionists (the rebel group) and the General Body (the government).
But, it was written in a very YA style. There were two points of view in first person and there was an obvious non-romantic bond between the characters that really grew. There was a lot of focus on saving family (more of a YA trope than an adult one) and their backstories made it feel like Skrutskie picked these characters to make this book more YA.
I guess what fell flat for me was just how the adult and YA aspects of this novel melded together into what's supposed to be a YA book. I love YA, but I feel like this book's concept would have had way more success in the adult SF sphere vs. the YA (but it still could have flourished as YA).
For it to appeal better to the general YA community, I feel like this needed to have gone more in depth with the characters and really dig into their personal feelings and desires. There needed to be at least a hundred more pages of personal thought and introspection to get that character growth that would really help the reader connect more with the narrators rather than the plot.
I feel like we ended up getting a little of each YA and adult--some introspection, but not enough for us to really relate to the characters, and a lot of political machinations.
This book is almost ahead of its time in the way it's trying to bridge the gap between YA and adult, and although I commend this, I feel terrible that it's not getting the love it deserves because I don't think we were prepared for something so badass and gritty.
A big par of this is just how YA isn't really used to this type of body horror. There's one thing to have prosthetic cyborg body parts in Cinder, or even LIFEL1K3. It's another thing to deal with cybernetic enhancements that actively make people stronger, faster, bolder while also tampering with their humanity and agency.
You read adult SF, and things like sentient artificial intelligence (and even romance with sentient AIs) are normal. If you read this in an adult SF headscape, it'd feel pretty normal too.
But for YA, the idea of cybernetic enhancement and losing part of your agency is very unfamiliar based on the history of YA sci-fi, and one of the reasons why I couldn't enjoy this as much as I wanted to was because I felt like we didn't get that background and introduction to how to deal with losing your agency in this way and what happens when characters bodies are tampered with to such a great extent.
A lot of the terms felt unfamiliar to me, and it could be because these terms are a norm in adult SF, or just because Skrutskie didn't introduce it in a way that I could understand.
For me, it was kind of like I was being thrust headfirst into a very new and different type of science fiction that I'm not entirely used to. It didn't feel like a space opera--wasn't melodramatic enough and was far too cunning.
So I guess we could call this not enough exposition, leaving the reader confused.
Despite all this criticism I have going on, there were a lot of great things about this book.
The ending was so wild. I ended up getting really sucked in for the last 20% of this novel as I finally discovered what group I'm supposed to be rooting for (think outside the box) and seeing the political machinations really fall into place.
Although I struggled with the cybernetic worldbuilding, I think the space Fleet-wide worldbuilding was done wonderfully and I understood the way the fleet worked and why the divisions existed and how they formed and why they continued to be perpetuated (rather than being thrust into District 12 being District 12 just because).
There's a lot of pluses to this--angry badass cyborg girls, bunches of diversity, a very cool plot, family and friendship and finding your people.
Overall, I think it was worth it for me to read this, but I do wish it was a little more polished in a way that it would be easier for a YA reader to connect with. Definitely recommend you check this out if the summary appeals to you!