A review by chroniti
Metaltown by Kristen Simmons
2.0
The beautiful book cover and premise caught my interest. A book about a trio of teens rising up to stage a rebellion? Friends who work together against the odds? Yes please! Anything but the usual lone heroine and love triangle/bothersome romantic relationships in dystopian fiction. At least that's what I gathered from the book summary.
The worldbuilding was great but I wished it could've expanded upon the ongoing war more. The world gave a sort of steampunk and industrial revolution vibe that was just delightful.
Also, Ty was just so kickass and awesome. She was beauty. She was grace.
But alas, as entertaining as the book was, I did not feel fully satisfied.
I was disappointed that Ty did not have a larger, more important role in the book as she was my favorite character in the novel. Once the lost heir to the Medical Division was mentioned, I suspected the missing daughter to be Ty and that when she found out about her heritage, she would reclaim her inheritance and beat Hampton down with Lena and Collin's help. At least that's how I wanted the story to go. Yet a few chapters after Ty finds out she really is the lost heir near the end of the book, she dies. It just felt as if this reveal was done for plot convenience, since Ty's status convinces the gang to provide an army for Mr. Hampton's attack on the factory. What was the point in her being the heir if she wasn't going to get the chance to do much with her title? Ty had lived as an orphan and had her face deformed and her eye blinded by acid and yet she's just killed off? She could've done and been so much more! She seemed to be cast aside in favor of Collin and Lena's heroism and romance.
I felt that Otto and Mr.Hampton just didn't get the punishments they deserved. Otto and Mr.Hampton were responsible for the whole mess in the first place. So I suppose my ruthless side wasn't appeased.
I guess I expected a novel that focused primarily on teens overcoming their class prejudices and twisted society with their friendship rather than romantic complications and an underwhelming
revolution.
*Note: I later found out that this book was actually based on Les Miserables. I didn't read the actual story though(sorry guys). This seems to explain why the plot and characters are the way they're written. With this new knowledge in mind, I think I was too difficult on Simmons. If I had known it was based on Les Miserables, I would have had a solid idea of what kind of story I was delving into and not base my experience on the expectations I initially had. I'll just have to remember to check whether or not a book is based on a preexisting story next time I go book searching*
The worldbuilding was great but I wished it could've expanded upon the ongoing war more. The world gave a sort of steampunk and industrial revolution vibe that was just delightful.
Also, Ty was just so kickass and awesome. She was beauty. She was grace.
But alas, as entertaining as the book was, I did not feel fully satisfied.
I was disappointed that Ty did not have a larger, more important role in the book as she was my favorite character in the novel. Once the lost heir to the Medical Division was mentioned, I suspected the missing daughter to be Ty and that when she found out about her heritage, she would reclaim her inheritance and beat Hampton down with Lena and Collin's help. At least that's how I wanted the story to go. Yet a few chapters after Ty finds out she really is the lost heir near the end of the book, she dies. It just felt as if this reveal was done for plot convenience, since Ty's status convinces the gang to provide an army for Mr. Hampton's attack on the factory. What was the point in her being the heir if she wasn't going to get the chance to do much with her title? Ty had lived as an orphan and had her face deformed and her eye blinded by acid and yet she's just killed off? She could've done and been so much more! She seemed to be cast aside in favor of Collin and Lena's heroism and romance.
I felt that Otto and Mr.Hampton just didn't get the punishments they deserved. Otto and Mr.Hampton were responsible for the whole mess in the first place. So I suppose my ruthless side wasn't appeased.
I guess I expected a novel that focused primarily on teens overcoming their class prejudices and twisted society with their friendship rather than romantic complications and an underwhelming
revolution.
*Note: I later found out that this book was actually based on Les Miserables. I didn't read the actual story though(sorry guys). This seems to explain why the plot and characters are the way they're written. With this new knowledge in mind, I think I was too difficult on Simmons. If I had known it was based on Les Miserables, I would have had a solid idea of what kind of story I was delving into and not base my experience on the expectations I initially had. I'll just have to remember to check whether or not a book is based on a preexisting story next time I go book searching*