Me on On a Sunbeam

Title: On a Sunbeam
Author/artist: Tillie Walden
Release Date: October 2, 2018
Publisher: First Second Books

Throughout the deepest reaches of space, a crew rebuilds beautiful and broken-down structures, painstakingly putting the past together. As Mia, the newest member, gets to know her team, the story flashes back to her pivotal year in boarding school, where she fell in love with a mysterious new student. When Mia grows close to her new friends, she reveals her true purpose for joining their ship—to track down her long-lost love.

On a Sunbeam is an epic and expansive tale of discovery and regret, of exploration and impossibility, of love. Of hope and everything the future can, does, and will hold.

Mia is the newest member of a crew that travels through space repairing old structures, slowly and methodically rebuilding parts of the past. She's quiet, more than a little lost as she gets used to the work and the different personalities of the crew. Hard as nails Alma and intelligent Char. Bold and bright Jules. Mysterious and thoughtful Elliot. But it always comes back around to Mia. She has the look of someone looking for something. Through the flashback chapters, we see who she's looking for. When Mia was in school, she met a girl named Grace. Made friends with and argued with Grace. Fell in love with Grace. But then Grace left and Mia was left wondering. Where she went, if she'd ever see Grace again. The flashback chapters reveal who Mia was and is, while the chapters set in the present reveal the secrets and wonders of the universe, and what Mia must go through in order to, hopefully, find Grace again.

The art style is wonderful and expressive, full of detail. The different expressions, Mia's frowns and Jules' smiles, Elliot's surprise and seriousness. The buildings on the repair jobs, half-crumbled and lost to time, ready to be repaired. The school, all structure and learning and adolescence. The spaceship, a curious space of family and laughter and acceptance inside something that looks like a fish. The Staircase. And the colours, the accents that change depending on when and where the story goes. The black and white that joins with the purple of the ship, the blue of the past, the pink and yellow and orange that follow events in motion. All of it is gorgeous.

There's a wonderful, powerful moment a little more than halfway through the book that I think is so relevant right now. It has to do with respecting people who aren't like you and only acknowledging certain parts of someone (referring to the moment in which Elliot who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns is misgendered). If you want someone to respect you, respect all of you, then you have to give them just as much respect. You don't get to pick and choose which parts, you don't get to decide what's important for someone else. Especially when it comes to how that person defines themselves, their name, their pronouns or their gender. Instead, you stop and listen. You give that person as much respect as you expect to be given, because if you give them none, you'll get none in return.

I find it hard to describe this book because, when you peel back the layers, there's so much here. There's adventure, there's determination, there's regret, there's making mistakes and righting wrongs. There's consequences that carry, that affect so much more that we ever through possible. There's love and hope, there's persistence. There's finding a family, finding a group of people who accept you, flaws and all, while you accept theirs because of the support and care they give you and you give them. There's impossibility and wonder, there's exploration. There's so much here, in each character, on each page and in each panel, in each location. And I'm sure there's more I've missed. This is an epic tale that deserves to be read.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from First Second through NetGalley and later purchased a finished copy.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (382)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Wildcard
Author: Marie Lu
Release Date: September 18, 2018
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

Emika Chen barely made it out of the Warcross Championships alive. Now that she knows the truth behind Hideo's new NeuroLink algorithm, she can no longer trust the one person she's always looked up to, who she once thought was on her side.

Determined to put a stop to Hideo's grim plans, Emika and the Phoenix Riders band together, only to find a new threat lurking on the neon-lit streets of Tokyo. Someone's put a bounty on Emika's head, and her sole chance for survival lies with Zero and the Blackcoats, his ruthless crew. But Emika soon learns that Zero isn't all that he seems--and his protection comes at a price.

Caught in a web of betrayal, with the future of free will at risk, just how far will Emika go to take down the man she loves?

I'm really looking forward to reading this, but from the mystery/tech/e-sports side. Not the romance side. When reading Warcross, the romance part between Emiko and Hideo felt really weird to me. But that's my opinion. I'm curious to see how everything will play out and how it'll all end.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (370)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Hullmetal Girls
Author: Emily Skrutskie
Release Date: July 17, 2018
Publisher: Delacorte Books (Random House imprint)

From Goodreads:

Aisha Un-Haad would do anything for her family. When her brother contracts a plague, she knows her janitor's salary isn't enough to fund his treatment. So she volunteers to become a Scela, a mechanically enhanced soldier sworn to protect and serve the governing body of the Fleet, the collective of starships they call home. If Aisha can survive the harrowing modifications and earn an elite place in the Scela ranks, she may be able to save her brother.

Key Tanaka awakens in a Scela body with only hazy memories of her life before. She knows she's from the privileged end of the Fleet, but she has no recollection of why she chose to give up a life of luxury to become a hulking cyborg soldier. If she can make it through the training, she might have a shot at recovering her missing past.

In a unit of new recruits vying for top placement, Aisha's and Key's paths collide, and the two must learn to work together--a tall order for girls from opposite ends of the Fleet. But a rebellion is stirring, pitting those who yearn for independence from the Fleet against a government struggling to maintain unity.

With violence brewing and dark secrets surfacing, Aisha and Key find themselves questioning their loyalties. They will have to put aside their differences, though, if they want to keep humanity from tearing itself apart.

Umm... WANT. SO MUCH. I loved Emily's previous books, awesome sci-fi plus morality plus motives plus flawed characters. This sounds awesome and dark and so complicated, the implications of cyborgs and Key not remembering why she's there and Aisha's own reasons for being there and a coming war and the reasons behind it. I can't wait to read this.

Me on Honor Among Thieves

Title: Honor Among Thieves
Authors: Rachel Caine & Ann Aguirre
Release Date: February 13, 2018
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (HarperCollins imprint)

Petty criminal Zara Cole has a painful past that's made her stronger than most, which is why she chose life in New Detroit instead moving with her family to Mars. In her eyes, living inside a dome isn't much better than a prison cell. Still, when Zara commits a crime that has her running scared, jail might be exactly where she's headed. Instead Zara is recruited into the Honors, an elite team of humans selected by the Leviathan—a race of sentient alien ships—to explore the outer reaches of the universe as their passengers. Zara seizes the chance to flee Earth's dangers, but when she meets Nadim, the alien ship she's assigned, Zara starts to feel at home for the first time. But nothing could have prepared her for the dark, ominous truths that lurk behind the alluring glitter of starlight.

Honor Among Thieves is tense and action-packed, a story of unexpected journeys and encounters. It's full of secrets and deception, it withholds information, which isn't going to work on a take-charge girl like Zara. It's a future where humanity was saved but the cost was unknown.

Zara is hard and rough after living in the Lower Eight, a grimy section of New Detroit full of crime and drugs and all kinds of danger. But she's not stupid. There are reasons why she stayed, why she didn't go with her mom and sister to Mars. She's smart, tough, she knows when to strike and when to run. And now she needs to run, needs to keep away from anyone she cares about in order to keep them safe. Until she was recruited by the Honors, until she was given the chance to leave the planet and explore the universe. But it's possible that the universe isn't as safe as Zara was told it was, and knowing Zara, she's ready to find out the truth and fight back.

Nadim was interesting, this curious consciousness of a living spaceship. This lonely and worried personality that certainly wasn't expecting Zara to be one of his new Honors, or the accompanying Beatriz. But they're all together now, trying to navigate through space and missions and who Nadim is behind all the consoles.

I was consistently intrigued by the premise as the book went on. By the Leviathan and their mission, by what was said and what was kept secret. By Zara's quickfire actions and decisions, by her anger that she acknowledged and took the time to work through. It was definitely different than what I'd expected, but in a good way. I found myself racing toward the ending, wanting to know what would happen next. For those who enjoyed sci-fi YA books like Illuminae and Defy the Stars, I'd recommend giving this a read.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title to review from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (351)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Obsidio
Authors: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Release Date: March 13, 2018
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House imprint)

From Goodreads:

Kady, Ezra, Hanna, and Nik narrowly escaped with their lives from the attacks on Heimdall station and now find themselves crammed with 2,000 refugees on the container ship, Mao. With the jump station destroyed and their resources scarce, the only option is to return to Kerenza—but who knows what they'll find seven months after the invasion? 

Meanwhile, Kady's cousin, Asha, survived the initial BeiTech assault and has joined Kerenza's ragtag underground resistance. When Rhys—an old flame from Asha's past—reappears on Kerenza, the two find themselves on opposite sides of the conflict. 

With time running out, a final battle will be waged on land and in space, heroes will fall, and hearts will be broken.

Yesssssssss. I've been vocal in how much I love this series. It's different and weird and complicated and epic and deadly and I want to know how it all ends while having it not end. Because it's so good.

Me on That Inevitable Victorian Thing

Title: That Inevitable Victorian Thing
Author: E.K. Johnston
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: Dutton (Penguin imprint)

Victoria-Margaret is the crown princess of the empire, a direct descendant of Victoria I, the queen who changed the course of history two centuries earlier. The imperial practice of genetically arranged matchmaking will soon guide Margaret into a politically advantageous marriage like her mother before her, but before she does her duty, she'll have one summer incognito in a far corner of empire. In Toronto, she meets Helena Marcus, daughter of one of the empire's greatest placement geneticists, and August Callaghan, the heir apparent to a powerful shipping firm currently besieged by American pirates. In a summer of high-society debutante balls, politically charged tea parties, and romantic country dances, Margaret, Helena, and August discover they share an unusual bond and maybe a one in a million chance to have what they want and to change the world in the process —just like the first Queen Victoria.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing is charming and intelligent, hopeful and kind, and oh so witty. It's an adjustment of the past and a look towards the future for three young people full of worry and expectations.

Victoria-Margaret is a crown princess. One day she will be queen of the empire. But until then, she's Margaret, a young British woman spending the summer in Canada before heading back home. Home where expectations, like finding a future spouse, await. She's kind, intelligent, and wondering if there's anything that could be hers in the future. Helena is quiet and thoughtful, a young woman who doesn't expect anything too grand in her life. She's happy enough to live quietly with her parents, and one day with her husband, who might very well be family friend August Callaghan. But is she sure? Is that really what she wants? Especially when she discovers something rather important and life-changing about herself. August is sure of his future, he knows he will spend it with the family's shipping firm. Even though their ships are being cornered by pirates. Even though he might've screwed up here and there trying to fix it all. Even though he's stubborn as a mule. He'll still have Helena by his side. Right?

Like most E.K. Johnston books, the world-building is exquisite and extensive. I so adore the premise of this book, where it started in history and took a turn. This is like if the wrongs of history were known and were righted sooner than they have been. If racial diversity had been embraced by Queen Victoria in terms of who her children and grandchildren should marry, and by extension the rest of the British Empire, instead of continuing the tradition of marrying into white European royal houses. But like all E.K. Johnston books, the characters are just as wonderful. Full of sense and practicality and curiosity. These three young people have their whole lives ahead of them, but who knows, when all is said and done, what the future will bring. Or what they will turn the future into.

As I read this book, I wondered if I'd ever be able to articulate my thoughts and feelings on it. In the end, all I have is how I felt while and after reading. This bizarre, charming creature made up of Victorian Era tones and moods, wonderfully funny Canadian references, the religion of genetics, and honest compassion. The heartfelt, hopeful attempt at making history better than it is. The wide range of diversity it holds, from race to sexuality to ability. This book is impossible to describe. It's full of wondrous charm and sense, of practicality and honesty. It doesn't talk down to the reader, no matter their age. I would definitely recommend this to readers looking for hope and sense in the world, to those looking for something completely different.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Penguin Canada.)

Me on Defy the Stars

Title: Defy the Stars
Author: Claudia Gray
Release Date: April 4, 2017
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Noemi Vidal is a teen soldier from the planet Genesis, once a colony of Earth that's now at war for its independence. The humans of Genesis have fought Earth's robotic "mech" armies for decades with no end in sight. After a surprise attack, Noemi finds herself stranded in space on an abandoned ship where she meets Abel, the most sophisticated mech prototype ever made. One who should be her enemy. But Abel's programming forces him to obey Noemi as his commander, which means he has to help her save Genesis--even though her plan to win the war will kill him. Together they embark on a daring voyage through the galaxy. Before long, Noemi begins to realize Abel may be more than a machine, and, for his part, Abel's devotion to Noemi is no longer just a matter of programming.

Defy the Stars is eye-opening and expansive, thrilling and dangerous. A race against time and through space, an exploration of the stars and of the soul.

Noemi is determined, focused. Single-minded. She has a mission, one shes willing to die for. Genesis has a plan to cripple Earth's incoming mech armies, at least for a time, but it has to be done. Genesis was right to separate from Earth, to claim its independence. They're the ones in the right, right? Her discovery of Abel is a surprise, but considering his programming and his information, she'll be able to use him in order to help Genesis survive. In order to keep so many from dying. But Abel isn't what she thought, and after seeing the universe outside of Genesis, Noemi isn't so sure about a lot of things she thought she knew.

Abel. It's hard to describe Abel. Yes, he's a mech, an Earth creation that's a combination of technology and organic material. He's programmed to follow orders, to take in information and extrapolate. To be practical and truthful. But he's got a personality. He feels things like pride and confusion. He sleeps. He dreams. And he wonders, as the only one like him, what he was created for. Was he only created to serve? Or is there no limit to what he can do?

This is a curious science fiction story that covers multitudes. Like faith, like belief in a high power or being, after all of their technological advancements and exploration across the galaxy. What is humanity? How is a soul created? Like empire and colonization, like immigration, how people of all races and background travel to different planets looking for the same things they've always looked for. Employment, companionship, entertainment. Safety. Hope. Freedom. I adored this book and I imagine that fans of the author's past books, especially of Lost Stars, will as well. Even with the wait for the next book.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (324)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Warcross
Author: Marie Lu
Release Date: October 3, 2017
Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

From #1 New York Times bestselling author Marie Lu—when a game called Warcross takes the world by storm, one girl hacks her way into its dangerous depths.

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

I do wonder if this is how the world will be in about 500 years, if everyone will be plugged into some kind of virtual reality. if everyone will be plugged into something, if games will turn into life or death battle situations. If we'll become that numb.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (319)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Want
Author: Cindy Pon
Release Date: June 13, 2017
Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster imprint)

From Goodreads:

Jason Zhou survives in a divided society where the elite use their wealth to buy longer lives. The rich wear special suits, protecting them from the pollution and viruses that plague the city, while those without suffer illness and early deaths. Frustrated by his city’s corruption and still grieving the loss of his mother who died as a result of it, Zhou is determined to change things, no matter the cost.

With the help of his friends, Zhou infiltrates the lives of the wealthy in hopes of destroying the international Jin Corporation from within. Jin Corp not only manufactures the special suits the rich rely on, but they may also be manufacturing the pollution that makes them necessary.

Yet the deeper Zhou delves into this new world of excess and wealth, the more muddled his plans become. And against his better judgment, Zhou finds himself falling for Daiyu, the daughter of Jin Corp’s CEO. Can Zhou save his city without compromising who he is, or destroying his own heart?

The title very much sums up my thoughts on this book. ;)

Me on Boy Robot

Title: Boy Robot
Author: Simon Curtis
Release Date: November 15, 2016
Publisher: Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster imprint)

In a single night, Isaak's life changed forever. His adoptive parents were killed, a mysterious girl saved him from a team of soldiers, and he learned of his own dark and destructive origin. An origin he doesn't want to believe, but one he cannot deny. Isaak is a Robot: a government-made synthetic human, produced as a weapon and now hunted, marked for termination. He and the Robots can only find asylum with the Underground—a secret network of Robots and humans working together to ensure a coexistent future. To be protected by the Underground, Isaak will have to make it there first. But with a deadly military force tasked to find him at any cost, his odds are less than favorable. Now Isaak must decide whether to hold on to his humanity and face possible death... or to embrace his true nature in order to survive, at the risk of becoming the weapon he was made to be.

Boy Robot is fast-paced, full of danger, discovery, and near-death encounters. It's a question between embracing humanity or embracing purpose. But to me, something was missing.

(Warning for readers that this book does contain scenes/memories of rape and child abuse.)

Issak, a kind, introspective young man. When his story begins he wonders if there's more to life, if he'll ever get to leave his small town and see the world. But then the headache comes, then his awakening comes, and he learns that he's not exactly human. He's a Robot, created by a secret government project looking to craft highly intelligent weapons. And now he's on the run. But he's not the only one. And soon enough, he's not alone.

With Issak and the others like him, their different abilities and powers, there's a big X-Men vibe. Teens with unimaginable powers being hunted down and eliminated, hoping to meet up and rise up so they can fight back on their own terms. Stripped down, this is a very familiar struggle. For survival, for humanity. For respect and acceptance.

I was intrigued by the premise, even though it sounded so familiar: teen with sudden and unexplained powers on the run towards a resistance group and from a military-type elimination team. The idea of the synthetic human, the real life person mixed with the futuristic technology, hooked me. Something that very vaguely reminded me of Margaret Stohl's Icons. But then a number of things occurred. The flashback scenes, the interludes in different points of view, were interesting, but they were all origin stories of pain, intense abuse, and death. During the race across the country, Issak is trying to figure out what he is and what his new abilities are, but no one really bothers to teach him what it is he can do. There's a lot of running and hiding. Issak's a kind, caring guy, but no one seems to want him for himself. Because of who he is as a person. It's all about what he can do, what he can be used for. How he can help other people run or hide or fight back. Yes, he's a Robot, but what was the point in giving him a personality if almost everyone was going to treat him like a tool? I wanted to like this book, but in the end it just wasn't for me.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Simon & Schuster Canada.)

Me on The Swan Riders

Title: The Swan Riders
Author: Erin Bow
Release Date: September 20, 2016
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (Simon & Schuster imprint)

Greta Stuart has become AI. New transmitters have silvered her fingerprints. New receptors have transformed her vision. And the whole of her memory has become one book in a vast library of instant knowledge. Greta is ready to rule the world. But the new technology is also killing her. Greta is only sixteen years old, but her new enhancements are burning through her mortal body at an alarming rate. Of course the leader of the AIs, an ancient and compelling artificial intelligence named Talis, has a plan. Greta can simply do what he's done when the time comes, and take over the body of one of the Swan Riders, the utterly loyal humans who serve the AIs as part army, part cult. First though, Greta will have to find a way to stay sane inside her new self. Talis's plan for that involves a road trip. Escorted by Swan Riders, Greta and Talis set out on a horseback journey across the strange and not-quite-deserted landscape of Saskatchewan. But there are other people interested in Greta, people who want to change the world... and the Swan Riders might not be as loyal as they appear.

The Swan Riders is tense, full of gambles and plots and plans. It's a look at what it is to be human, what makes us human, and the lengths we will go to in order to keep our humanity. In order to keep those around us human and sympathetic.

Greta, now an AI with a failing human body, is struggling with a number of problems. One is the decaying of her body. The memories that overwhelm her, that remind her what she left behind. The torture. The quiet moments with Xie. It can hold her AI consciousness for a time, but not forever, and one day she'll have to pick a new body if she wants to continue to move around. Another is Talis, for a number of reasons. And one is the Swan Riders, the army of young people who've volunteered to be the bodies for the AIs. As a former princess, a girl turned captive in order to keep the peace, she knows the Swan Riders as murderers. As angels coming down to Earth in order to carry out justice, to kill the royal children of the parents that dare go to war.

Talis. Oh, Talis. You never expect an AI to be so layered. But circumstances have changed. Talis has changed. Meeting Greta. Being in Rachel's body. The journey to the Red Mountains. His relationship with Greta has changed, from omnipotent intelligence vs stoic princess into something more of a friendship, a companionship. Greta has changed Talis, just as he changed her.

Knowing there would be a follow-up to the punch in the gut that was The Scorpion Rules, I wasn't sure what I expected to find here. More Greta, more of the struggle between her human emotions and her new AI brain, yes. More Talis being amoral and calculating, of course. But I don't know that I expected this. This exploration of what it is to be human. This look at devotion and faith, at the lengths we go to in order to send our message, our hopes, to those we look up to as gods. This book definitely expands on the world of the AIs and their Swan Riders, expands on purpose and end goals. This wasn't the book I expected, I'd hoped for a moment between Greta and Xie but it never happened, but I do think this was a good follow-up. I never knew what was going to happen, who was going to act first, or how Greta was going to fight back in order to keep those she cares about safe. When you read this, be prepared for another punch to the gut.

(I borrowed a copy of this book from the library.)

Me on Spare & Found Parts

Title: Spare and Found Parts
Author: Sarah Maria Griffin
Release Date: October 4, 2016
Publisher: Greenwillow Books (HarperCollins imprint)

Nell Crane has always been an outsider. In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts—an arm, a leg, an eye—her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs everyone now uses. But Nell is the only one whose mechanical piece is on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. As her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society's good... but how can Nell live up to her father's revolutionary idea when she has none of her own? Then she finds a mannequin hand while salvaging on the beach—the first boy's hand she's ever held—and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city—and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own.

Spare and Found Parts is at times enchanting and other times frightening, a cautioning against relying too much on technology and a welcoming embrace of it. Of the multitude of things it can show us, teach us. It's a story of a lonely girl searching for a companion, searching for answers. Looking to make her mark on the world.

Nell is a quiet and lonely girl who resents the ticking in her chest. She's looking to make the decisions when it comes to her future before anyone else does. Trapped in the shadows of her accomplished parents, pioneers in contributions that helped save the town. More than a hundred years after the Turn, after the pulses that swept across the land and made so many sick, there are only so many options Nell has when it comes to the future. She can go away to the Pasture, a place of quiet and without the chance to experiment. She can marry, which is a thing that makes her sick, especially to someone like Oliver Kelly. She can head to the stoneyard, build up the statue her mother first envisioned. Or she can contribute something to the community, make something of herself, something the town needs. But what can she contribute? Her tinkering can only go so far with secret batteries and no codes. She needs something more, wants something more. But can she make a companion, a person, a human soul, out of spare parts?

The reader is set down and eased into Nell's world, a world that's come out of our own. A world without higher technology, without computers, after a devastating apocalypse that left many dead and most of the living scarred. Now people must contribute to society, must do something that will boost morale or provide for the community. Something without the use of computers than can think for themselves. You can see the pokes taken at the modern day and its obsession with technology, with creating a machine that can do the work for you. The pokes at the lack of human conversation and interaction that screens and the Internet can provide. But technology isn't all evil.

This is like a steampunk-esque post-apocalyptic futuristic reimagining of Frankenstein and his creation in a world that fears technology. I think this book nudges towards finding the middle ground between technology and humanity, between creating and advancing and not moving away from human contact. And I think Nell's search for a companion, her desire to build one, is her way of having someone in her life that doesn't expect anything from her. It'll just be, be there to be with her, to talk with her and share with her, and make no demands. Some of the later chapters have a certain charm brought on by a certain character. And the last chapter made me chuckle. I would definitely recommend this to readers looking for something a little different, like Leah Bobet's An Inheritance of Ashes or Moïra Fowley-Doyle's The Accident Season.

(I downloaded an e-galley of this title from HarperCollins through Edelweiss.)

Me on On the Edge of Gone

Title: On the Edge of Gone
Author: Corinne Duyvis
Release Date: March 8, 2016
Publisher: Amulet Books (Abrams imprint)

January 29, 2035. That's the day the comet is scheduled to hit—the big one. Denise and her mother and sister, Iris, have been assigned to a temporary shelter near their hometown of Amsterdam to wait out the blast, but Iris is nowhere to be found, and at the rate Denise's drug-addicted mother is going, they'll never reach the shelter in time. Then a last-minute encounter leads them to something better than a temporary shelter: a generation ship that's scheduled to leave Earth behind and colonize new worlds after the comet hits. But each passenger must have a practical skill to contribute. Denise is autistic and fears that she'll never be allowed to stay. Can she obtain a spot before the ship takes flight? What about her mother and sister? When the future of the human race is at stake, whose lives matter most?

On the Edge of Gone is a thoughtful, tense look at the end of the world, at what might happen if something were to collide with Earth. Yes, it's about survival, but value also comes into play. Is everyone's value the same, no matter what, or does it differ? Who is worth saving? How can you calculate something so intangible?

Denise is smart, quiet. Worried. Autistic. She's upset with her mother for dragging her feet, for wasting time they don't have in order to get to a shelter. Her relationship with her mother is complicated, needing her for a number of things that she can't do because of her age but not wanting her around because of her drug problem. It does leave Denise caught between saving her, because she's her mother, and pushing her away to keep her from spiraling.

Here we have the end of the world. Potentially. The comet is coming, and it will hit the Earth's surface, but after that? Who knows? In terms of world-building, I thought it was great, atmospheric and dismal. Even more so because of the setting, because it takes place in Amsterdam. The high density of Europe, the different people and cultures that mix together in European cities. How similar it would be if the book was set in North America. We're all human. We would all react to an event like this in similar ways, yes? Stockpile, build, protect. Survive.

As time goes on for Denise, the feeling of not knowing what to do builds and builds. Which is understandable. She's sixteen, she loves cats. What is she supposed to do in terms of survival? In terms of being on a spaceship? How is she supposed to know what to do? With the amount of time left? How are any of us supposed to know what to do? How are we to prove our worth? What if we believe we are worth more than others? What if the others disagree?

This book is as diverse as it gets, led by a biracial autistic narrator as she searches for a place to survive. The different people she meets, gay and straight and lesbian and bisexual and trans, Jewish and Christian and Muslim, able-bodied and physically or intellectually impaired. It's also, for sci-fi, not that scientific or impossible. This could very well happen. And it seems more about Denise and her connections with others, her internal struggles, her desire to find something to do when told she has to prove herself useful. I found this to be an intriguing look at the human aspect of science fiction and a pending apocalypse, a book I would recommend to those looking for more grounded science fiction and those looking for stories that explore people and their thoughts and motives.

(I borrowed a copy of this book from the library.)

Me on Illuminae

Title: Illuminae
Authors: Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff
Release Date: October 20, 2015
Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers (Random House imprint)

This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she'd have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that's little more than an ice-covered speck at the edge of the universe. Too bad nobody thought to warn the people living on it. With enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to fight their way onto an evacuating fleet, with an enemy warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A deadly plague has broken out and is mutating, with terrifying results; the fleet's AI, which should be protecting them, may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what's really going on. As Kady hacks into a tangled web of data to find the truth, it's clear only one person can help her bring it all to light: the ex-boyfriend she swore she'd never speak to again.

Illuminae is enthralling, expansive, and inescapable. On one side, there's Kady and Ezra, navigating the small spaces they've been given, trying to understand. But there's something bigger happening around them. Something they can't escape from.

Kady, on the Hypatia, is desperate to know the truth. Desperate to find those she cares about. She's not really concerned about herself, she's all about uncovering the truth and doing whatever she has to do to find it. Even if that means breaking a rule or two. Ezra's trying to survive in his new post-Kerenza role aboard the Alexander as a fighter pilot. He's trying to live, trying to not miss Kady too much. Trying to understand what's being asked of him. Both have their battles to fight, but both are still trying to sort out their feelings. There were a number of things left unsaid between the two of them when Kerenza was attacked, when Kady dumped Ezra that morning. The months apart on separate ships, in separate situations, have changed the both of them significantly. But each of them still needs the other, no matter what happened before.

AIDEN. So many things could be said about AIDEN. How realistic the voice is, how complicated the questions it begins to ask itself as it comes back online, where its motivation comes from. It's like watching someone go mad but still retain their sanity. It's like watching an infant realize they're a fully-grown person. As an artificial intelligence, AIDEN is driven by logic and code, by ones and zeroes, by commands, but it fractures, splinters, and what AIDEN becomes is nothing short of both haunting and glorious. It's hard to describe how much I was fascinated by AIDEN.

The way this story is told, through found documents, IM chats, maps and diagrams, plus the musings of a crippled artificial intelligence, is so unique. They show what's happening to everyone, Kady and Ezra aren't the only people in the story. There are other characters, other people, that are important to their plots and plans. Why shouldn't their little moments be told?

I couldn't stop reading this book. I had to know what happened next, what Kady would discover, what Ezra would face. What AIDEN would do. It felt like I'd been tossed into this world, confronted with eye-witness accounts and files and videos of something real, and would never reach and end. Until I reached the end and had to leave. It was so intriguing, seeing both the little picture of Kady and Ezra's journeys and the bigger picture of the Hypatia, the Alexander, and the doom they're headed for. I'm so curious as to what will happen next, what the even bigger picture is. Because you know it's there. Waiting.

(I received an ARC of this title from a blogger who attended BEA 2015.)

Me on The Chess Queen Enigma

Title: The Chess Queen Enigma
Author: Colleen Gleason
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Publisher: Chronicle Books

Evaline Stoker and Mina Holmes have reluctantly agreed to act as social chaperones and undercover bodyguards for Princess Lurelia of Betrovia, who has arrived in London to deliver a letter that details the secret location of an ancient chess queen that's been missing for centuries. But when the letter—which will heal a centuries-old rift between England and the Betrovians—is stolen out from under Evaline and Mina's watchful eyes, the two girls are forced into a high-stakes race to ensure they find the chess queen before anyone else does.

The Chess Queen Enigma is mysterious and thrilling, yet another adventure of Stoker and Holmes to get wrapped up in. Winding their way through ballrooms and alleyways, in both the best and the worst company London can offer a young woman, they must solve the mystery first and prevent something dangerous from happening.

Mina and Evaline are back to solve another mystery, back to rely on the separate strengths of brains and brawn. Back to argue about which piece of the mystery needs solving first. They will always be at odds, which is one reason why they work so well together, even when it looks like they're not working together at all. The challenge each other, push each other, make each other stop and think before continuting on recklessly (although that doesn't always work). Left to their own devices, they have no one to bounce ideas off of, no one to discuss and squabble with. They're both head-strong and stubborn young ladies, they both have their quirks and flaws, and they always get the job done in the end.

There's only so many times I can repeat myself in terms of the inventiveness of the setting, the illegality of electricity and the over-abundance of steam-powered vehicles, contraptions, and clockwork machines. The way that London is layered in this world, the slums hidden below the more desirable and more expensive buildings, kept straight in the air by large balloons. It has a way of keeping the secrets of its residents hidden from sight.

I'm surprised at how invested I was in the story right from the start. In the past two books, I've struggled to suspend my disbelief in the idea that both Holmes and Stoker existed at the same time and in a London that had abolished electricity. I didn't have that problem here. Perhaps I was far too interested in the mystery. It's an intriguing mystery. Where is the chess queen? And the questions that have stretched across the series. Who is the Ankh? Who is Pix? Where are the vampires? There has to be another book, considering the rather shocking and surprising way this one ended. There just has to.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)

Me on Spinning Starlight

Title: Spinning Starlight
Author: R.C. Lewis
Release Date: October 6, 2015
Publisher: DisneyHyperion

Sixteen-year-old heiress and paparazzi darling Liddi Jantzen hates the spotlight. But as the only daughter in the most powerful tech family in the galaxy, it's hard to escape it. So when a group of men show up at her house uninvited, she assumes it's just the usual media-grubs. That is, until shots are fired. Liddi escapes, only to be pulled into an interplanetary conspiracy more complex than she ever could have imagined. Her older brothers have been caught as well, trapped in the conduits between the planets. And when their captor implants a device in Liddi's vocal cords to monitor her speech, their lives are in her hands: One word and her brothers are dead. Desperate to save her family from a desolate future, Liddi travels to another world, where she meets the one person who might have the skills to help her bring her eight brothers home-a handsome dignitary named Tiav. But without her voice, Liddi must use every bit of her strength and wit to convince Tiav that her mission is true. With the tenuous balance of the planets deeply intertwined with her brothers' survival, just how much is Liddi willing to sacrifice to bring them back?

Spinning Starlight is exciting and dangerous, a young girl's mission to save her brothers while on the run and on a strange new planet. Liddi must overcome a number of obstacles, like her inability to speak and her very important reason why, in order to keep everyone she loves alive.

Liddi is a compassionate girl, a smart girl in her own ways. Just not in the way the public expects. She's expected to be a technological genius like her brothers. She's expected to take over her family's company. She feels more like an ugly duckling, constantly in the spotlight, everyone talking about her like she can't do anything or say anything or dress right. On a planet of technologists and cutting-edge inventions, Liddi feels like she doesn't belong. And when she uncovers a dangerous plot and flees to another planet, she definitely doesn't belong.

What I found so interesting is that with all the tech, all the advancements, all the space travel, Liddi can't read or write. People still learn, still go to school, still teach, still create, still understand, but reading and writing seem to have been phased out. It's an intriguing possibility, the idea that we will become so visual we'll phase out our written language. Liddi's very out of her element when she travels through the conduit, when she meets Tiav and learns how things are done on his world. When she can't explain her situation for fear of dooming her brothers. She's lost, confused, on the run, but she still pushes herself to fix things.

I vaguely knew the fairy tale this book drew from, The Wild Swans by Hans Christian Andersen. It was great to see a lesser-known tale get the spotlight as a retelling. They don't always have to be Snow White or Cinderella retellings. There are other fairy tales out there, some rather intriguing, some complicated, and some very bizarre.

While this is said to be a companion to the author's previous book, I saw that it's not set in the same universe, so don't expect any reoccurring characters. I would've been happy to see them, to try and remember their story, but I was happy enough to read about Liddi and her problems, her love for her brothers, her desire to prove herself and find a way to save them. Fans of Stitching Snow and other fairy tale retellings should give this a read.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Disney Book Group through NetGalley.)

Me on The Scorpion Rules

Title: The Scorpion Rules
Author: Erin Bow
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (Simon & Schuster imprint)

Greta is the Crown Princess of the Pan Polar Confederacy, a superpower formed of modern-day Canada. She is also a Child of Peace, a hostage held by the de facto ruler of the world, the great Artificial Intelligence, Talis. The hostages are Talis's strategy to keep the peace: if her country enters a war, Greta dies. The system has worked for centuries. Parents don't want to see their children murdered. Greta will be free if she can make it to her eighteenth birthday. Until then she is prepared to die with dignity, if necessary. But everything changes when Elián arrives at the Precepture. He's a hostage from a new American alliance, and he defies the machines that control every part of their lives—and is severely punished for it. Greta is furious that Elián has disrupted their quiet, structured world. But slowly, his rebellion opens her eyes to the brutality of the rules they live under, and to the subtle resistance of her companions. And Greta discovers her own quiet power. Then Elián's country declares war on Greta's and invades the prefecture, taking the hostages hostage. Now the great Talis is furious, and coming himself to mete out punishment. Which surely means that Greta and Elián will be killed... unless Greta can think of a way to save them.

The Scorpion Rules is powerful and intriguing, a world of power plays, of fear and death, of hidden things. Of hidden meaning. Of hidden words and feelings. Of power and control, of who has it, who wants it, and who ends up with it.

Greta's voice is compelling. Soft, intelligent, cautious. Knowing. She's lived her life as a hostage, a Child of Peace. She's always known that one day, if her home country goes to war, she would die. And she's not alone in this way of thinking, this upbringing. Until Elián arrives. Until he doesn't act like everyone else. Until he doesn't grasp the severity of his new situation. Until Greta understands what's coming, what needs to be done. It's never dawned on her that there could be another way, until it does. Until there is. Until Greta becomes the Greta she was meant to be.

The premise, the world-building, is genius. What a world where war could happen at any point. What a world where there would be such a real consequence for going to war. What would a leader rather risk: the lives of their people or the life of their child?

Talis is intriguing. Amoral, controlling, and witty. He's an evil artificial intelligence with layers, with a complicated past. Like with most characters, there's something about them that makes them stand out. Good or evil. Talis has reasons for his rules. They're based on human history, the fact that humans consistently screw up. Maybe now, with Talis in charge, with Talis taking their children, those in charge won't screw up so much.

Power. This book is about power. Who holds it, who wants it, who will push to take it, and who will use it. Talis has power. Of course he does. He's levelled cities. Destroyed countries. Killed thousands, perhaps millions. He's in charge. But. But. Talis isn't the only one with power.

More than anything, I wanted to understand this book. In some ways I think I do. This book says a lot about power, about rulers and rules, about decisions, about morality and mortality. The world-building is creative and inventive, the characters are flawed and rich with humanity. It's so rare that a book about international relations and politics and so many other complicated things like love and goats can be so human. Do not be fooled by the description, events will not unfold in ways you expect them to. Read this if you're looking for something smart and human, something unexpected.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Simon & Schuster Canada.)

Me on Nimona

Title: Nimona
Author/Artist: Noelle Stevenson
Release Date: May 12, 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen (HarperCollins imprint)

Nimona is an impulsive young shapeshifter with a knack for villainy. Lord Ballister Blackheart is a villain with a vendetta. As sidekick and supervillain, Nimona and Lord Blackheart are about to wreak some havoc. Their mission: prove to the kingdom that Sir Ambrosius Goldenloin and his buddies at the Institution of Law Enforcement and Heroics aren't the heroes everyone thinks they are.

Nimona is about good and evil, friends and enemies, heroes and villains. This wonderful comic takes them all, mixes them up, and makes you wonder which side is the 'good' side. Who is really the 'villain' here?

Nimona is bold, unpredictable. She flies off and takes action without waiting for Ballister's instructions. Their relationship is like student and teacher. As the older villain, he guides her in the fine art of eviltry. Teaches her about plots and plans, drawing maps, biding their time, and striking when they're ready. As the plucky shapeshifter, Nimona teaches Ballister to care about people again. There are some dark days in his past, most of them involving hero of the people Ambrosius Goldenloin, and because of that time in his life he's given up on people.

The setting brings so much to the comic. Everything takes place in a medieval-style village full of peasants and knights, castles and swords, magic and dragons. Combined with this is a lot of modern science. Television, video calling, chemical warfare. Laser guns. There's a sense of whimsy here, that anything is possible. It's also interesting, that anything is possible in this world and people can still be at each other's throats. There's still complicated friendships and complicated politics in fantasy settings.

This comic is sweet, funny, tense, and emotional. It plays with long-running perceptions of good and evil, heroes and villains. The shades of grey that separate us, that we never see until we stop to explore what motivates people. A must-read for comic fans, for kids and adults. For everyone, basically.

(I purchased a copy of this book. Before publication, I read this when it was posted online as a webcomic.)

Me on Rebel Mechanics

Title: Rebel Mechanics
Author: Shanna Swendson
Release Date: July 14, 2015
Publisher: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (Macmillan imprint)

It's 1888, and sixteen-year-old Verity Newton lands a job in New York as a governess to a wealthy leading family—but she quickly learns that the family has big secrets. Magisters have always ruled the colonies, but now an underground society of mechanics and engineers are developing non-magical sources of power via steam engines that they hope will help them gain freedom from British rule. The family Verity works for is magister—but it seems like the children's young guardian uncle is sympathetic to the rebel cause. As Verity falls for a charming rebel inventor and agrees to become a spy, she also becomes more and more enmeshed in the magister family's life. She soon realizes she's uniquely positioned to advance the cause—but to do so, she'll have to reveal her own dangerous secret.

Rebel Mechanics is entertaining, an exciting story of one young woman's new life in a city filled with magic, machines, inventors, and rebellion.

Verity is clever, honourable, and a little adventurous when she needs to be. When she feels she needs to be, when she wants to help. Now in New York, now part of multiple spaces, she aquaires new roles and personalities. The proper governess. The honest reporter. The rebel spy. She sort of falls into these spaces, the people around her seeing her, seeing the good in her and drawing her into their arms, and she never says no. After a childhood filled with books and an apathetic parent, she's looking for a place to belong. And she's found them. The magister home she becomes a part has a number of secrets, as does the rebel group of inventors and activists, but so does she. There's more to Verity Newton than meets the eye. She's hugely intelligent and investigative with a strong sense of honour. It's not about position or status with Verity. It's more about character, it's more about doing what's right. It's more about helping everyone, no matter if they're magister or not. It's about the truth.

This is a rather intriguing alternate history world. It's an America that's still under British rule, a New York where the privileged and titled are magic users, where only the magisters can use machines powered by magic in order to make their lives easier. Where those without magic aren't allowed this luxury. Where rebels and inventors are trying to build their own machines, trying to harness steam power and electricity in order to escape the ruling grasp of the magisters. Whenever there's a book with this sort of alternate history, where the British Empire still reigns over America, there's often a long-running tone of freedom and escape from imperialism coursing through the book. It stems from that moment in history where America went to war against Britain in order to obtain their freedom from the empire. As a Canadian, I always find this interesting. That in alternate histories America always asks for its freedom from Britain. It's something they will not let go of, something they will always demand. Something I'll always find a little bit charming.

I found this book to be more fun than I expected. It's a bit light, there's some suspense, a little mystery here and there. The side characters were interesting and fun. Lord Henry and the children. The Rebel Mechanics. To me, the book seems to be more about Verity and her introduction to this new world that isn't the same as her stoic and literary upbringing. She's entered a new world, a new space. She's crafted a new identity for herself here. Perhaps more than one. I'm so curious as to what happens next. There must be more, it can't end like that. There's so much that hasn't been revealed.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Macmillan through NetGalley.)

Me on Waistcoats & Weaponry

Title: Waistcoats & Weaponry
Author: Gail Carriger
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Sophronia continues her second year at finishing school in style--with a steel-bladed fan secreted in the folds of her ball gown, of course. Such a fashionable choice of weapon comes in handy when Sophronia, her best friend Dimity, sweet sootie Soap, and the charming Lord Felix Mersey stowaway on a train to return their classmate Sidheag to her werewolf pack in Scotland. No one suspected what--or who--they would find aboard that suspiciously empty train. Sophronia uncovers a plot that threatens to throw all of London into chaos and she must decide where her loyalties lie, once and for all.

Waistcoats & Weaponry is as entertaining and exciting as adventure as the previous two installments. Mysterious, compelling, and ever so complicated, this is perhaps Sophronia's most dangerous adventure yet.

These are the things we've learned about Sophronia: she wants to know everything, she will always help those she considers close friends, she doesn't like not knowing what's going on around her, and she is most comfortable when in control of the situation. And this does rattle her, this mystery involving Sidheag and her werewolves up in Scotland. There is no question that she will not put down everything and go help. If I were in a similar situation, I would be thrilled to have Sophronia step in and take over, save the day as she so often does.

This time around, she's caught even more between Soap and Lord Mersey. Soap respects her, he will always understand the risks she takes and the decisions she makes. But Lord Mersey... I feel he respects her when it comes to certain things, and I fully believe he is waiting for the day when she will finally acquiesce to his wishes. In terms of Sophronia's own feelings, both of them confuse her. Soap with his changes in this book, and Lord Mersey with his knowledge of a group she is increasingly suspicious of. Both keep her from moving any further forward in terms of a relationship, but she has far too much to worry about.

What I love about this series in the contradiction in the tone. It's a rather serious tone, there's nothing to laugh about in regards to intelligencing and adventuring. Each girl, Sophronia especially, takes her time at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality very seriously, but the mishaps and the adventures, the names and personalities, are just so outrageous that I can't help but chuckle each time I turn the page.

Sophronia has been learning these past two years, of that there is no doubt, but when it comes to putting it all into practice and thinking about the future? That's new, and somewhat frightening. In the end, who will she give her loyalty to? I'm sad that the series will end next year with the final book, but I'm so excited to find out what will happen next.

(I received an e-galley of this title from Hachette Book Group through NetGalley.)