Sunday, April 26, 2015

Mechanica by Betsy Cornwell


Page Count: 304
Published on: August 4th, 2015
Published by: Clarion Books (HMH)
Genre(s): YA, Science Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Fairy-Tale Retelling, Steampunk
Source: ARC given to me by my school librarian, which was given to her by Clarion/HMH Publishing

Where To Find ItGoodreads // Amazon  

My Rating: 5 stars





Goodreads synopsis:

       Nicolette’s awful stepsisters call her “Mechanica” to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother’s knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have turned her into a servant in her own home. 


       But on her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette discovers a secret workshop in the cellar and begins to dare to imagine a new life for herself. Could the mysterious books and tools hidden there—and the mechanical menagerie, led by a tiny metal horse named Jules—be the key to escaping her dreary existence? With a technological exposition and royal ball on the horizon, the timing might just be perfect for Nicolette to earn her freedom at last.

       Gorgeous prose and themes of social justice and family shine in this richly imagined Cinderella retelling about an indomitable inventor who finds her prince . . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairytale happy ending after all.



~~~

Hey guys!

      Sooooo. This book was so good! Keep in mind that at the end of the synopsis, it says: ". . . but realizes she doesn't want a fairytale happy ending after all." You need to take that literally. Otherwise, you probably won't like the ending (and if you're dramatic about emotional endings you will hate the book). 
Mechanica follows Nicolette Lampton. On her sixteenth birthday, she discovers her mother's old workshop. She befriends a mechanical little horse named Jules. She starts to create little mechanical machines, will her inventing help her escape the tyrannical clutches of her "Steps"? There is an exposition and a ball, soon, that celebrates the coming of age of the Heir. The event gives Nicolette the chance to try to escape her situation.

What I Loved: 
~ The whole world! I hope that Betsy writes more fairy-tale retellings that are based in that world
~ I loved her whole retelling. It was really well written and the backstory for her parents was really well thought out and explained her whole mind setting and personality. 
~ The whole story went along really well with the original story by The Brothers Grimm.
~ I loved how level headed she was by the end of the book. With what happened towards the end she actually acted really level headed for an emotional teenager. She is really mature for a 16-year-old :)


What I Hated:
~ Nothing...Well, I would have liked the ending to happen differently, but the ending was actually satisfying, and I really enjoyed it.
~ This book is nothing like Cinder so I'm not sure why people are comparing this to it. STOP IT!

If You Liked ______ You'll Love Mechanica!
  • (MG) Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
  • (MG) Fairest by Gail Carson Levine
  • (MG) The Land Stories by Chris Colfer
  • (YA) The Lunar Chronicles (for the fairytale retelling aspect)
  • (YA) Entwined by Heather Dixon
  • (YA) Beauty by Robin McKinley

Mechanica comes out AUGUST 4TH, 2014!!!!

Enjoy!
Olivia
~livthebooknerd~

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