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 It: Goodreads // 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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Since You've Been Gone by Morgan Matson

Page Count: 449
Published on: May 6th 2014
Published by: Simon & Schuster
Genre(s): Contemporary, Romance, YA
Source: Hardback: Library
Age Rating: PG
Where To Find It: Goodreads // Amazon

Twitter: @morgan_m My Rating: 5 stars







Goodreads synopsis:

It was Sloane who yanked Emily out of her shell and made life 100% interesting. But right before what should have been the most epic summer, Sloane just…disappears. All she leaves behind is a to-do list.

On it, thirteen Sloane-inspired tasks that Emily would normally never try. But what if they could bring her best friend back?

Apple picking at night? Okay, easy enough.

Dance until dawn? Sure. Why not?

Kiss a stranger? Um...

Emily now has this unexpected summer, and the help of Frank Porter (totally unexpected), to check things off Sloane's list. Who knows what she’ll find?

Go skinny-dipping? Wait...what? 

~~~

Hey, guys!

     So I posted my March Wrap Up and April TBR List on March 30th, but I finished Since You've Been Gone on the 31st...I didn't think I would have, I finished my term paper early. And let me say, OH MY GOSH THIS IS PERFECT!!! I nearly cried in the middle of class (don't worry I had finished my work before I started to finish reading).

     At first, I thought SYBG was going to be a super cheesy cliche YA contemporary novel, but Morgan Matson really surprised me. This totally lived up to my expectations..maybe more...I loved it! I probably like Since You've Been Gone better than Amy and Roger and Second Chance Summer..yeah...SYBG has to be my all time favorite.

     SYBG follows Emily. Emily's best friend Sloane just up and disappeared at the beginning of summer and left Emily a list of things to do. This list of things are totally out of shy Emily's comfort zone, but she's determined to do them all to find Sloane again. Along the way, friend-less Emily reminisces about different moments in the past 2 years that she spent with Sloane. Along the way, Emily meets new people and experiences new things that open her up to a different world view.

     I love the character development throughout this book for Emily is so obvious and beautiful. I can relate to Emily on a personal level. She and I are really shy and I kind of rely on my twin sister's spontaneous-ness to kind of break the ice when I meet new people, but since I've met new people and had less classes with her this year, I've found that it's easier to make friends when you're being yourself. And that's exactly what Emily did, she put herself out there and tried new things. Emily is such an amazing character...and I love Frank and Collins and Sloane and I hated Sam. The characters were so fun and I can totally imagine the characters in real life.

If you love Morgan Matson's books you will love Since You've Been Gone! This book is so beautiful and so fun to read! I love it so much!


I'm currently reading: The Geography Of You & Me by Jennifer E. Smith

I just finished:  This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith 
and I will be putting up a review soon! 

UPDATE:

Since I'm on spring break this next week, I will try to post more, but when school starts back up I will go back to posting twice a week. :)

QUESTION OF THE WEEK:

What are you currently reading? Comment down below!

Happy Easter guys!

Until later!
Olivia
~livthebooknerd~

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@LivTheBookNerd on Books