YA Wednesday - The Girl in the Steel Corset

The Girl in the Steel Corset

By: Kady Cross

Genre: Steampunk, YA

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Summary:

In 1897 England, sixteen-year-old Finley Jayne has no one... except the "thing" inside her.

When a young lord tries to take advantage of Finley, she fights back. And wins. But no normal Victorian girl has a darker side that makes her capable of knocking out a full-grown man with one punch...

Only Griffin King sees the magical darkness inside her that says she's special, says she's one of them. The orphaned duke takes her in from the gaslit streets against the wishes of his band of misfits: Emily, who has her own special abilities and an unrequited love for Sam, who is part robot; and Jasper, an American cowboy with a shadowy secret.

Griffin's investigating a criminal called The Machinist, the mastermind behind several recent crimes by automatons. Finley thinks she can help and finally be a part of something, finally fit in.

But The Machinist wants to tear Griff's little company of strays apart, and it isn't long before trust is tested on all sides. At least Finley knows whose side she's on even if it seems no one believes her.

My Thoughts:

This book, has a great story, a fun plot, characters who I adore - it's steampunk, which is my favorite thing ever right now, but it did not in anyway live up to the standards set by Gail Carriger (and one more). The writing, or better said editing, didn't help the story reach it's full potential. I loved Finley, and how different sci-fi stories such as Jekyll and Hyde, Journey to the Center of the Earth, and Frankenstein were all woven into the narrative. I am not a love triangle fan, but this one was ok, I am excited to see how Finley will resolve this in the future. 

My main problems are best summarized in how when asking for forgiveness a character just looks and says "We good?" WHAT? This isn't taking place in downtown LA or in modern society for that matter. If you are trying to convince me that this is in London, stop with the slang and let the characters speak how they are supposed to. It irked me to no end to see this pop up through out the novel. Also if I figure things out about 250 pages before the characters it's a problem. 

It had potential to be amazingly wonderful, but because of poor editing it fell flat. Though, I will be reading the sequel because I love the characters that much. 

Misc. Monday - Jenna Starborn

Jenna Starborn

By: Sharon Shinn

Genre: Sci-Fi

Rating: 2 stars

Summary:

Jenna Starborn was harvested from the gen-tanks on the planet Baldus. Mistreated as a child she goes on to school and from there to far off planets as a nuclear tech. Here she grows to her place in the universe. A new and intergalactic telling of Jane Eyre.

My Thoughts:

Oh dear...this was supposed to be a retelling of  Jane Eyre (not my favorite story anyway) so I thought it would loosely hold onto elements of the classic novel. Well Shinn had a different plan in mind. Instead of little things here and there, she clung to the story of the classic novel much to the detriment of what could have been a very fun and interesting futuristic novel. Jane Eyre doesn't have the personality that is believable in modern societies. I really had difficulty taking her seriously in her own book so Jenna really wasn't working for me at all.

The only thing that made me finish it was wondering how they were going to get past the cyborg in the mining compound...sorry I mean mad-woman in the attic. I just laughed the whole way through because it was impossible to take seriously.

I really was disappointed with the novel because I think Shinn is a great writer. Oh well, I will stick to her fantasy and be happy there. Pass on this but don't give up on her.

Miscellaneous Monday - Science Fiction

Tunnel in the Sky

By: Robert Heinlein

Genre: Science Fiction

Rating: 4 stars

Summary:

What started out as a test for school turns into a survival trip no one was expecting. After the way home disappears with no sign of returning, several young men and women must fight to survive on a planet on the other side of the universe. Without any of the luxuries from home, including a steady source of food, law enforcement and hospitals these young adults must make a new civilization for themselves.

This is one of the few books that I have read that I feel like I could unquestionably recommend to men as well as women. It is a wonderfully crafted adventure which, due to the fact that it is 55 years old, gets overlooked.  At first it looks like a Lord of the Flies remake, however it is done in such a way that it is much more enjoyable to read, yet is a wonderful examination of human nature and how we form our societies. This is a great book to read even if you aren’t into sci-fi. It doesn’t rely heavily on the futuristic world but rather on this “what-if” scenario -  putting people in a situation where no one is taking care of them and seeing what human characteristics emerge.  It also shows what true leadership is and how it is attained.

As I previously stated, I would recommend this to guys as well as girls, probably in the younger set, 14-16 but because of the content you can still read it when you are older and enjoy it immensely.