Rebel Mechanics

Rebel Mechanics by Shanna Swendson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's 1888. The American Revolution never got off the ground, so the British still rule the colonies. Specifically magisters do--British nobility with magical abilities. A new revolution is brewing, however, this time fueled by young inventors called Rebel Mechanics who believe that non-magical machines are the key to overthrowing British oppression and achieving freedom.

Verity Newton's mother has died after a long illness, so Verity travels from New Haven to New York City in search of a governess position in a wealthy household. The teenager manages to land one on her first day, due in part to transportation assistance from the Rebel Mechanics, who waste no time in recruiting her as a spy for The Cause. Her position as a governess to the governor's grandchildren allows her access to intelligence from the highest ranks of society. Eye-opening experiences convince her of the importance of passing on information to the rebels even as she keeps her own secrets and discovers that not all magisters are alike.

Love love love this book!! I'm so glad the second one has just come out so I don't have to wait to dive back into this reality. I just wish the next book were available on audio already because this one was great fun to listen to. Well-written characters, a story that made me thankful for a long commute, and fantastic world-building.

For readers' advisors: story, character, and setting doorways are all strong. It's marketed as teen fiction, but it works for adults, too, especially fans of steampunk, alternative history, and urban fantasy. Since it's aimed at a YA audience, there is some kissing but no sex, bad language, or graphic violence. It would likely also appeal to fans of Patricia C Wrede's Frontier Magic series.

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The Far West

The Far West by Patricia C. Wrede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In the third book of the Frontier Magic series, Eff joins an exploratory expedition headed west to map uncharted wilderness and discover what is pushing the dangerous medusa lizards ever closer to the settlement lands. No one has ever gone quite so far and lived to tell about it--certainly not the ill-fated Lewis & Clark explorers many years ago. What they find threatens to destroy everyone and everything they know and love if they can't come up with a plan to prevent a massive magical cataclysm.

I love Patricia Wrede's books! Only 2 things keep me from giving this one a 5-star rating: 1) It's obvious from the start that Eff will go on the journey but it takes her a ridiculously long time to see that. 2) Marriage proposals without so much as holding hands or kissing or anything first?! Wrede does a great job with characterization and is a master of using a tiny phrase, gesture, or pause to speak volumes, and I'm not saying there should be some big romantic subplot, but it's just not believable even in the cultural environment of this story that anyone would leap from friendship to proposing marriage without so much as a kiss!

For readers' advisors: character, story, and setting doorways. Squeaky clean read. Written for teens but great for adults, too.

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Across the Great Barrier

Across the Great Barrier by Patricia C. Wrede

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


In the late 1850s, Eff takes a job as an assistant to the two professors at the college menagerie in Mill City. Her twin brother, Lan, wants her to go to college, but she doesn't think that is the right path for her. Instead, she accompanies Professor Torgeson and their guide Wash Morris on a survey of wildlife west of the Mammoth River, where they make some very interesting discoveries, including stone animal sculptures that are not sculptures at all.

I very much enjoyed book two in this series, although it's definitely leading up to book three, since some major plot threads are left hanging. But I liked watching Eff mature and learn more about her magic and how to use it.

For readers' advisory: story and character doorways, with setting also due to the alternative history aspect



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Thirteenth Child

Thirteenth Child by Patricia C. Wrede


My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I am looking forward to reading the rest of this series (as soon as Patricia C. Wrede writes & publishes it, that is). It is a delightful story of a young girl growing up in an alternative U.S. in the late 19th century, where magic is ubiquitous and woolly mammoths share the wilderness with dragons. Eff is the thirteenth child--the seventh daughter and the older twin of the seventh son. Until her family moves to the frontier when she is five years old, Eff is tormented by some of her many relatives about being the unlucky #13, destined to turn bad. The psychological scars prove difficult to eradicate and cause Eff to be afraid of her own magical abilities, despite the encouragement of her teachers, parents, and friends.

Once I free up some bookshelf space, I will go buy myself a copy. I already want to reread it!

For reader's advisory purposes: character & story doorways, with setting an important factor, too.

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