Zoe Hana Mikuta’s stellar debut is an intense dystopian sci-fi about the country of Godolia and their army of Windups. Mikuta’s take on mechas (a 200-foot giant humanoid robot suit that has a pilot inside) was refreshing and dynamic. One of our story’s main characters, Sona, is one such pilot. Our other MC is Eris, a Gearbreaker, who’s one mission is to fight Godolia and destroy the existing Windups.
When Eris is captured on a Gearbreaker mission, she’s thrown into the midst of her enemy with no friendly faces. Or are there? Sona is a victim of Godolia’s cruelty too, but sided with them because she had nowhere else to turn to. She sees escape in Eris, a place to run to. As they team up and plan their deadliest mission yet, Eris and Sona have to learn to trust each other—as teammates, friends, and perhaps something more...
The Pros:
-Well developed sci-fi/dystopian world as the backdrop to the story
-Cool giant robots
-Amazing character creation and development. You will grow attached to Eris and Sona, as well as several of their friends! It’s always an amazing thing when a book is driven by fantastic characters, and Mikuta has done so with this debut.
-Catherine Ho and Cindy Kay are fantastic narrators who each bring such vibrant life to these characters and their story.
The Cons:
-The book ends in a cliff-hanger that will leave you dying for book two. With how attached to the characters I became, and with the ambiguous ending, I’m hanging off the edge of my seat over here!
