Mortal Engines: Fear the Machine

Mortal Engines

(Goodreads)

Calling all teens who love steampunk, I found the book for you. This book, by Philip Reeve, is an interesting look into a dystopian future where technology takes over. Even though it takes over, technology certainly doesn't advance or help humanity quite how we would normally think.

If you have students who love to tinker with electronics or mirror those kids from Stanger Things, this is one book you are going to want to put in your classroom library pronto. 

Long ago, in a history Tom Natsworthy knows very little about, humankind created horrible machines meant to kill one another. Not just kill, but obliterate all life. They were almost successful but after the "Sixty Minute War," Humans were forced to attach their cities to engines and roam the earth in search of resources. The war was such a violent and destructive affair that it was no longer safe for humans to live in one stationary place. So thus the idea of Municipal Darwinism was born. Now that cities were 100% mobile, it was survival of the fittest. If a smaller city was unable to outrun a large city, much like London, they were eaten up. The people and resources within the smaller city became the property of the bigger one. Only the strong survive. 

This book features a lovable dope, Thomas Natsworthy, a Third-Class Apprentice Historian with dreams of grandeur. His hero, Thaddeus Valentine is a famous archeologist and head of the Guild of Historians in the bustling traction city of London. Tom would do anything to simply be noticed by his idol. After getting in trouble for skipping out on his chores, Tom is sent to the "gut" to help sort all of the new materials that were brought in by the town that London just captured. When he bumps into his life-long hero, Tom is starstruck. This all ends in a flash as one of the newly captured residents, Hester Shaw, attempts to murder Valentine. Eager to prove his worth, Tom intervenes and chases after the would-be murderer. Before she throws herself down a garbage shoot, Hester tells Tom that Valentine is responsible for the horrible, disfiguring scar that mars her face, as well as the death of her mother. Tom is absolutely bamboozled. Valentine soon catches up to Tom and asks him what was said between them. Hesitant, Tom only shares that she said her name. Well, this earns him a one-way trip straight into the garbage chute, courtesy of Valentine himself. Tom finds out Valentine is actually a bad guy and mopes about it for a decent while. 

For some unknown reason, Hester decides to let Tom tag along as she tries (again) to kill Valentine and get the vengeance her mother deserves. Tom spends most of the book as a kind, awkward, idiot that Hester is pretty nasty toward. God knows how it happens, but the two manage to avoid a killer superhuman robot bent on a mission to kill or turn Hester into a robot. Not only that but they get swept up in a rebel movement that is hellbent on stopping Valentine from getting his hands on a superweapon.  All of this is a bit much for poor orphan Tom's brain to process. 

In true YA fashion, cool characters end up dead for no reason other than character growth and the idiot character magically manages to save the world. Kudos to this book for having a generally unlikeable character that never really changes. Hester starts out the book as a jerk and nothing really changes by the end. Tom is the one that changes and grows up. It is beyond me how these two polar opposite characters fall in love. Hint: it is awkward. 

Suggested Student Age: 12 and up

Warning: Murder, violence, death

***** SPOILERS *****

This book was a bit painful. I think the writing and ideas were cool. However, I hated the characters. I can get behind almost any book as long as it has good characters and a decent plot. This one had a good plot but terrible characters. Imagine Shaggy from Scooby-Doo wandering through a desolate wilderness. Add the female version of Squidward to it and you have Tom and Hester. It was about as enjoyable as one can imagine. (NOT) The sad part was that all of the characters that were interesting were the secondary characters AND most of them die. WHY?! They were honestly one of two reasons I finished this book. The second was that I disliked how cocky Valentine was and wanted to see if he ever got punched in the face. *Sigh* overall, I was let down by this book. Students enjoy it because of the nerdy technology aspects and because it is easy to read. Teacher, not so much. 

Stalking Jack the Ripper: A Murder Most Foul!

Stalking Jack the Ripper

(Goodreads) 

 

Hold onto your butts, this book is one heck of a wild ride. Please keep all hands and belongings in the vehicle while we are on this ride. 

All jokes aside, this book is a bit of a rollercoaster when it comes to the plot, but I loved every second. If you are a fan of strong female main characters that fight against the social system, this book is for you. 

Enter in Audrey Rose, a 17-year-old spitfire. Born into Lord's home filled with wealth and comfort, Audrey Rose is forced to live a life of lace and proper tea parties. Gross! If she had her way, she would spend her days in her uncle's laboratory learning the tricks of the trade, forensic science that is. Audrey Rose has a deep passion for science and learning about the human body, much to her family's horror. Weighed on by the death of her mother and the following breakdown of her family, Audrey Rose tries to be the picture-perfect daughter. Behind the back of her pompous, broken father, Audrey continues her studies with her Uncle Jonathan. Jonathan Wadsworth is one of the foremost forensic scientists of the time and, though withdrawn from those around him, he deeply loves his family. With that in mind, he can't bear to keep Audrey Rose from studying what intrigues her. 

    Everything would have gone swimmingly, but Uncle Jonathan takes on a rakish young man to be his student. Upon first meeting Thomas Cresswell, it is clear to most readers (well anyone who loves YA like I do.) that this pair will play out the popular enemies-to-lovers trope over the course of this book. Thomas seems less than interested in Audrey Rose and ignores her for the most part. What do you get when a headstrong young girl is ignored by a self-important young man? Sexual tension. Nothing about their relationship over the course of the book is untoward. It is all very 1888 and ankles would make a man pass straight away. 

    Jack the Ripper has taken to the streets of London. Audrey thinks this is the perfect case for her to cut her teeth in the field while showing her family that girls are better for many things OTHER than marriage and baby-raising. Due to the relationship that Jonathan Wadsworth has with the local constabulary, Audrey Rose gets her wish and is thrown headlong into one of the most prolific serial murder cases in history. The question isn't if she knows what she is doing, but if she has a strong enough heart for what will happen as a result. 

Suggested student age: 14 and up

Warnings: Body Horror and Violence (Obviously, there are murders.) 

******SPOILERS*****

    Now that the basic synopsis is out of the way...

This book was a bit of a wild ride for me. I love a strong female character as much as the next feminist teacher, but Audrey Rose fell a bit flat. I know that having the book set in a particular time period limits the ability of the writer to take too many creative liberties with her radical behavior/ ideas. However, Audrey Rose felt weak and like a shadow. There was so little that defined her as a person outside of defying family expectations, science, and her budding romance for Thomas. I was hoping for a bit more from her. Why didn't she have any female friends? That was something that bothered me more than anything. In all of London high society, there wasn't a single girl who even felt slightly like Audrey did? NONE? It made her less believable. Girls, regardless of age and mental focus, have friends. In all my time as a teacher, I have never met a single girl that didn't try to have friends. 

SUPER SPOILERS

The whole thing at the end with her brother, Nathaniel, being the killer was a bit off. It became very steampunk with Nathaniel trying to bring their long-dead mother back from the grave through harvested body parts and "science." I thought that was just too much. The madness was believable, but the "logic" was so farfetched that I struggled to finish the book. Thank goodness that it was at the VERY end. 

Now you may ask why I am giving this book such a high rating when I struggled with the ending. My simple answer is my students. They love this book and it was able to get even my most reluctant readers to actually pick up a book. I guess nothing interests a teen more than murder. (Yes, I am concerned about their TV habits when they can tell me about how stupid the murderer was.) However, they reacted to the book and thought critically about it. Many of my timid girls found a little bit of strength in Audrey that they have been trying to muster themselves. I think this book, despite its flaws, offers so much to you people.