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A review by tough_cookie
The Unnaturalists by Tiffany Trent
3.0
While the premise of this book claims to be Steampunk in nature and it does have elements of the genre, I would not consider this a true "Steampunk" novel; rather, it is more of a fantasy/alternate reality story with a little Steampunk thrown in.
The story itself is interesting: told from alternating points of view, we start with Vespa Nyx, a young girl who works at her father's museum of Unnaturals. I found her to be annoying and weak in nature, and so there were very few times when I felt sympathy for her. Then comes the other POV in the form of Syrus Reed, a 13- or 14-year-old boy who is a Tinker living with his people (who are Rom-like in nature) outside the walls of New London in train cars. They care for the Unnaturals that live in the nearby forest. When his people are either killed or captured to be made into slaves for New London's Refineries, Syrus seeks to find a way to free them. And thus, his and Vespa's destinies become intertwined. Along the way, Vespa finds a romantic interest in Pedant Hal Lumin, who isn't who he claims to be and is also annoying in that he tries to do EVERYTHING himself, which doesn't work out. At all. Also, the romance between him and Vespa falls into a pit of gooey, sticky drama that the story could not slough off, even at the very end, when the two end up unsure of their relationship.
While I'm sure many readers would enjoy the flow and suspense of the story, I just found it frustrating at too many points. I know I'm being overly critical of this book, but my expectations are high, and this novel failed to meet them in a most disappointing manner. Suffice to say, I will not be reading the sequel.
The story itself is interesting: told from alternating points of view, we start with Vespa Nyx, a young girl who works at her father's museum of Unnaturals. I found her to be annoying and weak in nature, and so there were very few times when I felt sympathy for her. Then comes the other POV in the form of Syrus Reed, a 13- or 14-year-old boy who is a Tinker living with his people (who are Rom-like in nature) outside the walls of New London in train cars. They care for the Unnaturals that live in the nearby forest. When his people are either killed or captured to be made into slaves for New London's Refineries, Syrus seeks to find a way to free them. And thus, his and Vespa's destinies become intertwined. Along the way, Vespa finds a romantic interest in Pedant Hal Lumin, who isn't who he claims to be and is also annoying in that he tries to do EVERYTHING himself, which doesn't work out. At all. Also, the romance between him and Vespa falls into a pit of gooey, sticky drama that the story could not slough off, even at the very end, when the two end up unsure of their relationship.
While I'm sure many readers would enjoy the flow and suspense of the story, I just found it frustrating at too many points. I know I'm being overly critical of this book, but my expectations are high, and this novel failed to meet them in a most disappointing manner. Suffice to say, I will not be reading the sequel.