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A review by mar
Gearbreakers by Zoe Hana Mikuta
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook, which was great - the narrators matched the characters perfectly, the audio quality was smooth and well-edited; my only complaint would be that the narrator for Eris's chapters occasionally spoke at a slightly faster pace than the other, so I had to switch between 1.25x and 1x speed every now and then between chapters, but other than that it's very easy to listen to.
All that out of the way - it took me until about 1/3 of the book to get properly into it, but once Sona's and Eris's paths finally cross, DAMN. it gets GOOD. I love their fierceness, their enemies-to-lovers dynamic, I love the found family of it all of the Gearbreakers. Any minor criticisms I might have fade in comparison to how much I enjoyed this book. I just KNOW I would've become completely obsessed with it if I read it in high school, it's so unlike any other YA book I've read.
My favourite part of the book was Sona's internal conflict - her hostility towards her own body, the disgust she feels for Godolia and what they turned her into versus the power she feels when piloting a mecha, her attempts at forming a new identity for herself as a Gearbreaker. It's so compelling, and I love that she's not just fighting to get revenge for her parents, but for herself, too. It's so angsty in that distinctly YA way, but it GOT to me, okay!!! The ending is a gut punch after gut punch and I cannot wait for the sequel. I Am Not Immune to teen girls who had their childhoods stolen away fighting against the regime, taking down huge mechas and falling in love 🥺
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
All that out of the way - it took me until about 1/3 of the book to get properly into it, but once Sona's and Eris's paths finally cross, DAMN. it gets GOOD. I love their fierceness, their enemies-to-lovers dynamic, I love the found family of it all of the Gearbreakers. Any minor criticisms I might have fade in comparison to how much I enjoyed this book. I just KNOW I would've become completely obsessed with it if I read it in high school, it's so unlike any other YA book I've read.
My favourite part of the book was Sona's internal conflict - her hostility towards her own body, the disgust she feels for Godolia and what they turned her into versus the power she feels when piloting a mecha, her attempts at forming a new identity for herself as a Gearbreaker. It's so compelling, and I love that she's not just fighting to get revenge for her parents, but for herself, too. It's so angsty in that distinctly YA way, but it GOT to me, okay!!! The ending is a gut punch after gut punch and I cannot wait for the sequel. I Am Not Immune to teen girls who had their childhoods stolen away fighting against the regime, taking down huge mechas and falling in love 🥺
(Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Death, Child death, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Gore, and Torture
Minor: Vomit