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A review by librarydanielle
Fires of Invention, Volume 1 by J. Scott Savage
5.0
Trenton lives in a strange dystopian world. it isn't the "future" but it isn't quite steampunk either. from what I could gather about the dates it's ridge around the late 90's, not they the year matters much. The society that Trenton lives in its strictly controlled. but not as strict as some dystopians. Foods ate regulated (This day is beef, that is fish), but families choose how to prepare each meal. Students also are assigned their career based on aptitude tests.
Creativity and invention ates STRICTLY prohibited, with infractions resulting in "retraining" (we never fully discover what retraining is though). as usual, most of society is content with this system. but Trenton is bored. he likes machines and wants to make them better. we guest meet him as he's creating an unauthorized invention- a modified swing. he is discovered, and escapes retraining when he frees a jam in a coal feeder. the cause of the jam is a mysterious tube. the tube intrigues Trenton and it leads him on an adventure where he meets Kallista, an infamous inventor's daughter, and discovers that things aren't quite what they seem.
I enjoyed this very much. the dystopian overtones and the surprise at the end were so much fun. the world is clear, worth the exception of the mysterious retraining, and the characters well developed. the only thing that kept nagging at me was the infamous inventor's name: Leo Babbage. it kept reminding me of Rick Riordan's Leo and I'd have to take a second to remember that I wasn't in that world. it did get jarring and annoying after a while, but not enough to dock a star.
this will definitely appeal to kids who like adventure, mystery, fantasy, and dystopia, so a variety of tastes. ;)
Creativity and invention ates STRICTLY prohibited, with infractions resulting in "retraining" (we never fully discover what retraining is though). as usual, most of society is content with this system. but Trenton is bored. he likes machines and wants to make them better. we guest meet him as he's creating an unauthorized invention- a modified swing. he is discovered, and escapes retraining when he frees a jam in a coal feeder. the cause of the jam is a mysterious tube. the tube intrigues Trenton and it leads him on an adventure where he meets Kallista, an infamous inventor's daughter, and discovers that things aren't quite what they seem.
I enjoyed this very much. the dystopian overtones and the surprise at the end were so much fun. the world is clear, worth the exception of the mysterious retraining, and the characters well developed. the only thing that kept nagging at me was the infamous inventor's name: Leo Babbage. it kept reminding me of Rick Riordan's Leo and I'd have to take a second to remember that I wasn't in that world. it did get jarring and annoying after a while, but not enough to dock a star.
this will definitely appeal to kids who like adventure, mystery, fantasy, and dystopia, so a variety of tastes. ;)