Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by rachelmariereads
Fearless by Francine Pascal
5.0
Fearless follows 17 year-old Gaia Moore as she starts junior year after moving to New York… but Gaia is anything but your typical teen. Gaia was born without the gene that produces fear, leaving her unafraid of anything. Her father took her abilities and honed her into a weapon: Gaia is a master of martial arts, with strength and reflexes off the charts. But since his disappearance, Gaia has been transplanted to New York, to live with a family friend.
You could say Gaia has a bit of an anger problem. She’s quick to a spiteful remark, and she doesn’t make friends easily. But she finds solace in Washington Square Park. There, at the chess tables, she finds other misfits like herself, and a place where she can find a modicum of peace— away from the judgmental high school cliques and, and away from the trauma of her past. But when that peace is threatened by a growing Neo-Nazi gang using the park as their hunting grounds, Gaia decides to play vigilante.
During the day Gaia goes to high school, and finds herself unexpectedly friends with Ed Fargo, and enemies with the popular and perfect Heather Gannis. In the afternoons Gaia frequents the chess tables, and where she meets Sam Moon, an NYU student that she feels a magnetic pull to. And by night, Gaia waits in the shadows of Washington Park, ready to fight any Neo-Nazi she comes across. But as the novel progresses her separate spaces start to bleed over into each other. And as Gaia navigates her new life in New York, someone else is watching her, taking notes on everything she does.
I was obsessed with this series when I was younger, and I’m so glad that it really held up! This book was first published in 1999, so it’s true that there are some cliché tropes (“not like other girls” & “popular girl vs misfit” to name a few) but I was surprised by just how engaging and interesting this story still is. Fearless really sets the stage for an epic 30+ book series, and I can’t wait to re-explore the rest of them! If you’re looking for a fun YA-thriller with all the late-90’s and early 2000’s vibes, I highly recommend checking this out!
You could say Gaia has a bit of an anger problem. She’s quick to a spiteful remark, and she doesn’t make friends easily. But she finds solace in Washington Square Park. There, at the chess tables, she finds other misfits like herself, and a place where she can find a modicum of peace— away from the judgmental high school cliques and, and away from the trauma of her past. But when that peace is threatened by a growing Neo-Nazi gang using the park as their hunting grounds, Gaia decides to play vigilante.
During the day Gaia goes to high school, and finds herself unexpectedly friends with Ed Fargo, and enemies with the popular and perfect Heather Gannis. In the afternoons Gaia frequents the chess tables, and where she meets Sam Moon, an NYU student that she feels a magnetic pull to. And by night, Gaia waits in the shadows of Washington Park, ready to fight any Neo-Nazi she comes across. But as the novel progresses her separate spaces start to bleed over into each other. And as Gaia navigates her new life in New York, someone else is watching her, taking notes on everything she does.
I was obsessed with this series when I was younger, and I’m so glad that it really held up! This book was first published in 1999, so it’s true that there are some cliché tropes (“not like other girls” & “popular girl vs misfit” to name a few) but I was surprised by just how engaging and interesting this story still is. Fearless really sets the stage for an epic 30+ book series, and I can’t wait to re-explore the rest of them! If you’re looking for a fun YA-thriller with all the late-90’s and early 2000’s vibes, I highly recommend checking this out!