[REVIEW] Metaltown – Kristen Simmons

Kristen Simmons
Metaltown
Macmillan Tor (US: 20th September 2016; AU: 11th October 2016)
Buy (US Kindle Edition) Buy (US Hardcover) Buy (UK Kindle Edition) Buy (UK Hardcover) Buy (UK Paperback) Buy (CA Kindle Edition) Buy (CA Hardcover) Buy (CA Paperback) Buy (Worldwide Hardcover) Buy (Worldwide Paperback)

NOTE: I first published this review as part of the group “My Favorite Things” column on Speculative Chic, 6th February 2017.

Some stories have more resonance if you read them at a particular time.

I didn’t plan for Kristen Simmons’s Metaltown to be my first read of 2017, but that’s when my library copy arrived. The novel felt instantly familiar, as it fits the classic underdog plot. But instead of a feel-good story, Metaltown is dark and dystopian – and not everyone gets a happy ending.

Mostly the story rings true because it shows how to create change.

Ty and Colin work in the small parts section of a manufacturer. There are no health benefits, and they often aren’t paid in a timely manner, enough, or at all. A workplace accident leads to acid burns and a lost job. Ty has nothing left to lose – she’s now an unemployed, homeless orphan, and even her best friend Colin seems to be slipping away from her. And so Ty does what she can lead a “press”, a workers’ strike, against the manufacturer.

But she can’t do it alone. One person can’t be the entire movement in order to create real change. Ty needs the entire small parts section – and other sections, too – to band together in the press. If everyone stops work, the manufacturer will be forced to employ and train more workers. That will make it more difficult for the company to fill the order for their products. This will be bad for business, so the manufacturer has something to lose unless they agree to the workers’ demands.

Can one person make a difference? Maybe. But there’s strength in numbers, and we can’t expect one person to shoulder all the responsibility. We each need to find our personal tipping point; what we’re willing to risk for the greater good. We must PRESS BACK.

Metaltown is a timely read that I won’t soon forget.

October 2016 Releases

Done with September 2016 Releases? Here are October 2016 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

20th September 2016 Releases

Happy Release Day to:

Josephine Angelini
Firewalker (Worldwalker, Book 2)
Macmillan Square Fish (US: 20th September 2016)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Lily is back in her own universe, and she’s ready to relax with Rowan. True, she almost died in the Pyre that fuelled their escape, and must hide her magic for the safety of the world, but compared to fighting the monstrous Woven and leading armies in the alternate Salem, life is looking good. Unfortunately, Lillian, ruthless ruler of the 13 Cities, is not willing to let Lily go that easily. If she can’t persuade Lily to return to her world, she’ll have to find a way to make her come back.

Josephine Angelini
Witch’s Pyre (Worldwalker, Book 3)
Macmillan (US: 20th September 2016)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Lily Proctor has come a long way from the weak, sickly girl she used to be. She has gained power as a witch and a leader, found her way home, chosen to face battle again, and (after losing her first love and being betrayed by her new love) she has learned more about loss and grief than she ever wanted to know. Thrust once again into a society different from anything they have ever seen, Lily and her coven are determined to find answers – to find a new path to victory, a way to defeat the monstrous Woven without resorting to nuclear weapons or becoming a tyrannical mass murderer like her alternate self, Lillian. But sometimes winning requires sacrifices…and when the only clear path to victory lies at Lillian’s side, what price will Lily be willing to pay?

Mindy McGinnis
The Female of the Species
HarperCollins Katherine Tegen (US & CA: 20th September 2016)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Alex Craft knows how to kill someone. And she doesn’t feel bad about it. When her older sister, Anna, was murdered three years ago and the killer walked free, Alex uncaged the language she knows best. The language of violence. While her crime goes unpunished, Alex knows she can’t be trusted among other people, even in her small hometown. She relegates herself to the shadows, a girl who goes unseen in plain sight, unremarkable in the high school hallways. But Jack Fisher sees her. He’s the guy all other guys want to be: the star athlete gunning for valedictorian with the prom queen on his arm. Guilt over the role he played the night Anna’s body was discovered hasn’t let him forget Alex, and now her green eyes amid a constellation of freckles have his attention. He doesn’t want to only see Alex Craft; he wants to know her. So does Peekay, the preacher’s kid, a girl whose identity is entangled with her dad’s job, though that does not stop her from knowing the taste of beer or missing the touch of her ex-boyfriend. When Peekay and Alex start working together at the animal shelter, a friendship forms and Alex’s protective nature extends to more than just the dogs and cats they care for. Circumstances bring Alex, Jack, and Peekay together as their senior year unfolds. While partying one night, Alex’s darker side breaks out, setting the teens on a collision course that will change their lives forever.

Kristen Simmons
Metaltown
Macmillan Tor (US: 20th September 2016)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
The rules of Metaltown are simple: Work hard, keep your head down, and watch your back. You look out for number one, and no one knows that better than Ty. She’s been surviving on the factory line as long as she can remember. But now Ty has Colin. She’s no longer alone; it’s the two of them against the world. That’s something even a town this brutal can’t take away from her. Until it does. Lena’s future depends on her family’s factory, a beast that demands a ruthless master, and Lena is prepared to be as ruthless as it takes if it means finally proving herself to her father. But when a chance encounter with Colin, a dreamer despite his circumstances, exposes Lena to the consequences of her actions, she’ll risk everything to do what’s right. In Lena, Ty sees an heiress with a chip on her shoulder. Colin sees something more. In a world of disease and war, tragedy and betrayal, allies and enemies, all three of them must learn that challenging what they thought was true can change all the rules.

September 2016 Releases

Done with August 2016 Releases? Here are September 2016 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist.

6 New Covers (McGarry, Reisz, Ryan, Simmons, Vincent, Williams)

Now Available for US Pre-Order

Josephine Angelini: FIREWALKER (paperback): 20th September 2016: Buy (US)
Josephine Angelini: WITCH’S PYRE: 20th September 2016: Buy (US)
S. A. Bodeen: THE DETOUR (paperback): 4th October 2016: Buy (US)
Robin Bridges: THE FORM OF THINGS UNKNOWN: 30th August 2016: Buy (US)
Mira Grant: CHIMERA (paperback): 2nd August 2016: Buy (US)
Megan Hart: LITTLE SECRETS (paperback): 2nd February 2016: Buy (US)
J. M. Kelly: SPEED OF LIFE: 11th October 2016: Buy (US)
Herman Koch: DEAR MR. M: 6th September 2016: Buy (US)
Kim Liggett: THE LAST HARVEST: 11th October 2016: Buy (US)
Katharine McGee: THE THOUSANDTH FLOOR: 30th August 2016: Buy (US)
Mindy McGinnis: A MADNESS SO DISCREET (paperback): 6th September 2016: Buy (US)
Kristen Simmons: METALTOWN: 20th September 2016: Buy (US)
Rachel Vincent: THE FLAME NEVER DIES: 16th August 2016: Buy (US)
Cecily von Ziegesar: DARK HORSES: 13th September 2016: Buy (US)