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Mechanica

di Betsy Cornwell

Serie: Mechanica (1)

UtentiRecensioniPopolaritàMedia votiCitazioni
3882565,018 (3.75)5
Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. HTML:

A New York Times Bestseller
Nicolette's awful stepsisters call her "Mechanica" to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother's knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday??and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse??Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. And the timing may be perfect: There's a technological exposition and a royal ball on the horizon. Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike… (altro)

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A quirky reimagined version of Cinderella with fae elements and a mechanically minded heroine who is more at home when she's tinkering, fixing and inventing.

Nicolette was heartbroken after the loss of her mother and that only got worse when her father remarried. Her new stepmother and stepsisters wanted nothing to do with her - though they put on a decent front for her father. But when her father dies as well, Nicolette is pushed into the role of servant and so she stays for years - apathetic and numb to her life.

But everything changes on her sixteenth birthday when Nicolette receives a letter that leads her to the legacy her mother left behind - her workshop full of bits and bobs to create mechanical masterpieces. Thriving with her new path, Nicolette dares to dream of a better life - if only she is willing to take it.

I'm not sure what I was expecting exactly, but this wasn't it. This was a bit of a bizarre read. There is a lot of potential here but it doesn't quite reach the heights it could. The romance was clumsy and while likely designed with some sort of empowering girl power message it just feels awkward. The idea of not ending up with the prince was great. Fully supported it. But I didn't love Nick's feelings for him in the first place. It didn't feel like it developed organically and it felt ridiculously over the top. To be fair - probably also the standard for YA but I wasn't feeling it. I agree Fin didn't love her. I just also didn't agree that she loved him. So it irritated me that her empowering moment was letdown by the fact she had to have it at all. Couldn't she just be friends with the prince?

I hated the secondary complication of Fin loving Caro. Love triangles irritate me but this one particularly felt icky. Probably the idea they'd be forever locked into a threesome. And the final interaction was just too dismissive. It felt like all that build up was just gone in 3 seconds and it made no sense. It just felt awkward and out of place. The only one who seemed to have her head on straight regarding romance was Caro. I did think Caro's viewpoint was refreshing for a YA novel but it also came out of nowhere. It sort of felt like the author decided she should be preaching all the popular moral values and just mashed them up and it just didn't work.


That said, Nick was a great character. The author did a great job writing a likeable, relatable character with strengths and flaws. She wasn't all powerful or all knowing, she was just a normal everyday girl who wants love and friendship and happiness and I was all for it. I may have hated the romance but I adored her realisation at the end about what she wanted from life.

And then, finally—with a feeling in my chest that was a sinking and a rising at once, a drowning and a stirring of wings—I knew my answer. I could not fit inside a story someone else had built.

Cornwell, Betsy. Mechanica (p. 290). Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Kindle Edition.



On the other hand I hated the stepmother and stepsisters. They were horrible. Nick's despair was heartbreaking. The friendship between Nick and Caro was terrific though. The fierce bond was a bit abrupt but people do sometimes just click and I liked that they spent time writing to one another to get to know each other better. Plus they were both so genuinely nice and it was refreshing. Even when they were potentially competing against each other for Fin, both of them were just supportive and kind to one another and it was great. I even rather liked the friendship between Fin, Nick and Caro - I would've liked to see it develop further without the romance complications.

In regards to the plot, I enjoyed the slower pace and the focus on Nick and her inventions and the life she was building. But not everyone will - it's very slice of life and that can be very hit or miss with people. The world building was interesting but a bit thin - I would've liked to know more about the Fae and her mother's history with them. I felt like it let the story down not going into the deeper connections. But what was introduced was good and kept my attention.

A fun steampunk retelling of Cinderella with genuinely nice characters and a straightforward plot. 3 stars. ( )
  funstm | Mar 15, 2024 |
I adore fairy tale retellings, and I especially like it when the story takes a brand new twist on the familiar tale. Cornwell's Mechanica may be one of the most refreshing Cinderella retelling I've come across since Cinder. The world-building is fascinating. The story takes place in a kingdom in which Faerie magic has been banned because a Fey assassin killed the heir to the throne.

Nicolette’s mother had been a skilled inventor, creating mechanical trinkets and devices that had built the family's wealth. On her sixteenth birthday, Nicolette found her mother's workshop and began to use her own ingenuity and engineering talent to plan for a future in which she could earn enough money to buy back her family's home from her stepmother. I loved that this story was not about going to the ball to marry the prince. Instead, Nicolette's goal was to attend the Cultural Exposition Gala where she could show off her inventions and gain a sponsor for her work.

It just so happens that the plot neatly dovetails with the original story and Nicolette also gets a marriage proposal. And I was especially appreciative that she turned it down because she valued herself as more than just a political pawn or story.

This is the feminist Cinderella I've been waiting for. As much as I love the Cinderella story, my constant complaint is just how damn spineless the main character is in the original story. She meekly accepts her lot in life, accepts the abuse from her father (who was not dead in the Brothers Grimm version) and step-family, and doesn't even speak up for herself in the end while her step-sisters are getting their feet mutilated. And Disney has perpetuated that and reinforced that Cinderella's most important trait was her innate goodness and kindness -- and to add injury to insult, backslid even further with the 2015 movie by having her sit quietly in the attic after getting locked in. Oh, that movie made me SO MAD I practically had cartoon smoke coming out of my ears.

(Give me Danielle from Ever After any day of the week over Disney's doormat of a character. She grabbed a sword and freed herself, dammit!)

So, Mechanica was a breath of fresh air because HELL YES Nicolette saves herself. And not only does she save herself, she uses her intelligence to do so. AND she doesn't take the easy way out and marry the prince, which would have meant she's had lived in the lap of luxury for the rest of her life. No, she turned him down because she would not settle for a marriage that neither of them really wanted.

I'm so looking forward to a sequel because there's so many hints of what's coming next. (Like WAR! With Faerie!) And I'm so utterly in love with the worldbuilding and the characters, I want more. ( )
  wisemetis | Sep 15, 2022 |
This book is truly MAGICAL. The writing is gorgeous right from page one, and I wanted to dive into the words and world. I adored the creativeness of the steampunk aspects. It's all everything I could have wanted in a fairytale retelling.

The story isn't terribly complex, and some of the plot thread wrap-ups seemed thin, but what it does (namely following the Cinderella character as she develops her own agency), it does very well. I enjoyed and appreciated the exploration of friendship, platonic and romantic love, and being true to your own dreams. ( )
  hissingpotatoes | Dec 28, 2021 |
I try to express only my most honest opinion in a spoiler-free way. Unfortunately, there is still always a risk of slight spoilers despite my best efforts. If you feel something in my review is a spoiler please let me know. Thank you.

Nicolette loves her mechanical creations. She got it and learned it from her mother. After her mother dies when she was 9 years old. Her father remarries, and Nick thinks she will have a new family and friends in her stepmother and two stepsisters, but after her father dies the Steps show their true colors. Turning Nick into a neglected servant. Nick tries to find a way to be free and independent. She meets Caro and Fin, and they become friends who help her. Feeling for Fin develop. All the while a war with the Fey, that was banished years ago, is slowly brewing. But rumors are that the heir to the throne Prince Christopher wants to reopen things with the Fey.

Likes:
~Cinderella retelling
~An original take on an old story
~Nicks eagerness to save herself
~Steampunk
~Twist ending

Dislikes:
~Took awhile to get into

This is a Cinderella retelling but as a more steampunk sort of twist. It's interesting and original in its own way. It also explores relationships other than just the romantic kind, which I think is great. It also has Nick wanting to save herself, not just waiting around for a white knight to come and save her. She has a dream that she is willing to see through to the end. How she doesn't let romantic love change everything about her and what she wants. It's a great lesson that I think many people could learn from. ( )
  starslight86 | Jul 20, 2021 |
I shall just write what most of the book reviewers have probably written the moment when they've stopped reading it right after they reached its ending. This novel's like Steampunk version of Cinderella, which isn't necessarily bad by any means, it's just not for everyone, for not everyone loves and adores Steampunk. I have to say that I am one of those who don't actually love or adore Steampunk, but that didn't stop me from giving this novel and this author a shot. Needless to say, I was surprised by it, very surprised, by every single chapter that I've read within it, and I am really looking forward to reading the continuation someday when I shall clear my schedule for a brand new Steampunk adventure and for a brand new story line. ( )
  Champ88 | Dec 25, 2019 |
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Fantasy. Young Adult Fiction. HTML:

A New York Times Bestseller
Nicolette's awful stepsisters call her "Mechanica" to demean her, but the nickname fits: she learned to be an inventor at her mother's knee. Her mom is gone now, though, and the Steps have pushed her into a life of dreary servitude. When she discovers a secret workshop in the cellar on her sixteenth birthday??and befriends Jules, a tiny magical metal horse??Nicolette starts to imagine a new life for herself. And the timing may be perfect: There's a technological exposition and a royal ball on the horizon. Determined to invent her own happily-ever-after, Mechanica seeks to wow the prince and eager entrepreneurs alike

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