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Mechanica (Mechanica, #1)

Betsy Cornwell

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May 18, 2015 Debbie is on Storygraph rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, 2016, fantasy, fairy-tales, steampunk

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 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.

(view spoiler)

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. (view spoiler)

I'm so looking forward to a sequel (oh, I hope there's 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. ...more

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