New York : Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2015
321 p. ; 21 cm.
I'd give this book a solid B+. I found it interesting and very readable but not quite as good as I had hoped. There is a lot to like about Fine's book. It's setting in a harsh factory-industrial compound rife with brutal working conditions and ethnic tensions are very relevant to current issues around worker exploitation and racial tensions. The conservative and sexist mores of the world Sarah Fine creates in Metal and Wishes highlights the dangers that girls and women face in the world.
However, like the Kirkus Review writer, I found that the telling of the story was a bit uneven. The romance between the protagonist Wen and the minority worker Melik is rooted mainly in physical attraction - both characters are clearly striking looking people. Also the as one review pointed out, the world outside the factory setting is left mostly undeveloped. Finally some of the gruesome action (people getting shredded by little mechanical security devices) seemed a bit gratuitous.
But given those shortcomings, Fine's dystopian novel is still a pretty engaging read and one that I think some students would enjoy. With its romance and exoticism and its plot of rebellion and violence it is likely to appeal to both young women and men.
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