Girls With Razor Hearts is an amazing follow- up to Girls With Sharp Sticks. I was afraid the middle book syndrome was going to be strong with this one, but I needn't have worried. I was captivated from the outset and flew through this. The story picks up right after the first book, where Philomena- along with Sydney, Marcella, Brynn and Annalise- are on the run from the prep school where they were raised. Yes, raised. It's hard to even talk about this book because the central element is, I guess, a spoiler- although not hard to figure out early in the first book. But I'm going to try and not spoil it here- as best I can.

After dealing with the events of book one the girls are on the run and determined not only to free the other girls but to bring down the corporation behind it all. This is sort of a near- future tale, I guess- I didn't really get that vibe in the first one as much, it felt contemporary, but here there are hints of a dystopia reminiscent of The Handmaid's Tale. This is a feminist story, to be sure, and at times very political, so heads up if you're not into that. There are even a few very topical references to the current administration. I didn't have a problem with this but others might.

The girls are truly on their own. Leandra, the wife of the headmaster who helped them escape, is not trustworthy and fairly murderous, and it's fair to say here that most everyone they come across is suspicious. The girls have to navigate a world they've never encountered, or rather- as bad as Innovations was, they find that the real world is just as bad, in terms of institutionalized racism and sexism. At times they're like- how do women survive in this world? Sexual assault and harassment are huge issues in this book, and I thought the author handled these topics very well, even if they did seem to be a bit on the nose at times.

I want to stress though this isn't just an issues book- there's adventure and humorous moments and above all- love and friendship. These girls stick together, and indeed they have to- they're all they've got. I love the tight friendships here, and the romance is handled very well- in fact the two guys in the story are pretty awesome, and this is the kind of young adult romance I'd like to see more of.

To sum up, this is a great sequel and a fun read. Heavy at times, yeah, given the subject matter at points, but I loved it. I need the sequel ASAP.

SPOILERS

I love the idea of Mena and Jackson falling for each other- it feels so innocent and sweet, and honestly- it reminded me of Fangirl at times (Jackson kind of reminds me of Levi even though they're so different). 

Building on that- one thing I'd like to see explored more is how Jackson is falling for a robot girl. How does he feel about that? I mean, it's not his story, but these girls were created to serve men- and now they're free. How do they (and any guy they have a relationship with) deal with that? 

Men see the girls as machines- maybe society as a whole would? At one point do robots designed to be trophy wives or love slaves or whatever become people? In the eyes of society.

Raven is AI. Nice twist. 

Does the story get a little too out there? I mean I love that she's addressing sexual assault and expectations of women, but are men really wanting to just replace women with subservient playthings, or is that a bit much?  Then again, I think the author really highlights how exhausting it must be to be a girl or woman in this society- be attractive but not slutty, be independent but not too assertive, etc.  

I thought it odd they didn't really follow up on Claire much- like she gets taken away and then they're sorta breezily wondering if she's okay but no one checks. 

Annalise at the end- her and Quent are a good team???