Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Girls with Razor Hearts (Girls with Sharp Sticks, #2)
  
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??? 

18 comments:

  1. I, um, read the spoiler section haha. For some reason I had decided this wasn't a "me" series when I first heard mention of Book 1, but I was curious. Now, when you said "raised"...I expected something different, so...you dodged spoilers so well in the first part. This sounds like a very relevant book, and yes, some issues need to get addressed, even if things get a little heavy because of that. If this manages to stay fun nevertheless, why not? 🙂

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  2. Glad you enjoyed! I had a great time with this one too. At times it did feel a little like a bridge book though, but there were some awesome twists and I'm looking forward to the third one thanks to all that build up!

    ~Mogsy @ BiblioSanctum

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  3. I had to skim a little because I have book one coming up on my TBR and didn't watch to catch those spoilers. I'm so glad this one is as strong as the first, YA is notorious for publishing meh middle series books. It sounds like a brilliant series and looking forward to picking up my copy. Great review!

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  4. I'm glad this sequel didn't suffer from middle book syndrome (which totally made me laugh btw); I'll have to add this series to my Goodreads want to read list. :)

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  5. When I'm in the right mood, I can go all in on a book like this. I'm glad the sequel was just as strong as the first. Levi! Just read Fangirl and he was possibly my favorite part of the story. :)

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  6. I remember how much you loved the first one. In fact, I checked it out from the library because of your review. Now did I read it? That's another story. I still hope to one day though and I'm glad to see that the second one is just as strong!

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  7. I just finished this yesterday and didn't enjoy it as much as you. I thought some things were so relevant and cool to see from the girls perspective but then there was a lot going on and it got heavy handed at times. Hoping to go write my review now.

    Glad you enjoyed it though! Have you read her Program series?

    Karen @ For What It's Worth

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  8. This sounds really interesting! Gonna have to keep an eye out.

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  9. Maybe one day! I am reading so slowly now

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  10. I still need to read the first book Greg! Is this a trilogy instead of a duology? I"m happy that it didn't have the dreaded second book syndrome!

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  11. What a weird world these books are set in.

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  12. Excellent review Greg and I'm glad you enjoyed the book, even with the heavy bits!

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  13. I haven't read the first book but I do love the look of the series and I'm so glad this didn't suffer from middle book syndrome. That's always such a letdown!

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  14. I haven't read the first book yet, but it's good to hear that the second book lives up to the first!

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  15. I have the first book sitting on my kindle and really need to get into this series. It sounds so good!

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  16. Yay for no middle book syndrome. I always worry about it when it comes to second books in series, I just find that so often the pace is slower in them. As soon as you mentioned the dystopia in this feeling similar to Handmaid's Tale I really wanted to read, I loved that book. Also, the feminist angle the book seems to take both in terms of the role women play in society and also the robot girls being built to serve men? Wow, I'd want to read from that aspect alone because those are some issues to be exploring.

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    1. This has a VERY strong Handmaid's Tale vibe. And I will say the pace might be a little slower in some respects- I mean, I guess they could be treading water a little plot- wise- but things DO happen and honestly- those elements you mention are HUGE.

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  17. Thanks for sharing your thoughts! These books sound more like something I would read than I thought. 👍✨

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