Gearbreakers

May 24, 2021
Told in alternating perspectives, Mikuta’s fast-paced debut follows Sona Steelcrest, 17, who infiltrated the Windup Academy five years before the novel begins. Now, transformed into a cyborg Pilot of a mecha, Sona is determined to exact revenge against the system that destroyed her town. When she meets headstrong Eris Shindanai, “seventeen-ish,” a captive Gearbreaker whose mission in life is to destroy the mechas, the duo escapes Godolia and makes it back to the Hollows, the Gearbreaker Headquarters. Frantic, bordering on chaotic, fight scenes deftly convey the world’s reality, wherein second-guessing guarantees death. Sona and Eris are presumed South Korean through the use of familial words and references to Korean snacks, but the inclusion raises questions of geography and worldbuilding, since the past or present existence of Korea or other real-world nations is never determined or explained. Dialogue-based explanations feel slightly repetitive, and a last-minute reveal proves frustrating. Still, quippy exchanges among the inclusive cast bring a levity that balances their grim realities, and the cliffhanger ending of this action-packed series starter suggests that a deeper political conspiracy will unfold in the sequel. Ages 13–up.