Book Review: Titans by Victoria Scott

Release Date: February 23rd, 2016
Read: March 21st -April 5th, 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Series: N/A
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Source: Gift

Description from GoodReads:

   Ever since the Titans first appeared in her Detroit neighborhood, Astrid Sullivan’s world has revolved around the mechanical horses. She and her best friend have spent countless hours watching them and their jockeys practice on the track. It’s not just the thrill of the race. It’s the engineering of the horses and the way they’re programmed to seem so lifelike. The Titans are everything that fascinates Astrid, and nothing she’ll ever touch.

   She hates them a little, too. Her dad lost everything betting on the Titans. And the races are a reminder of the gap between the rich jockeys who can afford the expensive machines to ride, and the working class friends and neighbors of Astrid’s who wager on them.


   But when Astrid’s offered a chance to enter an early model Titan in this year’s derby, well, she decides to risk it all. Because for a girl from the wrong side of the tracks, it’s more than a chance at fame or money. Betting on herself is the only way she can see to hang on to everyone in the world she cares about. 

Review:

   I've never been this critically close to the grave.
   Victoria Scott is my favourite, she is such a sweetie and an incredible author at the same time. Since Fire & Flood, Scott is forever an automatic buy, and it was the exact same for Titans. From the moment I got my hands on it, I just couldn't wait to read it.
   Titans was a little bit of a different experience than the rest of Scott's previous novels, first of all, this was her first standalone. So when reading the story you knew that the story would be done once you hit the end of the book, and you knew to not expect a cliffhanger. It was a nice refreshing novel if you're looking for a break from series commitment.
   The racing, the gambling, I really enjoyed the backstory to why Astrid did what she did, and that she didn't do it for the money. Hart on the other hand, we got a brief description on why he was a jockey, but I would have preferred just a little bit more information on him.
   I loved all the mechanical information and research Scott put into the novel, to make everything accurate. Having taken a mechanic course at the beginning of my grade 10 year, I already knew a few things here and there, but for the newbies reading the book, Scott did a perfect job of introducing them to the work, and throwing a little bit extra in there for people like me. Everything went together perfectly.
   Finally, with Astrid's little collection of parts that her father snagged for her, I had totally thought that one of those parts would be the answer to their little crisis in the end. I was completely surprised when Scott didn't take that root.
   Once Victoria Scott completely aced yet another book, and who could be surprised? I'm already counting down the days until her 2017 releases, Violet Grenade and Hear the Wolves.

Rating:

Favourite Quote:

"Dorment for too long. Awake at last."

Recommend to People Who Enjoy:

Young Adult, Sci-fi, Adventure, Racing, Horse Racing, Mechanical Horses, Betting