Titans by Victoria Scott Published by Scholastic Press (2.23.2016)
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 320 pages
Source: Library
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.
My thoughts
When I first saw the synopsis of this book, my first thought was: Horses? Mechanical horses?! YES PLEASE. It sounded awesome. I was sure it would be awesome. I was not wrong!
I love Astrid and Magnolia’s relationship! I love seeing girl friendships that are pure and not catty. I feel like it’s so rare in YA anymore. Astrid and Magnolia supported each other and took care of each other. They were always there for one another, no matter what. It was a very positive relationship, and I feel that more female relationships in YA need to be portrayed as such!
The relationships and family dynamics felt very real. There was conflict, but there was also catharsis, making for a wonderful and realistic balance.
I really liked Astrid as a character. She’s stubborn, but determined and full of heart! I love her fierce resilience. I also really loved the underdog quality of this book. Like if you really put your mind to it, there’s nothing you can’t do. I love that!
I freaking LOVE that there was no romance!! It’s so damn rare in YA, it’s refreshing! (You should all know by now that I’m not a fan of romance, especially when it detracts from the plot of a non-romance story.) The main focus was on the platonic and mentor relationships – Astrid/Padlock, Astrid/Magnolia, Astrid/Rags. And they were wonderful! View Spoiler »
I loved Rags! It’s kind of a stupid name but I love the dynamic between he and Astrid. He’s a crotchety old man but he’s funny – I loved the grudging moments of affection he shared with Astrid!
Now to talk about my favorite part of the book – Padlock and Astrid. I love that Astrid only saw Padlock as a thing at first, but slowly came to realize he was so much more, and eventually came to love him. CAN WE PLEASE TALK ABOUT PADLOCK. Gahhhh I love him so much! He was amazing! I love that he had his own personality, that he was sentient and not just a mindless machine. (It’s like all the feels from Stealth and Big Hero 6 all over again)
I saw some say that this book was a rip off of The Scorpio Races. I honestly didn’t see the similarities while reading. The family dynamic is similar, and yes you could probably substitute man-eating horses for the mechanical ones and it’d be disturbingly similar, but the mechanical horse race is so unique and awesome that it seemed 100% original when I read it. And the whole against-all-odds-with-crazy-life-threatening-obstacles-competition was just so Victoria Scott that it seemed 100% her. If you haven’t read Fire and Flood this one is very similar (while also being completely different). She has very distinct story-telling!
The only drawback for me was that the pacing was a bit slow at times. There was a point in the middle where I was actually losing interest and it dragged on a bit (which is not good, considering this is only 300 pages). The scenes at the parties and social stuff bored me quite a bit. It started off strong, had a rather large lull, then finished off even stronger. I didn’t start really getting invested until the circuit races began and I started getting more and more attached to Padlock. (Let’s be honest, 75% of my interest in this book is because of Padlock!)
AND THE ENDING. VICTORIA HOW COULD YOU OW MY HEART OW IT HURTS. I fucking bawled! And writing about it is making me tear up all over again!! View Spoiler »
If you haven’t read this book, you definitely need to!
Favorite Quotes
“I’ve found you should say the thing that’s bothering you outright. Takes away its power.”
“Let’s do this, Padlock. Not to win. Not to place. But to remember this moment as the time we ran with the Titans. Because you are a Titan. And tonight, I am a rider.”
“Get your behind into that saddle and race hard, Astrid Sullivan. I already know how strong you are – you just go show everyone else.”
Overall Assessment
Plot: 4/5
Premise: 5/5
Writing style: 4/5
Originality: 5/5
Characters: 4/5
Pace: 3.5/5
Feels: 5/5
Cover: 4/5
Overall rating: 4.5/5
I’m not a huge fan of science fiction… well, that’s not true. What I’ve read in the genre, I enjoyed, but I barely ever read science fiction. I should add that to my goals. Anyway, this book sounds so inspiring! I’m glad you liked it so much! I’m not really interested in the horses aspect, but the way it all works together sounds amazing. Lovely review!
I love sci-fi, but they can be hit or miss! If you haven’t read it yet, I would definitely recommend Illuminae. That’s an epic sci-fi read!
Oooh nice!! I still need to read this one but looking forward to it! I looove Victoria’s books and this was one I was really excited about. Though due to bad luck my Street Team ARC was lost somewhere, so I didn’t get to it like I wanted to and then by release time I was swamped with this and that. Ugh! But still glad to hear you enjoyed it so much! Can’t wait to dive in myself! I still want to read Scorpio Races as well! And really, we could nitpick that any and every book is a rip off of this older book that came before it. I really hate when people want to make comparisons like that, be they positive or negative.
Anyway, great review!
Oh noes! That sucks :( And I know right…originality is so hard to come by these days. I typically don’t notice comparisons unless they’re glaringly obvious, because I don’t really TRY to compare other books! It just ruins it for everyone XD