Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Review: Of Metal and Wishes

OF METAL AND WISHES
Of Metal and Wishes #1
Sarah Fine
Paranormal Young Adult
320 pages
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available Now
Source: ARC from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
There are whispers of a ghost in the slaughterhouse where sixteen-year-old Wen assists her father in his medical clinic—a ghost who grants wishes to those who need them most. When one of the Noor, men hired as cheap factory labor, humiliates Wen, she makes an impulsive wish of her own, and the Ghost grants it. Brutally.

Guilt-ridden, Wen befriends the Noor, including their outspoken leader, a young man named Melik. At the same time, she is lured by the mystery of the Ghost and learns he has been watching her … for a very long time.

As deadly accidents fuel tensions within the factory, Wen must confront her growing feelings for Melik, who is enraged at the sadistic factory bosses and the prejudice faced by his people at the hand of Wen’s, and her need to appease the Ghost, who is determined to protect her against any threat—real or imagined. She must decide whom she can trust, because as her heart is torn, the factory is exploding around her … and she might go down with it.


MY THOUGHTS
Of Metal and Wishes is as beautifully haunting as the story on which it’s partly based, a quiet intimacy established between character and reader early on thanks to a world that doesn't extend much beyond the walls of the slaughterhouse. Though the Phantom does his great and terrible things amidst the glittering beauty of a Parisian opera house, the Ghost grants wishes and exacts vengeance within blood spattered walls, the grittiness of the factory workers' existence a dark complement to the deeds of which the Ghost is capable. Through it all though, Ms. Fine weaves threads of hope of the finest nature, small phosphorescent moments that light up the darkness of Gochran One and show us that within the darkest shadows sometimes hide the most beautiful things.

Ms. Fine is an author with an extraordinary ability to craft characters with more layers than we can possibly fully explore in our relatively short forays into their lives, leaving us wanting more without fail while simultaneously satisfying us with what we are able to uncover. The Ghost is one such character, the ease with which he destroys lives on either his own whim or the whims of others a startling contrast to his vulnerability and clear affection for Wen. He is both childlike victim and monstrous villain depending on whether or not he considers you friend or foe, but despite his capacity for violence our hearts still ache for him throughout, tears threatening to spill for all he's lost even as we find ourselves oddly grateful on Wen's behalf for what he's become.

Wen is innocent in a number of ways, but accompanying that innocence is fire and an impressive strength of will that allows her to defiantly stand up in defense of those to whom everyone else would turn a blind eye. Despite growing up with stories of the barbaric Noor, it takes her very little time to shed the prejudice of those around her and realize the Noor are not the heathens she'd been expecting, and she quickly throws herself in their corner even when it's the most dangerous place for her to be. She's intelligent and compassionate, handling her delicate relationship with the Ghost with a maturity far beyond her young years by giving him the respect of her honesty even when it may not be what he wants to hear.

The only very mild complaint with this story is with the world-building, namely in that there isn't much, and we're tossed into life in the slaughterhouse without really knowing much about what exists outside of it. That being said however, being in the figurative dark as to the world beyond the walls painted with the deaths of those who slave away within them allows us to focus all our attention on the characters and the increasingly volatility of their social hierarchy. We're left with things fairly wide open for Wen, the dust from a massive upheaval in her world not yet beginning to settle when we part with her on the last page, but there's comfort in knowing we'll meet up with her again, and when we do our questions about what's in store for her will be answered.

Rating: 4.5/5
 

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review
I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

46 comments:

  1. Ok 4.5 stars from you?? I see that this is a book I apparently have to read. This is the second raving review about this book, a book I had dismissed already. I'm still not sure this is a story for me, but .. you know:) I trust your judgment blindly:)

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    1. You've read her other series right? The Guards of the Shadowlands? If not, YOU MUST! I'm a total Sarah Fine fangirl and this book didn't disappoint in the least:)

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  2. I felt so disjointed because of the lack of world-building. Was this meant to be historical in origin? If so, why did Wen's father dream of sending her to medical school--isn't that a progressive idea? It confused me, to say the least, but I adored the atmosphere built up in this novel and Wen certainly was a resilient heroine. Glad you enjoyed this one, Jenny! We're review twins today and as you'll see I didn't quite like this one as much as you did but it still impressed me immensely. Gorgeous review, my dear, as always. :)

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    1. I would have liked to have been a little more grounded in the world as well, but I loved the story so much that it didn't bother me all that much:) Glad you enjoyed it too!

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  3. I am seeing this one around today and I totally want it

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  4. YAYYYY!!! So much praise for this haunting story. I can't wait to explore :) "the ease with which he destroys lives on either his own whim or the whims of others a startling contrast to his vulnerability and clear affection for Wen." CAN YOU NOT WRITE SO BEAUTIFULLY ABOUT HIM, JENNY? CAN YOU??? Hearing you and Nick both praise Wen for her strength, intelligence and sweetness, I can't wait to meet this girl. Sometimes a story can survive without extensive worldbuilding. I'm glad that despide it not being there, you still enjoyed it so much! Gorgeous review, Jenny!

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    1. I was a fan of the Ghost Siiri! The Phantom of the Opera is one of my all time favorite stories (the musical/movie version anyway, I haven't read the book), and I loved how she incorporated pieces of that story into this one:)

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  5. Your review is amazing! I'm really glad you enjoyed it as well!

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    1. Thank you Kaniesha! Such a big fan of this book:)

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  6. Oh yay, I've seen the blurb of this one around, but have been on the fence about adding it to my wishlist. I'll be doing so now :) The Ghost sounds like such an intriguing character and I love strong heroines. And I don't think I'd mind too much that the worldbuilding doesn't expand beyond the slaughterhouse.

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    1. I hope you give this a try Z! I just loved it and can't wait to see where the story goes in the next book:)

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  7. I pre-ordered this weeks ago, and now I'm going to be sitting around, jumping at every car that drives by, hoping it's the UPS man.<-----not being sexist, we have three drivers, all men ;) Anyway, I do love good world-building, but I'm more concerned with the characters and these characters sound AMAZING. Can't wait to read this one for myself. Great review, Jenny!

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    1. All the UPS drivers that drive my route are men as well:) The lack of world-building didn't bother me, it was just something I noticed and wished I had a little more of, but I have a feeling we'll get a better feel for it in the next book.

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  8. Beautiful review, Jenny! I really loved this book. I think it might be my favourite of Sarah Fine's so far. I liked the cultural aspect of the story, though I do agree there's more to explore outside of the factories in Wen's world. Hopefully we'll get more of that in the sequel! :)

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    1. Thanks so much Sam! I will read anything and everything Sarah writes, she's an auto-buy author for me:)

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  9. Lovely review, Jenny. I'm really happy you loved this one as much as I did. It was so lovely and the characters were even lovelier. I agree that we need to see more outside the factory as well, but I think we will in the next book. My theory is that Wen is going to go find Melik and we'll see more of the outside world. :)
    Plus, I need Melik and Wen together asap! :D

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    1. YES! Loved all the characters, and I agree, I think we're setup to get more of the world in the next book. And yes, I need them together asap too!!!!!

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  10. Wow, you and your gorgeous sentences, Jenny! Always so impressive. I love that Wen was able to let go of her learned prejudices so quickly. I haven't yet reached that point, I've only just started reading this, but I liked her from the first page, and Sarah's writing is once again superb. As is yours.
    Wonderful review, my friend.

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    1. I can't wait to read your review Maja! And I'm glad you're a fan of Wen thus far, I really enjoyed her:)

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  11. This book sounds really good! I really want to try this one. Stupid book-buying-ban!

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    1. It was fantastic Megan! I hope you get to lift your ban soon and can give this one a try:)

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  12. Yay! So glad you loved this every bit as much as I did. I just thought the writing was gorgeous and lived up to what I expect from Sarah's writing for sure. :)

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  13. The Ghost sounds terrifying -- even if he does like you! I'm still not sure this one's for me but it definitely sounds like it's worth a go, if for nothing else than to meet Wen.

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    1. He's a fascinating character Mary! I want more of him for sure - I love characters that exist in those darker shades of gray:)

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  14. Umm wow, Jenny. Your review basically said everything I wanted to and it said it A LOT better than I did! I have to say though, I really enjoyed the world building. I always imagine the atmosphere to be an integral part of world building and the atmosphere that Sarah developed made me get goosebumps...

    I am super excited to read the sequel and I just hope it'll be just as good as this one if not better (not really worried though, Sarah works magic ;))

    Gorgeous review, Jenny!! :)

    Rashika @ The Social Potato

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    1. *blushes* Thanks Rashika! I'm really excited to read the sequel too, I just wish we didn't have to wait a whole year to get our hands on it. I'm greedy like that!

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  15. Wow! I've been very curious about this book, so I'm thrilled to see you enjoyed it so much. Layered characters are always fabulous. That's a shame there isn't too much world-building, but the rest of the novel sounds incredible.

    Thanks for sharing your thoughts! Lovely review! :)

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    1. READ THIS LEA!!! I can't recommend it enough:)

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  16. This sounds even better than I hoped it would be!! I love it when the characters are so layered that you need time to discover all sides of their characters. I really love to dig and search. Sounds like a really great book which I'll have to read sometime soon. Great review, Jenny :)

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    1. YES! Layered characters are my favorite, and I adored the Ghost and Wen. Melik was enjoyable as well and I hope we get to know him even better in the next book:)

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  17. ..."accompanying that innocence is fire and an impressive strength of will that allows her to defiantly stand up in defense of those to whom everyone else would turn a blind eye..." I so love that in a character! I see this book so much around the blogosphere but I didn't realize until you said we would meet her again that it was a series. For some reason I kept missing that #1 part. LOL Oh I so need to read this one. I love retellings and I love the sound of Wen.

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    1. Me too Melissa! I just wanted to reach in and hug Wen sometimes - she didn't let her friends continued prejudice sway her:)

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  18. I was itching to read your review on this one. I am so glad you loved it as much as I did. I agree you are spot on with your analysis of Wen and Bo. My complaint too was the lack of world building on the outside. Still this is a remarkable book and I hope more people read it.

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    1. I hope so too Heidi, there's so much to love about this one:)

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  19. Love that cover! Sounds like a winner for you.

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  20. I've seen really great reviews for this and I'm a fan of Sarah Fine's so I'm really excited to pick it up. I only recently found out that this was a re-telling of Phantom and I loved the play and movie. Wonderful review, Jenny! :)

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  21. That was such a beautiful review, Jenny. Your enthusiasm for this book was really felt and apparent in your review. This sounds like such a gorgeous read that would pull your heartstrings from all angles. I have never read or watched the Phantom of the Opera; for some reason, it feels too daunting for me and I'm too intimidated to try it out (I have a friend who read the French version five times... holy crap!) BUT I can definitely give an exemption to this one. Wen is such a beautiful character inside and out and I can't wait to see the situation in her eyes and grow alongside her :D

    Faye at The Social Potato

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  22. Beautiful review, Jenny! This sounds like such a wonderful and layered read with the touch of the Phantom of the Opera retelling. I ;ove the sound of Wen. but I have to confess I'm completely curious over Ghost! I think I need this one :)

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  23. I can't wait to read this! I have a copy but have been traveling non-stop for the last two weeks and I am just now getting time to catch up on reading. Can't wait to meet Wen and The Ghost, they sound like wonderfully complex characters. Of course I'm not surprised given that this is a Sarah Fine book. Lovely review!

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  24. At first i wasn't so crazy about this one but everyone has such good things to say about this one and the world building that I just want to read it now SO BAD!!!!

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  25. I'm with you, I really enjoyed this but would have liked a bit more world building. Still, it was a fantastic read! I didn't know about the comparisons to Phantom of the Opera before I started reading and that was an awesome surprise!

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  26. 4.5 stars??? I really need to get this one already, even if my pile is overwhelming already! I haven't really watched the movies or read the book, but I have listening to the Iron Maiden song! ;)
    Retellings are a bit wishy washy for me but this one sounds like one that I cannot miss!
    Thanks for a fantastic review, Jenny!

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  27. I can tell you must really like this book. Adding it.

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  28. For whatever reason when this book first starting showing up on my Goodreads, I wasn't immediately attracted to it. I think sometimes, I'm wary of pretty covers >.< Anyways yours is the 2nd rave review I've seen for it so I will DEFINITELY be adding this one to my tbr shelf! The writing style sounds phenomenal and the characters seem unique and memorable. It's a shame it's a bit lacking in the world-building but your rating indicates it more than makes up for it in the end! Thanks for the wonderful review Jenny ^^

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