#BookReview: Steelstriker (Skyhunter #2) by @Marie_Lu

Synopsis: Explosive action and swoon-worthy suspense collide in this riveting conclusion to the Skyhunter duet from #1 New York Times–bestselling author Marie Lu

As a Striker, Talin was taught loyalty is life. Loyalty to the Shield who watches your back, to the Strikers who risk their lives on the battlefield, and most of all, to Mara, which was once the last nation free from the Karensa Federation’s tyranny.

But Mara has fallen. And its destruction has unleashed Talin’s worst nightmare.

With her friends scattered by combat and her mother held captive by the Premier, Talin is forced to betray her fellow Strikers and her adopted homeland. She has no choice but to become the Federation’s most deadly war machine as their newest Skyhunter.

Red is no stranger to the cruelty of the Federation or the torture within its Skyhunter labs, but he knows this isn’t the end for Mara – or Talin. The link between them may be weak, but it could be Talin and Red's only hope to salvage their past and safeguard their future.

While the fate of a broken world hangs in the balance, Talin and Red must reunite the Strikers and find their way back to each other in this smoldering sequel to Marie Lu’s Skyhunter. 



Goodreads | Amazon

Rating: 5 Stars
My Review: WOW!! OMG this was so freaking good!! I read this in a day and a half and I could not put this down.  The characters, the plot, and just everything was so good. I need another book set in this world! 

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up-Six months after the fall of Mara, the Karensa Federation works mercilessly to absorb the formerly free nation into its sprawling empire. Mara's artifacts are carted to Federation museums and sculpture gardens, their heritage erased. Prisoners await execution or transformation into Ghosts-the hideous monsters the Federation uses against its enemies and subjects. Talin, hostage to the Premier, watches helplessly. Once an elite Striker, Talin tried to stop the Federation's invasion but she and her friends were too late. Now she stands at the Premier's side as a Skyhunter-a human turned war machine with lethal strength and steel wings. Red escaped the Federation once, but now, his wings damaged, the first Skyhunter knows he will need more than rage and regret to help his new friends. Chapters alternate between Talin and Red's first-person narrations as they try to find their way back to each other and continue fighting the Federation. Seeds of rebellion and resistance spark action in this story which expands on the sophisticated and nuanced worldbuilding from the first installment. Questions of who is fit to run a nation and how power is bestowed add further depth to the book's political landscape. As the Premier tries to harness (presumably nuclear) technology from the Early Ones, it becomes clear that sometimes mistakes are doomed to repeat. Lu once again delves into the brutality of war and invasion as Talin, whose vocal chords were damaged in the invasion of her birthplace, and Red, who was recruited by the Federation as a child soldier, reflect on what brought them to this point. VERDICT A brutal but satisfying conclusion to a strong dystopian duology.-Emma Carbone, Brooklyn P.L.α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.  --This text refers to the hardcover edition.

Review

Praise for Steelstriker:
Instant New York Times Bestseller!

"An exciting, layered, action-filled tale with a cast of sympathetic characters." - Kirkus Reviews

"A brutal but satisfying conclusion to a strong dystopian ­duology." - School Library Journal

Praise for Skyhunter:
A New York Times and Publishers Weekly bestseller

"Cinematically imagined... An exciting, layered, action-filled tale." - Kirkus Reviews

"Paradoxes abound and readers will glory in them all." - Booklist

"Suspense and high-action fights make this plot-driven story both fast-paced and brutal." - School Library Journal

"Lu (The Kingdom of Back and Legend) creates a devastating, war-torn world, built upon the wreckage of a technologically advanced society. Readers will eagerly await a follow-up to this engrossing dystopian novel, which searingly interrogates traumas of war, immigration, and imperialism." - Publishers Weekly

"Lu ably balances lightning-fast action and stirring battles with romance, weaving in enough bits of cultural history to give the story some grounding... This hearty but small group of Talin, Red, and a few more allies face formidable odds in the next outing, and readers will likely eagerly await news on how they fare." - The Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books (BCCB)

"The high-stakes action (including graceful, deadly combat) more than once has readers fearing for the characters’ lives...In addition, Lu brings in themes of disability and prejudice to this science fiction tale with many of the markers of traditional fantasy." - The Horn Book 

--This text refers to the hardcover edition.

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Posted in: 5 Stars, Review, Roaring Brook Press, Young Adult