The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung Richmond

Posted June 20, 2021 by jrsbookr in Historical fiction / 0 Comments

by Caroline Tung Richmond
The Great Destroyers by Caroline Tung RichmondThe Great Destroyers Published by Scholastic Inc. on August 3, 2021
Source: ARC Trade
Genres: 20th Century, Alternative History, Asian American, Historical, People & Places, United States, Young Adult Fiction
Pages: 304
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Format: ARC
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three-stars

Blood, sweat, and death.
Welcome to the Pax Games.

Jo Linden was born into a world where wars are won with giant mechanical soldiers and the nuclear bomb was never invented. Yet the Cold War still rages, and international rivalries between democracy and communism are now fought at the Pax Games, an Olympic-style competition that pits young pilots of mechas against each other. The USSR has beaten the US in nearly every game since its inception, and in the 1963 Games, the US is desperate for a win. Because it's more than just the Games at stake. Premier Khrushchev will be attending, and after, he and President Kennedy are slated to sign a peace accord stabilizing the war in Vietnam-and their volatile relationship.

Raised in her father's mecha repair shop, Jo knows more than anyone about piloting. She's also the most unlikely pick for Team USA since she's a virtually unknown fighter. So when she's invited at the last minute to compete, she jumps at it. This could be the only chance to save her family's home from debt collectors. All eyes are on Jo from the moment she arrives. But as fighters start dying in the arena, it's suddenly clear that it's more than the usual Pax Games, and Jo finds herself drawn into a deadly political plot. And if she can't figure out the truth, it might mean the annihilation of everything.

In a global arms race between superpowers, playing out in violent games that only humanity could create, comes a chilling story of clashing titans, ruthless competition, freedom, and the girl caught in the middle of it all.

I received this ARC as part of Miss Print’s ARC Adoption Program.”

Review

Great destroyers is a historical fiction that centers around a competition like the Olympics, except your fighting in an arena in giant robotic machines. Our main character struggles with hiding the fact that she, not an actual blood all-white American girl. She is part Chinese. She is also a woman in a sport dominated by men, which makes you want to root for her even more and get mad when she looked at less than her male counterparts. Jo is desperate to score some cash from sponsors to save her family shop and home and struggles to understand those who have money to fling around. Their also a mysterious poisoner running around, and jo seems to be the culprit. Tell you to get to the end, and all is revealed. While I enjoyed the story, I was not too pleased with the ending. It is a stand-alone book, but I would like to see a book two or at least a better outcome from the investigation into the poisoner. Not a bad book but not mind-blowing awesome either.

 

 

three-stars

About Caroline Tung Richmond

Caroline Tung Richmond is an award-winning young adult author whose novels include The Great Destroyers, The Only Thing to Fear, Live In Infamy, and The Darkest Hour. She is also the co-editor of the Hungry Hearts anthology and the co-author of Great or Nothing, a retelling of Little Women set during WWII.

Rating Report
Plot
4
Characters
4
Writing
3.5
Pacing
4
Cover
4
Overall: 3