Hey there! I hope you are having an amazing weekend. Whilst writing this post I am currently listening to songs I absolutely loved when growing up. So many feels! My weekend has consisted of working, watching Lord of the Rings, listening to music (obviously) and catching up on some sleep! It's actually been a while since I have done a book review, so I thought why not do one today! Writing book reviews is one of my favourite things to do. I love being able to share with you the books I love. You never know, you might just find your next favourite book. If you are a blogger that writes book reviews, please leave your links in the comments below, I love finding new books to read.
I do love a good futuristic/sci-fi book, I must say. If you check out my collection of books and also on my Kindle, you will know what mean! To be honest I haven't read anything like this book before. It was what I read before bed and thought about the very next day. Don't you just love a book where the characters get stuck in your head along with their adventures. When I first read the description of the book, I was very intrigued and wanted to find out more.
"Nell Crane has never held a boy's hand. In a city devastated by an epidemic, where survivors are all missing parts-an arm, a leg, an eye-Nell has always been an outsider. Her father is the famed scientist who created the biomechanical limbs that everyone now uses. But she's the only one with her machinery on the inside: her heart. Since the childhood operation, she has ticked. Like a clock, like a bomb. And as her community rebuilds, everyone is expected to contribute to the society's good... but how can Nell live up to her father's revolutionary ideas when she has none of her own? Then she finds a lost mannequin's hand while salvaging on the beach, and inspiration strikes. Can Nell build her own companion in a world that fears advanced technology? The deeper she sinks into this plan, the more she learns about her city-and her father, who is hiding secret experiments of his own."
See what I mean?! It's completely different to any other sci-fi books I have read. I wanted to know more about this character it talks about in the description, Nell Crane. When I first started reading this book, it took a little while for me to figure what had been going on, like before this book took place, but that just made me want to read more and more. I would definitely love it if there was a prequel to this book. I want to find out what really happened. Anyway, what we find out in this book is that it's many, many years into the future, and technology was the cause of the downfall that occurred and what made people sick. As everyone in the City has been cut off from the rest of the world, they have had to rebuild all over again and start fresh.
However, there are still many people, more than you think, who want to see technology being used again so they can learn more about this world that they live in and to access old information. Nell Crane lives with her father, who is quite famous all around the city. Everyone knows him and everyone knows Nell Crane. Nell had to have a quite serious operation and now Nell's heart ticks, it ticks because she has some of the machinery inside of her that her father created. In this city, everyone has to contribute something to the society, something which will help people and help build and bring it together.
Nell should have started her contribution already but is still deciding on what she could create. Nell, like her father, loves creating and building things. Both Nell and her best friend Ruby like to go to the beach and see what treasures they can find. It's there that Nell comes across a hand. A mannequins hand that is. Nell realises that it is a boys hand, a hand which she has never held before. Nell suddenly gets the inspiration she needs in order to create something, which will also be her contribution to the city.
Nell draws up plans and creates on paper how she wants this boy to look. She will use artificial limbs and technology to make this boy, a companion for herself. But its just finding everything she needs, that's the tricky part. It's going to be tough finding a computer, especially one that works. With some help, Nell discovers that she's not the only one who is fascinated by technology and computers. She discovers a secret base with a group of people who are fixing and bringing back to life technology. She knows what she needs and knows how she is going to do it.
Nell's creation is beginning to come to life, along with the unexpected help of her father. But this unexpected help has come with an unfortunate situation. Nell discovers dark secrets about her father and from the past. Things that are about to change everything. That's all I'm going to say about this book, as it's a definitely a must-read book. I absolutely loved it and I can honestly say that it's one of my most favourite books I have read. It is brilliantly written. There were times when I thought to myself, Nell, what are you doing? But I really love Nell as a character in this book. She also has a pet stoat! I love the friendship between Nell and Ruby. Even though they go through a few rough patches, they are there for each other. I highly recommend checking this book out.
I am also a really big fan of the cover of this book and the orange edges of the pages. I really do hope that there will be a sequel to this book, as for how the book ended, I just want to know what's going to happen next. Also like I mentioned above, it would be great to have a prequel to this book too.
I give this book 5/5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Spare and Found Parts Sarah Maria Griffin is out on the 6th February. To get your hands on a copy of this book, head over to Titan Books.