Title: My Mechanical Romance
Author: Alexe Farol Follmuth
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary Romance
Publisher: Holiday House
Published Date: May 31, 2022
Language: English
SYPNOSIS
Nerds are so hot.
Especially battle robot building nerds.
Bel would rather die than think about the future. College apps? You’re funny. Extracurriculars? Not a chance. But when she accidentally reveals a talent for engineering at school, she’s basically forced into joining the robotics club. Even worse? All the boys ignore Bel—and Neelam, the only other girl on the team, doesn't seem to like her either.
Enter Mateo Luna, captain of the club, who recognizes Bel as a potential asset—until they start butting heads. Bel doesn’t care about Nationals, while Teo cares too much. But as the nights of after-school work grow longer and longer, Bel and Teo realize they've built more than just a combat-ready robot for the championship: they’ve made space for each other and themselves.
This sharply funny, academic rivals to lovers romance explores both the challenges girls of color face in STEM and the vulnerability of first love with unfailing wit and honesty.
REVIEW
One of my most anticipated books of this year is My Mechanical Romance. I was drawn in by the title and the cover. This book exceeded my expectations.
Bel Marier is a senior student who transferred and joined the robotics team when her teacher saw her abilities and potential. She ended up butting heads with Teo Luna, the team's captain and the son of a tech genius. With other members' underlying dislike, it makes it difficult for her to strive for excellence.
Bel is a vibrant character with a lot of personalities. A realistic character who demonstrated how exhausting and exhilarating it is to study and to apply in colleges. And I connected to her on a deep level. Being an Asian girl and surviving in STEM where largely male-dominated was a real challenge.
But hey, if men can do it, who said we can't?
The romance between Bel and Teo came out so naturally. It was smooth and in a perfect phase. It was definitely charming and endearing.
I'm so impressed with Teo Luna. An A student, a soccer player, and team captain of a robotics team, with a job on the side, and a bunch of AP classes. That is so admirable. One thing that makes Teo unique is his character development. Or more on how he became mature, as the story goes. He became laid back and finally understood that not everyone has life plans written out for them.
I think, the most interesting character here is Neelam. She was shown with bad lighting. She was portrayed as the not-so-antagonist of the story. But in the end, I came to the conclusion that this girl rocks! She was (before) the only girl on the robotics team. She experienced the inequality and unfair treatment of how boys and girls were treated. She was actually the reason Bel became a better character here. Neelam shook and tapped Bel in the head to wake her up.
The writing style was enjoyable and the reading experience was made more amusing by a bunch of relatable pop references—Taylor Swift? Hello? My swiftie heart is screaming!—character development was great and the characters was loveable. The book was written in both Teo and Bel's poimt of views.
RATE
★★★★★
I rate My Mechanical Romance with five stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and Holiday House for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.
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