This was one of those books were I did not know what to expect before reading it. Looking back, I am so glad I gave Sedition a chance because wow! Just wow!

Even though I haven’t read a lot of steampunk fantasy (although I very much like the genre) and thus doesn’t have much to compare this book with, I still feel it’s safe to say that Sedition by E. M. Wright probably is one of the best ya steampunk books on the market today.

The book follows Taryn Roft, a young woman with a mysterious past but a seemingly bright future. That is, until someone discovers her darkest and most protected secret. A secret that threatens to change everything and forces Taryn to abandon the life she so carefully built, including the one person she trusts the most. It’s a story of horror, of nightmares brought to life. But it is also a story about love, hope and trust. A story about making horrible mistakes and having to live with them. It is a story about redemption but also, of course, of Sedition.

While Sedition has an intriguing plot, multi-layered characters and even some romantic tension between enemies (which I love), this book also focuses on darker topics, mainly what I would refer to as racism. However, in this book, people aren’t treated differently because of skin color or nationality but rather because some part of their body isn’t made of skin and bones but of metal. People who need clockwork parts to survive are called biomatons and in Taryn’s steampunk version of Victorian Britain, biomatons are nothing more than slaves, property, designed to be bought and sold. But what is humanity? What makes us human? Is it that our bodies are made of skin and bone? Is it our feelings? Follow Taryn on her journey and maybe, just maybe, you’ll find the answer to this questions along the way. Or, at least, getting a bit closer to what your answer to these questions are.

Sedition is not a standalone because while Taryn’s journey in this book is both long and eventful, it is clear that this is just the beginning of her story and I’m really looking forward to discover what the future has in store for both Taryn and her friends (or should I say enemies…?)

If you want to read a good, fast-paced YA fantasy or science fiction book, you should definitely give this book a try, especially if you like steampunk. Never read a ya steampunk (science fiction) book before? Then Sedition is the book for you because it sure shows just how much this genre has to offer.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Sedition by E. M. Wright is a YA steampunk adventure unlike any book that I've read before. I've always been a fan of steampunk aesthetics, but I've found the few steampunk books that I've read to be somewhat lacking in the imagination and wonder that the genre evokes When I requested this book, I was somewhat cautious because of my previous experiences with steampunk books. However, it turns out that I had nothing to worry about. Sedition is one of the most creative and innovative books that I've read this year!

The story revolves around Taryn Roft, a 17 year-old girl who lives in steampunk Victorian London. She goes to school at the School for Mechanicks, where students learn how to operate biomatons, clockwork cyborgs that have been enslaved by the upper class. Here is a scene from Chapter 1 which introduces the setting:

"The students of Grafton's School of Mechanicks followed their guide deeper into the newly opened London Museum of Bioclockwork. The building was huge, regal in a bare industrial sort of way. Their footsteps clattered across a stone floor inlaid with metal gilding: copper cogs elevated from functional to beautiful...
The group consisted of boys and young men, all bright-eyed, eagerly soaking up the information presented before them, and looking forward to the bright future they would have as clockmakers or mechanicks. Or, if they were very fortunate, as biomechanicks. But near the back of the group... a fierce-looking girl with a shock of bright red hair pulled into a tangled braid stood, her arms crossed, one hand covered with a black satin glove."

That is our first introduction to Taryn, our feisty heroine with a dark secret. I was rooting for her throughout the story. Soon she is forced to leave the school, and she goes on a rollicking, danger-filled adventure that takes her around the world. One highlight of this book is that the world-building is amazing, full of automatons and gas lamps. I felt like I was transported back in time to an alternative Victorian London, and I loved it. If there was any time period that I would want to travel to, steampunk London is at the top of my list!

Overall, Sedition is an amazing steampunk novel that will satisfy fans of that genre as well as any readers who enjoy fantasy and science reader. If the excerpt above intrigues you, or if you're a regular fantasy or sci-fi reader, you won't regret checking out this book when it comes out in May!