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This time around I actually had the paperback book, but if you're in The Academy you'll know that I had a Monster Energy drink explosion that got all over the last half of pages - so I also read the Kindle version on my new Paperweight!

This turned out to be pretty cool because I was able to specifically highlight some places to come back and point out now.

One thing I have highlighted is on page 274, speaking of Tim:

"..he found himself trying to imagine what it must be like to live here and wake up every day of your life to the same view. Didn't the people of the Shield-Wall long for movement and a change of scene? How did they dream, without the grumbling vibrations of a city's engine to rock them to sleep?  Did they love this place?"

This spoke to me in a number of ways.  Not only does the book touch heavily on political scenarios, but it also talks a lot about outside acceptance of other places.

I think you could read this specific passage in multiple different ways.  I took it as a yearning to travel and to be taken away by wanderlust, BUT, I also believe it's touching on being able to find a place you truly love living and making it your home.

Another passage I highlighted was on page 279:

"Was this what falling in love was like?  Not something big and amazing that you knew about straight away, like in a story, but a slow thing that crept over you in waves until you woke up one day and found that you were head-over-heels with someone quite unexpected, like an Apprentice Engineer."

I loved how we started off by thinking (and possibly hoping) we might see Tim and Katherine come together, and then we end up seeing multiple different scenarios of what falling in love could be like.  This was definitely multiple love stories taking place at once - and it touched HEAVILY upon inner beauty.  It didn't matter what Bevis Pod's standing was, or the scars on Hester Shaws face.  What mattered was who they were and the connection that grew with Tim and Katherine.

I also really enjoyed how the young people take the role of motivating the older historians to stand up and fight back.  The young people are really creating this whole movement, which can (like other things in the book) be read into much more.

I also unfortunately highlighted the section where Dog gets shot.  I won't share the exact passage, but it makes me remember that this book definitely reminded me of a Game of Thrones suggestion: don't fall in love with any of the characters...because they might die!

No one was safe in this one.  

Matt called it!

And the last piece I highlighted was just to touch upon the fact that while this book hit so many huge spots that we can take much deeper - it also had a fun side as well:

"Pomeroy came stumping up the stairs.  His wig had been blown off and he was nursing a wound on his arm where a splinter of bone had cut him.  "Look at that!" he said.  "I must be the first person to be harmed by a dinosaur for millions of years!""

Silly, but funny.  And there was definitely more where that came from.

All this being said: I'm ranking this one as a 5 and I'm immediately starting book two!

I'm curious to see what you guys have to think!

My next reads for the month will be Predator's Gold (Mortal Engines Book #2) and Baptism of Fire (Witcher Book #3).

Please share your thoughts and keep the Book Club Discussion going in the comment section below!

Review Conclusion

Really really fun.  It was jam packed with deeper meaning that we could analyze and take much further, while the overall story line and character building stayed to great point of views, twists, death, love, and so much more.  I would definitely recommend giving this one a read (especially before seeing the movie).

Purchase Mortal Engines: Amazon Link

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