Rebelwing by Andrea Tang

Abstract

Reviewed by: Rebelwing by Andrea Tang Natalie Berglind Tang, Andrea Rebelwing. Razorbill, 2020 [368p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-9848-3509-3 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-9848-3511-6 $10.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 8-10 Seventeen-year-old Prudence Wu attends New Columbia Preparatory Academy, and she's also a book smuggler by trade, sneaking illicit materials from the democratic Barricade Coalition areas into highly censored United Continental Confederacy Incorporated land. When Pru is caught on the wrong side of the law, a sentient mech dragon drops down from the sky and imprints on her to be its pilot—a position programmed for Alex Lamarque, the nephew of the Head Representative of the Barricade Coalition. With the help of her friends, the famous Anabel Park and Anabel's tech-savvy, soon-to-be-girlfriend Cat, Pru learns to pilot the dragon just in time to become embroiled in a mech arms race between the UCC and the Barricade Coalition. This sci-fi debut knows its tropes well and playfully treads along familiar routes, and Tang brings a little something for everyone to this genre mashup of dragon fantasies, boarding-school narratives, Transformers movies, and social commentary about the growing influence of corporations. Fans of diverse speculative fiction are bound to find something to like in this unique but familiar novel. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois