My Mechanical Romance
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4.4 • 27 Ratings
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Opposites attract in this nerdy YA romance from the NYT best-selling author of The Atlas Six!
A Mathical Book Prize Honor Book
"It’s rom-com perfection."—Adiba Jaigirdar, author of The Henna Wars
Bel doesn't want to think about the future. College apps? You’re funny. Extracurriculars? Not a chance. Joining a robotics club filled with boys who ignore her or--even worse--constantly ask if she needs help? Please, anything but that. But when she accidentally reveals a talent for engineering in class, she has no choice. Enter Mateo Luna, the handsome captain of the club.
Teo instantly recognizes Bel's talent. He needs her on the team. And not just because he can't stop thinking about the tiny dusting of freckles around her eyes, or how she got him hooked on Taylor Swift--it's because Bel sees him. She challenges him. But when they seriously start butting heads, Bel wonders: Is there really room for a girl like her in STEM?
In her YA debut, Alexene Farol Follmuth, author of The Atlas Six (under the penname Olivie Blake), explores both the challenges girls of color face in STEM and the vulnerability of first love with unfailing wit and honesty. Told from dual points of view, My Mechanical Romance is not only swoonworthy--it's downright empowering.
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection
A Georgia Peach Book Award for Teen Readers Nominee
A Massachusetts Teen Choice Book Award Nominee
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Seventeen-year-old Bel Maier, who is half-Filipino and half-white, doesn't know what she wants to do with her life. She has been avoiding college applications, but her knack for engineering and love of building things lands her a spot on her private Los Angeles high school's robotics team after a teacher encourages her to audition. Bel's initial disinterest in math and sciences and her unorthodox approach to projects causes friction within the team, however, and she butts heads with intense club leader Mateo "Teo" Luna, who is half-Mexican and half-white, and Indian American Neelam Dasari, the only other girl on the team. When Bel and Teo fall for each other, they must navigate a relationship amid the boys' club atmosphere of high school robotics, even as a cutthroat competition and uncertainty about their post-high school futures work against them. Follmuth's humorous debut lightly addresses discrimination faced by women of color in STEM, as well as issues of privilege and resource accessibility, set within an upbeat romantic comedy populated by a sympathetic and inclusive cast. The characters' struggles are realistic, and the romantic chemistry is palpable, making this a joyful read. Ages 12–up.
