Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

In a dystopian world in which humans live in hiding and alien monsters consume what remains of Earth, a group of friends are reborn. Their destiny? To save the worldRed, Bloom, Willow, and Ash are grappling with their precarious futures as young people growing up in a dying world. But just as all seems lost in the wake of tragedy, they gain the ability to fight back against the invaders and protect the planet by controlling ancient dryads who have immense strength and untapped capabilities. Each clash brings new hope, strengthens their friendships, heals their grief, and demonstrates the importance of resistance. The story balances many complex and nuanced themes, exploring moral lessons around the corruption of altruism by greed and power, the lasting consequences our choices have on others, and the fight (even against seemingly insurmountable odds) against ecocide and climate change. Regeneration, second chances, and cycles of growth are central to the narrative, which emphasizes the belief that everyone is capable of doing good and evil-and of changing. Dynamic, colorful illustrations convey both the weight of emotionally heavy moments and the high-stakes energy of combat scenes. The robotlike aliens and dryads as well as the hauntingly beautiful wilderness scenes are portrayed with a striking use of light, shadow, and perspective. The main and side characters are racially diverse.A gripping meld of vivid worldbuilding, ecological folklore, and action sequences that challenges and enthralls. (character designs, concept art, alternate covers)(Graphic science fiction. 13-18)

ALA Booklist (Thu Oct 31 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

On a dying world, four teens are brutally murdered by one of several giant robots on a mission to plunder all their planet's resources. The kids awaken, in a way, to find they can pilot humongous biomechs, and they pledge to seek vengeance and save the planet. Lima expertly takes out any extraneous exposition to focus on the nonstop kaiju action and teenage angst. The few moments of backstory feel strategic and poignant, showing the heroes reflecting on a dying world they previously felt powerless to stop. In the midst of our current climate crisis, Lima's imaginative wish-fulfillment fantasy will be relished by teen readers in particular. But the real selling point is the artwork uilani makes every moment and panel count. The character designs and setting look impressive and lived in, while the robot design really embraces the literal wild nature of the whole piece. The detail of every fight scene is extraordinary, making every punch feel real and impactful. Big robots, big feelings, big fun.

Kirkus Reviews

In a dystopian world in which humans live in hiding and alien monsters consume what remains of Earth, a group of friends are reborn. Their destiny? To save the worldRed, Bloom, Willow, and Ash are grappling with their precarious futures as young people growing up in a dying world. But just as all seems lost in the wake of tragedy, they gain the ability to fight back against the invaders and protect the planet by controlling ancient dryads who have immense strength and untapped capabilities. Each clash brings new hope, strengthens their friendships, heals their grief, and demonstrates the importance of resistance. The story balances many complex and nuanced themes, exploring moral lessons around the corruption of altruism by greed and power, the lasting consequences our choices have on others, and the fight (even against seemingly insurmountable odds) against ecocide and climate change. Regeneration, second chances, and cycles of growth are central to the narrative, which emphasizes the belief that everyone is capable of doing good and evil-and of changing. Dynamic, colorful illustrations convey both the weight of emotionally heavy moments and the high-stakes energy of combat scenes. The robotlike aliens and dryads as well as the hauntingly beautiful wilderness scenes are portrayed with a striking use of light, shadow, and perspective. The main and side characters are racially diverse.A gripping meld of vivid worldbuilding, ecological folklore, and action sequences that challenges and enthralls. (character designs, concept art, alternate covers)(Graphic science fiction. 13-18)

School Library Journal (Sun Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Gr 9 Up— Some time after humanity has been reduced to fearful pockets of civilization by the arrival of invulnerable extraterrestrial machines that are devouring the planet's resources, four friends sneak out at night and are killed by one of the harvesting monsters. Three are resurrected as pilots of massive organic mecha that are grown by Earth's spirit guardian for one last ditch attempt to fight back. Bursting with ideas and jagged adolescent aggression, this is a neighbor to Paper Girls or The Cull , but with artwork that evokes Craig Thompson or Kevin Cannon. There are frequent flashes of emotional depth as the characters wrestle with their various losses, and a third-act revelation about the origin of the monsters is effectively troubling. But there are an equal number of moments where the bald narration explains what the characters are feeling without any resonance, and where the action is difficult to decipher, which lessens readers' connections to the characters. While the characters are pitched as dealing with the extremes of trauma response, they unfortunately read as alienating because of their raw anger. VERDICT Clever but clunky; the ambition of this sci-fi monster slam-fest is impressive and many of the concepts and themes are compelling, but the characters don't win pitted against the bumps in the storytelling.— Benjamin Russell