{"id":174,"date":"2016-12-09T14:21:00","date_gmt":"2016-12-09T14:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/?p=174"},"modified":"2018-11-20T05:44:43","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T05:44:43","slug":"cybils-speculative-reader-titans-by","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/?p=174","title":{"rendered":"Cybils Speculative Reader: TITANS, by VICTORIA SCOTT"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a> <\/p>\n

Welcome to the 2016 Cybils Speculative Reader!<\/h3>\n

As a first run reader for the Cybils, I’ll be briefly introducing you to the books on the list, giving you a mostly unbiased look at some of the plot.
\nEnjoy!<\/p>\n

While some girls are horse-crazy from the minute they’re tall enough to reach a stirrup, others of us… are not into Pony Club books and that type of thing. I find that I’m mainly into the equine only when they’re a.) bloodthirsty unicorns, a la<\/i> RAMPANT, by Diana Peterfreunde, or b.) slightly rage\/possessed water horses, a la<\/i> THE SCORPIO RACES. Otherwise, meh. I could take ’em or leave ’em. Which is why this book tickled me. We gotcher insane horses, we gotcher mystical man-eaters, and now we’ve got… androids? Right. The Uncanny Valley widens.<\/p>\n

Synopsis<\/b><\/i>: Detroit once was a place for the people. Its working-class denizens knew where a good time was to be had – where the music was, where the best food was, and where to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon – at the races, sliding tickets across the counter, cheering and shouting, taking a chance, and making book. But, the racetrack where horses ran fell into disuse with the Titans came. Good, clean entertainment, it was supposed to be. Safer for everyone – for horses, for riders. But the Titans came and crushed a very old industry, and the betting on this new breed was easier – faster paced, and more addictive than anything that had come before. The rich got richer, the backers, the steel manufacturers, those in the right position…and the poor – betting on a dream of breaking even someday – got poorer. Families were losing houses, jobs, and everything was sliding downhill. Astrid could feel it — and see what was coming for them. But she could no more ignore the Titans than her father. Only, her bailiwick wasn’t the betting… it was the dream of a ride. <\/p>\n

Astrid is betting on the “just one shot” like everyone else. She’s given sweat, blood, time, and silence to put her hands on a single dream: to keep her family together. She just wants to make up for the one mistake she’s made — but is it possible? Can you ever really have back what you’ve lost?<\/p>\n

Observations<\/b><\/i>: This novel doesn’t have a romantic storyline that toils away surreptitiously beneath the surface then rises up to swamp the narrative. Let’s just caress that thought for a moment and gaze at it fondly.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Welcome to the 2016 Cybils Speculative Reader! As a first run reader for the Cybils, I’ll be briefly introducing you to the books on…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[41,42,12],"class_list":["post-174","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-chosen-family-fiction","tag-class-and-identity-in-ya-literature","tag-fantasy-sci-fi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=174"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9165,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/174\/revisions\/9165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=174"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=174"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingya.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=174"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}