4.5 stars! I devoured Fragile Remedy in 24 hours and it was worth everything. My angst heart LIVVEED for this book ****THE FEELS*** Fragile Remedy is just that good! I feel that I cant put it coherently together.
Okay, here it goes... Our protagonist Nate is a GEM (A genetic engineered Medi-Tisue) which means that his blood defused correctly can cure anything. Yet there is a catch he much consume a substance called Remedy to stop himself from becoming sick. However, living in the Slums that is very difficult to get hold of!

My favourite part about Fragile Remedy is the side characters they sparkle and make the plot glow. The found family of this novel is perfect and when all the characters finally come together Mora's writing glows! If you need a great read to get through isolation FRagile Remedy is perfect!

Thank you to Flux for giving me an ARC on NetGalley for an honest review

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wow! I am so glad I waited a few days after finishing to write my review because it's allowed me to reflect on how much I enjoyed this book. Fragile Remedy is a book I had not heard of until it appeared before me on NetGalley, and so I went in with no expectations. To say that I was pleasantly surprised by this book would be an understatement. The more I think about it, the more its heart and characters and originality shine!

Fragile Remedy tells the story of 16-year-old Nate, a Genetically Engineered boy (GEM) whose body can be used as a sort of drug/cure-all for the rich to feed off of. After being smuggled away from the abusive scientists of Gathos City, Nate has spent the last several years working as a Tinker in the brutal slum known as the Withers and trying to keep a low profile. His life takes a turn for the better when he meets Reed, the leader of a small gang of scavengers who all accept Nate into their little family. But there's a catch. The scientists of Gathos City have engineered the GEMs so that they will die without a drug known as Remedy. When Nate's Remedy supplier dries up, Nate is faced with an impossible decision: die with his found family and the boy he loves, or give his life over to a dangerous terrorist in order to survive.

It's not often that you see a high concept YA such as this one tell such a satisfying story in a single book. I feel like the market is so over-saturated with series, it can be kind of refreshing to find a book that gives you everything you want in a self-contained story. Although I enjoyed this book so much I would easily read a sequel.

The thing I liked most about this book was seeing how complicated Nate's relationships are with the various people in his life. He has to lie to people that he loves, he loves people who he knows have hurt him--and helping the people he loves now might mean hurting them in the longrun, or vice versa. Nate's relationship with his friend Alden was especially interesting to me, and even though I sometimes hated Alden, I also felt like I could see why Nate cared about him and that made me want to like him more. I also loved the friends-to-lovers dynamic between sweet Nate and strong Reed, and the big-brother-type relationship between Nate and Pixel. There is a wide variety of relationship dynamics in this book which I always appreciate in YA. Romance is important, but it's not EVERYTHING.

I liked almost everything about this book, but there were a couple of things that stopped me from LOVING everything about this book. I think the book has a really strong first half, with a slightly more lagging second half. I would have actually liked to see more of Reed and Nate's relationship/friendship when it's not just frantic survival mode. I think that supporting characters (basically everyone except Nate, Reed, Alden, and Pixel) could have used a little more development, but I did like the parts of them that I got to see! I also think the appearance of a certain character right near the end (no spoilers!) felt a little forced and out of place. In general, the end felt a bit sudden. I was left with several questions, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. I don't need all the answers, especially in a stand-alone.

Overall, I was charmed and impressed by this book. After going back and forth a bit, I've decided to give it 4 stars. I'll definitely be recommending this one to my bookish friends!

acho que uma palavra que pode definir esse livro é esperança. Eu realmente não sabia o que esperar quando comecei a ler esse livro e fiquei muito supresa com a quantidade de vezes em que fiquei com lágrimas nos olhos.

Eu fiquei emocionada com ahistória do Nate e sobre como ele fica sem saber em quem confiar e como tudo isso só vai piorando ao longo do livro. Todos os personagens são tão reais e tão bem feitos que facilmente eu me imaginei convivendo com eles.

Entrei na história de uma forma surreal e estou muito feliz por ter encontrado esse livro e ter tido a oportunidade de lê-lo. Obrigada NetGalley e podemos esperar muitas coisas boas vindo de Maria Mora!

Fragile Remedy is a fast paced dystopian with a heavy sci-fi plot line surrounding genetically modified humans created in a lab that function as “medical treatment” for wealthy residents of Gathos City. Though this book features interesting world building and a compelling plot, it really shines through the characters and their bond.

Nate is a GEM (Genetically Engineered Medical Surrogate) smuggled into the Withers as a child, a place outside of Gathos City quarantined during an outbreak of lung-rot. He lives with a group of other young people, all of them scavenging and selling supplies to survive. Nate is struggling for another reason though - he needs a steady supply of illegal medicine to live, and his supplier is running out. Nate has to find a new solution to his problem, all while grappling with questions of his own humanity, the secrets he has to keep from his found family, and an increasing number of violent riots in his city.

The characters in this story are hands down the best part. Nate has strong feelings for everyone in their gang, but has a special connection to Pixel, a young girl with an affinity for tinkering with tech. He also has romantic feelings for Reed, the de facto leader of their group, but tries to ignore them. Sparks and Brick have their own roles within the group, and all of these characters have a unique bond and way of interacting with each other. Alden, an additional secondary character, is not part of the group but has a complicated history with Nate.

This book also has casual queerness, which I love. There is a romantic relationship between Nate and Reed. I don’t believe it was stated on page, but subtext leads me to believe Nate is gay and Reed is bisexual. Sparks is trans, and Alden is coded queer.

In addition to stellar characters, this book deals with tough subjects in a sensitive way. It heavily discusses poverty, addiction, and the link between the two. It discusses socioeconomic barriers to health care, the ethics of cloning, and morality. Though it deals with such heavy subjects, the overall tone of the book is very hopeful.

The only critiques I have for this book is that I believe the conflict between Gathos City and the Withers was underexplored and left me feeling very disconnected from the more dystopian aspects of the book. and one of the villains we encounter felt comically dramatic.

CW: Major character death, terminal illness, suicidal ideation, addiction, violence, explicit descriptions of living in poverty.

Fragile Remedy is a fresh young adult dystopian that tackles the separation of rich and poor in a very sci-fi-like way. This is a gripping, fast-paced read, and it doesn’t slow down a bit- it will definitely make you forget the real world as you read it!

Although I first found it hard to get my head around the world-building, I thoroughly enjoyed learning the mechanics of the world as the story progresses- where Gathos City sounds like a terrible place to live- with police patrolling everywhere you look, and people getting hurt (or worse) over this drug-like substance called chem, and living in this city means that either you fend for yourself, or you have to find a gang to survive. We also learn about what a GEM is, why they are only meant to live until about 14 years of age, and how they are used for organ transplants and other super nefarious things.

For our GEM (genetically engineered medi-tissue) protagonist, Nate, he’s lucky to have a gang, who’s able to hide him for a while as GEMs are supposed to be somewhat government-monitored. However, as the police start hunting down Nate’s gang to find a missing GEM (by missing GEM, I mean Nate), he’s forced to run- however he needs a dose of a medicine-like substance by the name of Remedy to keep him alive. Nate is forced to go hide at Alden’s- who acts like a parental figure. Alden knows that Nate is a GEM, so feeds him very rationed Remedy, as there’s not enough to go around to keep him healthy for very long otherwise.

In this book, we see some of the characters heavily addicted to chem, such as Alden; which can be compared to our world, where there are people and communities that have access to and/or use dangerous drugs. Drawing that comparison is super scary, as this could happen in real life too! I feel like this made the book more relatable in a way, as this doesn’t seem in any way too far-fetched and unlikely to occur.

The character relationship dynamics and morals are super intriguing in this book, and I was totally invested in learning more about the characters. I particularly liked the character relationships between Nate and Alden, as well as Agatha and Ivy, as both of these sets of characters are morally grey and their actions show for it. I also enjoyed how Nate also acts as a foster big brother to Pixel, in a super protective way. Whilst there were only a few characters that really drew my attention, I definitely enjoyed the diversity of the cast of characters within the story, I only wish I had more time on Ivy or Pixel, as I felt that I didn’t have enough of them and I want to know more about them! I also enjoyed seeing the male-male romantic relationship (I won’t say who- that’s for me to know, and for you to read about!) in this book grow over the entirety of the story, as it was super cute! Overall, the character cast and portrayal of each character left me feeling as satisfied as I could.

Overall, this is an exciting read, with a little bit of sciencey jargon, and a lot of action-packed dystopia, which is super satisfying to sink my teeth into! I feel this is one of the many new, refreshing books on the YA dystopian market, and I’m excited to see more of these ingenious ideas to come from Maria in the future!

Rating: 3.5/5

(This review will be posted on my blog on June 2!)

Thanks to North Stars edition, Flux, and Netgalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Science Fiction and LGBT representation is not a new thing. It's probably the most popular genre for new writers to tackle on because it's so easy to craft an intriguing new worlds with different societies and complex laws and whatnot. Fragile Remedy is no different but it grows up and above from that mold. It's really surprising that this is a debut, because Maria Ingrande Mora written a book that feels like a she's been writing for ages and this is her 5th or 6th book in her career.

The story is set in the future, where things are bad at Gathos City and living in it is just as terrible. People are addicted to drugs, vandalized or pillage due to no jobs, security, food or a home and it's every man for himself out there, unless you got a gang to relay on. Nate belongs to one and he's pretty inviolable thanks to his tinkering but he also has to keep his identity as a GEM, an genetically engineered medi-tissue (man made to be used to replace badly damaged failed organs and other terrifying purposes). Things get a turn to the worse when Nate's gang are pulled into the spotlight when the police are searching for a runaway GEM and they are in the middle of that chaos.

I cannot begin how refreshing the story was. Everyone was so multi layered and gray, from the main character, to the love interest and the secondary characters. Each one wasn't shoved aside or wasn't touched upon and it was so nice to see that they are all flawed but yet willing to do everything to survive in this world and not give up on their values. The romance was fluffy and didn't take too much from the plot or felt too rushed either. The representations of queer characters, disabled and POC and biracial was so great.

Maria writes such a beautifully and yet tragic words that tug on your heart strings. Sometimes it hurt and yet you can't withdraw your attention away because you can't abandon Nate and the gang. You want them to succeed, even if the means don't justified the end. You want Nate and Reed to be together and yet even if the world keeps bringing all the reasons why which makes sense you know it won't stop those two dolts to fulfill whats in their hearts.

If you looking for a good read for 2020 that will exceed your exceptions of the YOUNG ADULT SCI-FI genre then this is the book for you. Please purchase the book, I highly recommending it <3

I have never read anything quite like this before. The whole concept is new to me and unique. I really enjoyed the story line. Nate and his group of friends are so different from one another, but they work so well together. There are secrets that they all keep, but it’s for everyone’s safety. The characters are great too. Loyal and caring. The author does a great job with world building and paints a pretty vivid picture of the Withers for the reader.
My only negative thought on the book is that it dragged in some spots. Nate is very worried that others will find out that he’s a GEM and turn him in for money and he dwells on it. He’s also worried about his friends getting into trouble for having him around. Nate’s unconventional relationship with his Remedy dealer is a bit disturbing and I think Nate should have addressed it sooner.
All and all I enjoyed the book and I look forward to her next one.

Unfortunately, this is a dnf. I've tried to read it a few times and just can't get into it. I may try to pick it up again at a later date.

Thank you to North Star Editions Flux for the opportunity to read and review Fragile Remedy.

I loved this unique story!
This was so interesting and kept me intrigued from the beginning. The idea of genetically developing humans with DNA that can replicate and heal itself and then using them to heal others isn't as farfetched as it seems. Science can be amazing, but how far is too far and where is the line drawn? Nate was a sweet, intelligent kid and I felt so bad that he was on his own and lying to his friends because he couldn't truly trust anyone. His relationship with Pixel was my favorite, she's adorable and must be protected. Reed and the girls were good friends and I'm glad Nate had them and they cared for him.
The story was well paced and the world building was great. I definitely understood what was happening without needing major info dumps. This concludes wonderfully and I devoured it all in one sitting. I'm excited for this to come out so everyone can check it out!

Thank you to NetGalley and North Star Editions for this advance copy. All opinions are honest and my own.

I ended up DNF this book about 53% in. I really really wanted to like this book but I could not get through it. It felt like I was walking through quicksand, I didn’t enjoy the writing style and I wasn’t able to connect with the characters at all. The pacing felt weird for me and I really wasn’t enjoying myself. I was having such a hard time reading this book that I ended up giving up. Maybe one day I’ll finish it but not today.

~~ Thanks to Flux, Netgalley and Maria Ingrande Mora for allowing me to read the ARC and give my honest review ~~

I have to say that I was surprised at the beginning I did not get so hooked with the story but then I started loving the characters and enjoying the experience. I just loved Nate and his struggle. Even do its a dystopian fantasy I saw a new element in the story, I felt that this is something that can happen as the medicine is going towards the creation of perfect kids analizin the DNA and choosing the best option, I know this is not the same as the book, but it gave me a big vibe.

The book covers a LGBT without stressing it to much and making the book an excuse to just show a LGBT story, loved how it is a story that has a LGBT character not a book about LGBT (I Know I repeated LGBT to much sorry)

I give this book 4.5 Stars for its originality and its lovely experience.

The cover really appealed to me, which is why I wanted to request this ARC at NetGalley in the first place, but then I read the synopsis and I was sure: this would be a book for me! The story sounds amazing, I love dystopian novels and it feels like this synopsis promises impressive things. The cover is a bit too blue to my taste, but it also got a little something because of it.

I was absolutely surprised while reading this book! Dystopian books are my favorite, but in reality it seems hard to really establish a good story within a well-developed world. Fragile Remedy gave me a world that gave me chills, because it feels so real. It tackles poverty, minorities, diversity and LGBT+, and all of that without really exaggerating it so that it would feel unrealistic. The story about Nate and his 'gang' really hit me, because it shows that life can be tough and this cruelty was really present in the story, but it also showed that there will always be warmth and love in some way. Nate and Reed developed a cute relationship, in which they went deeper than they thought they would. Nate is an over-thinker, but I thought that brought a strong aspect to the story: don't we all over-think and be anxious about things? I did feel like all of his thoughts slowed down the story and could've been done slightly less in my opinion. I adored Pixel as a character, but felt like all of the characters were well developed and grew throughout the story. The story was fast-paced, raw and made my eyes moist one or two times (which doesn't happen very often!). I think Maria Ingrande Mora will give us so much more in the future, but I really enjoyed this debut novel, so I'm a fan. Fragile Remedy is a strongly written dystopian novel that doesn't scare away from being raw, real and harsh, but also knows how to tackle emotions and fill up the heart., I know it sounds a bit unreliable, with Fragile Remedy being my first NetGalley ARC, but I'm honestly positive about the book. I'm giving it 4,5/5 stars!

TITLE: Fragile Remedy

AUTHOR: Maria Ingrande Mora

RELEASE DATE: 16 June 2020

RATING: 3,5/5 stars

Once again, I requested this book from Netgalley because of the cover, but this time, the synopsis sounded interesting too.

This book is a dystopian, though the genre isn’t heavily featured and we focus more on the characters surviving day to day. It’s been a while since I’ve read a dystopian, and while this book didn’t disappoint, I was hoping for more.


GOOD UNDERLYING THEMES/MESSAGES;

-Your past doesn’t define you.
-There is always hope; keep looking and fighting.
-Family doesn’t need to be blood.

A whole star for this category!


REALISTIC CHARACTERS AND GROWTH:

Nate was a bit of a weak character. It’s nice to see weaker characters in the spotlight rather than over-powered and capable characters. It lends a bit of a new perspective, which is always welcome.

Nate is a character that cries a lot and is dependent on others. He would die without help but I think this is an effective way to get a powerful message across about how family is always there for you. But I feel like Nate had no growth by the end; he was still the same person he had been at the beginning.

I wish the side-characters would have been fleshed out more and have gotten more attention.

I loved Alden and I felt like his character was developed entirely by the end. He was my favorite in the book.

I’m kind of indifferent about Reed. I liked him as a character, but I wish we had gotten to know more about him. I liked the unapologetically queer relationship between him and Nate, but once again, I feel like there was little growth in their relationship by the time the end rolled around. It still felt the same.

I wish Brick, Sparks, and Pixel were fleshed out more and we got to know a little more about them. I feel like there is a lot of potential in their backstories. Pixel was cute, but I want to know more.

Half a star for this category.


INTERESTING STORY:

The pacing in this book was a little off for me. It sped up and slowed down, and then up and down and up and down…and then it ended. We’ve got these interesting action scenes that are immediately followed by parts that move at a snail’s pace. The slow parts are usually where the character development would take place, but there wasn’t as much as I wanted.

The twists thrown in were enjoyable. The Breakers added a new level of interest for me, but I predicted the surprise near the end.

I would have loved to find out more about the history of the world and how it got to the point where it is now. I love myself some epidemics in dystopians and I was really excited to hear about ‘lung rot’ but there wasn’t any further mention of it.

How do the people inside the city live? How are people kept out of the city? I want to know more.

Half a star for this category.


FANTASTIC WORLD-BUILDING:

This is a category where I sense great potential. I want to know more about the Withers, the people, how they survive, the things they’ve done. I want to know if there have been previous uprisings against the city. I want to know where the island they’re on is located.

Why is the rain acidic? Was it a war? How did lung rot break out? How bad did it affect the world?

I must know.

Half a star for this category.


EMOTION:

Nate succeeded in making me feel hopeless. That could be good or bad, but since I felt hopeless alongside him, the positive events in the book held more weight than they usually would.

When a certain character died, I almost cried. Which, for a first book in what I hope might be a series, is impressive. I struggle to attach to characters, so when that one character died, it really gave me all the feels.


A whole star for this category!


That’s it!

How easily do you get attached to characters? Tell me your thoughts down below!

Till we meet again!

Xx Alexia

*Thank you so much to the publisher Flux, and to NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. It was such a pleasure to read this book!
This book is amazing. The writing is captivating from the very beginning. It took me a couple of chapters to completely grasp certain terms and locations created for the purpose of this novel, but the text and plot are so immersive that I was eager to catch on. The characters were so detailed and realistically crafted that I empathized with their pain and felt their frustrations. Alden was particularly well-developed, blurring the line of good and evil, and served as a reminder that so many people are doing the best they can in difficult situations. My favorite character was Pixel, sweet and sensitive yet brave and strong, comforting others when she was afraid herself, willing to do whatever it took to help out those she cared for. Nate was a complex character in so many ways, and I loved that I was continuously learning new information about his capabilities as a GEM and the different facets of his personality. I also thoroughly respect that the author included a lot of controversial topics (LGBTQ, drug use, gangs, etc) and was able to cover them without criticism or self-righteousness. I would love to see more books written by Maria Ingrande Mora in the future.

Fantastic, diverse, lovable set of characters whom we join in a dystopian world where the haves and have-nots are severely divided not only by wealth and privilege but by location as well.

Withers is the quarantine zone. Even though there is no longer danger from "lungrot", the people remain segregated in this run-down, poverty stricken town wholly dependent on the wealthy Gathos City for their basic necessities such as food and medicine.

As often happens in real life, people who find themselves alone and struggling can and do form their own "families". I call them families instead of groups because they tend to treat each other very much like true blood relations including all the love, bickering and care with each other.

Our protagonist started life in Gathos City as a GEM (genetically engineered medi-tissue), but in an effort to save his life, his parents secreted him away to the care of an elderly lady living in Withers. Unfortunately, she didn't live long enough to finish raising him and he found himself alone on the streets. Fortunate enough to join a group of other outcasts doing their best to survive without escaping into drugs or immoral behavior. Their world is gritty, dark, and unforgiving. Their struggles draw us readers in to cheer, fear and fight with them.

Maria Ingrande Mora is a fresh new voice in the genre of sci-fi dystopian novels.

It was a little difficult for me to get sucked into the story, but once I did it was a thrilling ride. The world and character building are done very well and the story feels fresh and original. I loved our weary band of misfits. I cheered, worried, and was heartbroken for them time and again. My only real critique is that it feels like there should be...more? I could tell the book was wrapping up and I was just like woah woah woah - that can’t be it. It’s left -very- open-ended, and I have no idea if the author plans to write more.

If YA dystopian books are your thing I think you’d enjoy this a lot and I’d definitely recommend giving it a go.

I'm not really one to fall in love with sci-fi, but this is definitely up there for me! It was immersive, and the characters each had qualities that I actually enjoyed. Alden is perhaps one of my favorites, although the other characters are great as well. The diversity in this book is handled well, and none of it feels out of place at all. The story itself took some time for me to get on board with, but I did end up looking forward to reading the next chapters. While this isn't my favorite sci-fi, I definitely had a good time reading and would recommend giving it a try.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of Fragile Remedy.

Wow! Where to start?

This was a very clever storyline, pretty original. It had a lot of detail, even down to gory, gross descriptions of things.
Nate is a GEM (which is basically a genetically modified human), and his character is well written.
The parallels between the story and life now are pretty clear, rich vs poor, what people with money will do to help themselves.
This was a good dystopian/sci-fi, that I feel pushed the boundaries of morality. Very good read.

Whoa boy. Where do I even BEGIN?

First of all, I received a copy of this book via Netgalley (thank you!) and this review is very very honest. I swear, the tear tracks are still fresh on my face.

From the first moment I read the synopsis of this book I knew I’d love it. Everything about it screamed “oh my god Lauren this is it!” and when I read the first chapter I sank into it so quickly and easily and all I wanted was to know more about the backstory of the world. Speaking of which, the world building is a marvel, I could almost smell the streets described within, and the characters were so alive and rich.

I don’t want to spoil anything about this, because it’s a book that is worth finding your way through page at a time not knowing what will happen next; my heart was in my throat several times, for several different reasons, and it’s the first book I’ve cried physical tears over in a while. It hit the found family trope with perfect precision, which is the definition of my weakness, with a slow build background m/m love story and friendships that are sometimes sharp and painful, and in some cases quite unique. The connection between Nate and Alden was one of my absolute favourite parts of Fragile Remedy, and it was one of the best, most interesting takes on a friendship I’ve read in recent memory.

I really hope there is a sequel planned. It doesn’t necessarily need it, as I think it does stand alone, but there are so many more answers I need, so many different aspects of the world still there to explore, and I really need to see more of the Alley Cats.

I had to DNF this book unfortunately. It was too dark, gory, gross, etc for me. I wanted to like it so much. And the story was good. I just couldn't get past the descriptions of everything being so nasty all the time. I wanted a spot of sunshine somewhere but it was just didn't show up. It might have showed up later but I didn't want to keep reading for so long hoping some bright spot shows up and then it never show up. Some people will really love this style of writing. It just wasn't for me.