Seventeen-year-old Aisha Un-Haad has been taking care of her younger siblings since their parents died. As a citizen of the starship Reliant in the Seventh District, Aisha's only opportunity to scale the economic ladder is to join the Scela, the General Body's army of machinery-enhanced warriors. A devout, headscarf-wearing member of the Ledic faith, Aisha fears the body modifications required to become Scela--not to mention that the procedure kills as many people as it successfully modifies. When her six-year-old brother, Amar, falls ill with the wasting fever, Aisha knows she's out of options. "Only the desperate volunteer to become Scela, signing away their bodies and their autonomy to the General Body's command," and Aisha is desperate.
Key Tanaka wakes up post-procedure: "Ridges of metal run parallel to my lengthened bones. Ports stick out around my joints." The exorig she's now outfitted to wear is a computerized suit of armor that integrates with her nervous system. She can't remember "deciding to take the metal" and, as a wealthy, First District 18-year-old, can't think of a reason why she would. But with most of her memories gone (or hidden from her by the exo) and no way of reaching out to her family, all she can do is fall into line. Placed in a squad with two others, Aisha and Key slowly discover that the governing body they now represent and defend may not be as righteous as it would have citizens believe.
Emily Skrutskie's complex, space-based post-apocalyptic world is populated by diverse characters representing various gender expressions, sexualities, races and religions. Hullmetal Girls's governing body is perfectly sinister, the motivations of the protagonists wholly understandable and the stakes as high as they can be. A gripping and intelligent young adult read. --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness