In this exciting alternate-history YA novel written by Caroline Tung Richmond (The Only Thing to Fear), Cold War rivalries play out through a massive mecha fighting tournament.
Josephine Linden grew up in an alternate United States where the atomic bomb was never invented and wars are fought by soldiers in giant mechanical suits. The U.S. and the Soviet Union are locked in a Cold War and tensions run all the higher as the two nations clash in the 1963 Pax Games, an international mecha fighting tournament that is described as "the Olympics but bigger, bloodier, and deadlier." Jo, "the only female fighter in [her] school district," is relatively unknown despite her impressive record, so it comes as a surprise when she is invited to join Team USA. Victory in the Pax Games could be a ticket out of poverty for Jo's family, but things turn deadly serious when competitors mysteriously begin to fall ill. Jo, not quite prepared for the level of deceit and danger surrounding the Games, soon gets caught up in a political conspiracy.
The Great Destroyers balances suspenseful action sequences with explorations of identity and prejudice. Jo, used to being discounted as one of the few girls in a male-dominated sport, must also conceal her half-Chinese heritage to compete. Jo worries she won't be allowed to represent her country if people "knew what my mother looked like." A tournament setting may be familiar for many readers of YA fiction, but Jo's distinct voice and search for acceptance make this novel stand out. --Alanna Felton, freelance reviewer