Another incredible read in the Binti trilogy. The world-building is so thoroughly imaginative and vivid, and I just love this series so much. I find it so easy to get immersed in Binti's world, so much so that I want to visit it myself.

Where the first book follows Binti's revolutionary act of peace and unity as she travels to and arrives at her new school, this book follows a newly transformed Binti's return home. From the book's onset, I knew that her return home would be challenging, but I could never have predicted just how difficult it would be for her and how much transformation she had left to undergo.

The cliffhanger ending felt well-paced, leaving me satisfied with Binti's growth by the end of the book but also frantically grasping for the next book. The middle of the book also felt a bit too slow, but I was eager to learn more about the world and hear more of Binti's story, so it didn't bother me much. Fortunately, I borrowed this book from my local library and had already picked up the third book in the trilogy, so I will be reading that immediately. After reading the first book, I knew I needed to purchase my own copy of the trilogy, but I feel that way even more now!

My only criticism is that I've probably taken too many mathematics courses to appreciate the math-based magic system. Lines like "thinking the soothing equation of f(x) = f(-x)" come off a bit cheesy because they're not thoroughly explained enough for my taste, but they don't appear very frequently. Plus, I'll admit I might be a bit too nitpicky. All in all, however, I really loved this book. Maybe it's not the perfect book for people nerdier about math than me, but this would be a fantastic series for just about anyone, sci-fi and non-sci-fi fans alike!