There's always something about Renée Ahdieh's books that leaved me with a heartache. They're so beautifully written it almost feels like magic.
I love how she decides to write about different cultures, and yet make me feel like I personally know each one of them whole. It's something amazing.
And Mariko.
Girl, I came to loving Shazi, but Mariko is something different. I love how a character as strong as her, as willing to be recognized for what she was worth, could be the character of a book with this setting. And yet she is what made the book amazing. The struggles we saw her facing, how she wanted to be something else, how there were men willing to recognize her strength even if it was unusual, is what I liked the most. It is what made this book special for me.