I started this book when I was around 13 and somehow never got around to finishing it I think it was a library book and had to go back. Anyway it was burned into my mind and I thought it was incredible. Fast forward over a decade and I have to say it’s not that great. The story line is choppy and the verbiage is heavily reliant on the readers understanding of existing lore which is fine but given it’s a YA book it didn’t build enough of the world to be read cohesively. Blacks writing is beautiful and this would have been a delight if it was double the length and more thoroughly plotted. I’m curious to see how the rest of the series shaped up because it’s my understanding this is the first of them.