I am so glad that I reread this with my friends. There was so much that I had forgotten. I have to admit that I initially started listening to this via audio, an was beginning to wonder why I enjoyed it the first time. When I switched to reading the book, I was able to get into it and started enjoying it a lot more. 

Argh! I am not sure what I should/could say without giving things away. I don't like the double standard that Inan struggles with between his father and the Maji. He excuses and justifies his father's fear and brutality but not the Majis. How can you peacefully fight oppression that is being violently enforced? Ian was so quick to have his mind changed about his father, but also just as quick to fall back on those fears when he saw something powerfully frightening that he couldn't control. 

Zelie is brash, lacks impulse control but ultimately has a good heart. She has the capacity for so much violence and rage but also such capacity for strength and leadership. She was willing but would never volunteer. I can see why she was chosen by the gods. And then there's Amari. She's a catalyst, but also a wallflower. She's the unlikeliest character, but I think she may be my favorite. She is capable of violence but she doesn't embrace it as her father had hoped that she would. At least, not until it's truly necessary. And then there's Tzain.... I am not indifferent to him, but I don't know what to say about him. He is a typical big brother, but he is a good big brother at the moments that count the most. 

The magic system is unique, but easy to understand. And we have only seen the beginning. We have an introductory of some of the potential magic that people can have, and we have also seen some of what those magic look like in the extreme. I don't know if it was intentional but we also get a glimpse of what the world would look like if corrupt maji were to rise in political power. 

There are a lot of things that happen at the end. And some would even say some issues were resolved. But as Zelie was told, it was just the beginning. And I am curious to see where the story goes from here.