This was such a great story to read. It was a very different type of story for me to get into, but I'm really glad that I picked it up. I found the characters to be well developed, and a lot of thought and detail went into the explanations of Chalklings and the Rithmatist practices. Through out the story I had a lot of questions, but by the end they were all answered. The only thing else I could hope for would have been a little more detail on the steampunk aspects. I' a sucker for details and I think this would have helped me to imagine the world a little better.