Disappointed by this, tbh. Parts of it were cute—the disabled and queer rep was fantastic(NONBINARY REP THAT DOESN’T USE THEY/THEM PRONOUNS?? WORD??), Splinter’s perseverance in her POV as well as her overall fiery attitude made her a highlight of the first half, and the friendship between the titular characters was endearing. I think in hindsight their development was a little rushed, but I still liked them nonetheless. 

The plot was standard to a painful degree, though. I think for kids new to the fantasy genre they’ll get a lot out of the action, the characters with endless ambition, and the sprinkling of kingdom politics, but for me (as both someone well-acquainted with fantasy for younger demographics, and an older reader) the plot twists were predictable and the lack of immersion in the world left me feeling bored. I’ll admit there was one plot twist I technically didn’t predict, but that’s because I couldn’t tell if it was a plot hole or not. 

And, of course, there are some other grudges I have that younger readers either won’t catch on to, or won’t care about as much(I grew up with the “Rescue Princesses” series, and those princesses made some pretty terrible decisions that partially annoyed me and sent my dad fuming, okay): Ash’s kidnappers were a little terrible at their job and that was obviously the reason why she could have more than one escape attempt; Lucen’s turnaround was quick, and frustrating for an arc that started out with some surprisingly realistic examples on how bullying can be overlooked especially because of favoritism; and Ash’s “I can protect myself :)” message being hammered in for a couple of moments annoyed me because she still obviously needed some help..?

I did like a few other things, though: Firstly, Splinter and Lucen’s initial reluctance to work with each other. Their banter was fun, and I liked that Splinter used several opportunities to call him out. But the main reason why the pacing of Lucen’s turnaround annoys me so badly is that a lot of his issues with Splinter very clearly stemmed from sexism, and the story didn’t think about even exploring how the toxic masculinity cultivated with both monarchy and squire/knight roles cultivated that?? (Because it can also be tied to the reason he revealed for being so closed-off to Ash!) Secondly, I liked Ash’s internal conflict around befriending—and subsequently betraying—Mist and Hazel. (Although the wording for her guilt and anxiety was simplistic.) I don’t know how to feel about the overall message of it though, because as important as it is for kids to recognize when they did wrong and ruined a friendship, Ash was forced by her circumstances, and also clearly valued Mist and Hazel as friends, she just wasn’t in a space she could say she did.

I think I’ll be dropping the series, but it’s pretty cool that characters like Splinter and Ash can exist.