What's great about this volume is the way that it considers sacrifice in war, and how that relates to what Alana, Marko, and Hazel are going through as a family. You know that the relatioinships between this family and the other characterse is going through a shift, and it's one that will continue as we move forward in the series.
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It's been so long since I read these that I totally forgot what happened. But so suspenseful! I even know what's going to happen next and I'm still on the edge of my seat. But knowing what happens also makes the story sadder, in a sense? And the art! Forever in love with this art.