This book is the first in a series set at The Wayward Home for Children, where there are children and youth who have come for a variety of different reasons. Nancy is the star of this novel, but I felt like I didn't really get to know her too well. Maybe that is the downside of such a short novel. I would say that this is a lighter fantasy novel, because of it's magical realism element (magical characters and elements in a real-world type of setting...). That's why I thought I'd give it a try.

Although I read widely, fantasy is generally not a genre I explore. I figured since this series is about children, it would be a good entry point into the genre for me. But ultimately, I didn't vibe or connect with this book. I found it hard to focus while reading, and if it weren't for the audiobook helping me immerse myself in the story, I might have lost my focus altogether!

The strongest aspect of this book was its diversity, hands down. The characters are unique and interesting and there is LGBTQIA+ representation, which is fantastic. I applaud the author for that! Unfortunately, I just didn't connect with or start to care about any of the characters. The only ones that I found mildly intriguing were twins Jack and Jill.

But, there are lots of people who love this series. So if you are wanting to try fantasy, you might want to give this first book in the series a try. It is a shorter book and maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did.