Oooo, I know why people rave about this so much now.

This is a chunkier book than I expected, full of scenes and situations that surprised me for a variety of reasons. Maturity. The graphic nature of it. How deep and dark betrayals were.

That might be why I liked it though - Hale doesn't shy away from the shocking things that shape a character. And Ani's slow growth through the novel was perfect - from her dismissal by her mother all the way up to winning the support of local workers and forcing kings to listen to her.

She's not a physical heroine. She doesn't brandish a sword. Doesn't think up clever plans. Instead, Ani wins by learning to listen to the world around her. To herself. To the boys and girls she works with. To animals and nature.

Listening is quite a power here and it's paired up with the power of worlds so nicely. But what ultimately saves Ani is others' willingness to hear her out. Finding strength in absorbing the world and exposing the truth is exactly the tale I needed to kick-start the new year.