2.5
adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved Angie Thomas' YA books The Hate You Give and On The Come Up. Unfortunately, this middle grade fantasy missed the mark for me. I understand I'm not the target audience. But as someone who reads middle grade & YA to recommend them to young readers, I wasn't very engaged in this one. In my opinion, I think there are better written middle grade fantasies out there. This won't be a top one that I recommend, especially not to Canadian readers. It felt very American in terms of the social commentary that Angie Thomas was weaving in to the story.

Positives: 
  • The audiobook narration is excellent. It is performed well. 
  • Angie Thomas made a strong effort to weave current events for the Black community as well as the stories of important figures in Black History into her storyline. 
  • The characters felt realistic and authentic. 

Negatives:
  • The flow of the author's writing was not smooth. There were passages that felt disjointed. There was a lot more telling the reader about plot points than showing the reader. 
  • I felt confused at the beginning of the book. I found the world building parts hard to follow and understand. I was not engaged from the very start. 

Themes/Topics:
  • Black Lives Matter social commentary
  • Black History
  • Friendship
  • Sibling Relationships
  • Parent-Child Relationships
  • Identity

I'd Recommend To:
  • Readers looking for #ownvoices fantasy
  • Fantasy readers who are wanting a new series to start
  • Readers interested in BLM social commentary