4.5 stars — Immersive modern fantasy inspired by Jewish folklore, this book was so much more than I expected. It’s alive with beautiful storytelling, containing prose you can sink your teeth into and roll around in your mouth as well as important, meaningful themes: generational trauma, the lasting impact of allowing fear to drive motivation, the horrors humans are capable of in pursuit of power, and storytelling as therapy… a way to reclaim the past and one’s own future.

Bonus points for diversity and inclusivity that didn’t feel forced or tokenized, including race, gender, and sexual orientation.

This book and its characters will stay with you.

“What happens when the walls we raise outlive the dangers they were built to keep out? At what point does a fort become a cage?”