I originally wanted to read this because some of my students recommended it, and I wanted to see what the hype was all about! And...ugh. 

Loved the setting and plot and the general creepy vibes buuuut hate the characters -- specifically Amy. Amy makes me want to smack my head against a wall, BUT then I remember that I would have loved her as a teen girl. She’s exactly the right amount of ‘not like other girls’ mixed with the plot of being a heroine that I would have devoured as a confused and childish kid.  It should be noted that my favourite character was the pet rat. 

For the actual story, the middle was quite boring what with the training and lacklustre battle scenes. I’ll admit though, emotion-based magic? Always good! The ending truly sets up the reader for a classic trilogy, what with the neverending questions and zero real answers. I think the premise might be strong enough to add the second book to my tbr but I'm not eager to read it at the moment.