Gowns, hard choices, and frustrations with communication make up much of the Nami's, our narrator, life here (or not life as it were since she dies around 20 pages in). Visual descriptions abound, helping the reader flesh out both Nami and her surroundings, the people included.

Bowman does beautifully with the internal narrative here as Nami faces some hard choices with no right answer presenting itself. A doubting narrator can come across as wishy-washy or flaky, but here she simply seems empathetic - an admirable accomplishment on the author's part. Nami comes across as a fairly well-defined character that undergoes some impressive growth in the face of less than ideal circumstances. Empathy can be treated as a weakness in YA fiction, and I'm not yet sure where this series is going to direct Nami, but regardless of this book's outcome, her empathy acts as a pillar of strength for her as she tries to find her place and role.

If you are a fan of YA Fantasy or Sci-Fi I would recommend this book. It has fascinating concepts, a refreshing narrator, an interesting blend of genres with AI in the afterlife, the smattering of romance didn't detract from the story, and as a bonus - a horse or two made of dreams make some cameos. There are flashes of violence, but the story isn't subsumed by it either.

*Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for the change to read an ARC of this novel!