This is an incredible YA fantasy novel! As someone who often avoids fantasy, I really loved this book and its commentary on racism in a fantasy setting. This book is different than any other fantasy book out there and is inclusive in genuine intentional ways. Although it took me a good portion of the book to understand the “world” the author was building, I enjoyed getting to know it and am moving straight to reading the second one. The reason I deducted .25 of a star is because I felt the “love triangle” trope was unnecessary for the plot and that the book would be just as good without the need to add romance features.