A rich and complex YA fantasy about the ethics and uses of magic and the substance of myths. We see two characters, Lan and Zen, brought together to protect themselves, a secret magic school, and their respective communities. The pace of the story is like a dance - quick, quick, slow - which takes a bit of getting used to and I think this book could have been one set piece shorter, but Amélie Wen Zhao has definitely set up a cinematic epic that I hope will get a large budget adaptation.