Wonderfully original and entertaining story. I really did enjoy the mix of deep Southern culture and magic. The characters were well done and the details of each part of the story fit together very well and you could tell the work that went into that. I think a few times the fact that this is a young adult book did shine through, some of the dialogue and a few cheesy parts. But really, you cannot read a book like this and not expect some of that. I was impressed how under control the authors kept those parts, to be honest. I think the term "caster" was fantastic and really not something I have ever heard before, so that was very refreshing. All in all, solid read. I'm on the wait-list at the library for the movie and the second book!