Let me start by saying that I have essentially zero knowledge about Les Mis, so the retelling aspect of this was completely insignificant to me. That aside, I still have mixed feelings about this book.

On the one hand, it was a fantastic novel about the divide between the upper class elites, the lower working class, and the middle ruling class. The authors did a fantastic job making me feel the tension and expectations placed upon each class and I did enjoy the world they've created on Laterre.

The most interesting character by far was Chatine, or Tio as she disguised herself as a young boy in public. I really enjoyed her interactions with Marcellus and the bit of confusion he seemed to display as their friendship progressed, knowing that something was off but not able to put it into words. Much like Chatine, I didn't care for Alouette - something just seemed off about her for me. It could have been the narrator or the character herself, but I'm not sure if that was the intent or it was just due to the lack of any real character development.

The book checks out at just under 600 pages, and for a YA Sci-Fi, I feel that it was entirely too long and drawn out. Things could have moved much more quickly and been about 100 pages shorter while easily doing the story justice, and there would have been no doubt in my mind that I really liked the book. As it stands, I will still give the book a 4 star rating, although it's probably closer to a true 3.5 star. If I remember to look for it, I will probably borrow the sequel from the library to see how the story continues, but it's not on my must-buy list.