I am a fan of Nalo Hopkinson and have read a bit of her work. The world of New Half Way Tree felt developed and fleshed out. I was confused as to why Tan-Tan became a local legend (we see some of her exploits, but they seemed minor to me. Most of them we hear the exaggerated local legends instead of what actually happened) and how the world of Toussaint operates. This didn't detract from my enjoyment of the book too much. I liked the local legends about Tan-Tan. My favorite part of the book was her living with the douen and adjusting to life in the bush.