STANDING OVATION!!!!! <3 <3 <3 Uuuuugh, there are not enough heart-eyed emojis in the world to do this review justice! Can I up the star rating to 10?! I wish I had had this book as a kid. I wish it were required reading now. A copy of this book should exist in every school library!

This book takes all the whimsy and quirkiness and FUN of magical world-building... and elevates it times ten. It reclaims fantasy jargon that is steeped in racism (like Light vs Dark) and fixes it, makes fantasy an inclusive playground (Fair vs Foul, instead). It reimagines fantasy tropes into something fresh, but in such an obvious way that I can't believe no one's done it before! (OF COURSE vampires are elite magicians, they are the ultimate illusionists, their claim to fame is glamouring throngs of people!)

This book steps on the stones paved by Harry Potter, Artemis Fowl, Charlie Bucket... and says "move over, white boy." Because the story isn't /really/ about a magical girl squaring off with a supervillain. The story within a story is about the stigma of The Other. Systemic racism, classism, generational trauma, hate crimes, microaggressions - this story is about how people will assume the worst of a person... and how much courage it takes to consistently choose to give your best, and to live with compassion, when the world seems like it's full of nothing but hate. This book does not shy away from the tough conversations about being black in America. Amari faces police, academic and career discrimination; reconciles with the truth of slavery in her ancestry; even struggles to do something as simple as make a new friend, because people assume she'll tend towards violence. The world around her is rigged for others to succeed, and her to fail, and the people in that world EXPECT her to fail, some even cheer for it. The few who do offer support and condolences, on occasion, are not enough to make her feel welcome, or at peace with herself. Frequently, she feels ashamed of herself, because she has been /taught/ by repetition that she is lesser. Amari can't just point at one bad person and POOF fix the world, Happily Ever After. But she changes one mind and heart at a time, starting with her own. The enemy, the two-headed snake, is Hate and Ignorance, and Amari fights with Knowledge and Friendship. She is the Every Hero that fantasy, especially middle grade fantasy, has needed for a very, VERY long time.

I haven't been so hyped for a sequel in decades. I cannot wait to read what challenges Amari conquers next.
End of Review...
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SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
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One MINOR, so minor, invisible, ignore me, minor....gripe... I had... is that I saw the twist of the knife coming before the end, but I didn't want it to be true. It broke my heart right with Amari. And I think that's good writing, I always say 5 stars is when a book makes me FEEL something!...
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BUT...
I wanted it to not be true. I liked the Ignorant White Ally for Dylan. I liked that all of his privilege was equal parts annoying, insulting, shame-inducing, and charming. I wanted the book to keep exploring that, for Amari to have to check Dylan for buying her off with cool gifts, and cutting corners by using inside knowledge to cheat, without worrying over the weight of consequences. But instead, the book's finale makes Dylan MUCH much darker. I get that there's a bookend being set up: That an angry, scared, suppressed person will turn to violence to be heard, or to make gains. That too often, that profile is mistakenly attributed to young black people. That we tend to overlook what the angry, scared, charming, privileged white person is capable of. BUT, in universe, once Dylan is faced with the consequences of his actions - i.e. his sister is having her life force drained in front of his eyes by a creepy old man he met on the internet - it seems ridiculous that Dylan doubles down on going full supervillain. I mean, I guess I can make space in my imagination for such a thing; people go on shooting sprees and don't stop to lament that, "Wait, I know that person I'm hurting. Maybe I should stop." Blind rage, or hurt, as motivators, sure, I guess.... But the problem for me is that, with Dylan's betrayal being willing instead of ignorant... it tips the book from "most white people are racist, many are mean" to "ALL white people are racist, ALL of them are enemies." I guess Maria and Fiona are supposed to be the counter examples to that? But even that has problems, because then it makes it seem like all of Amari's "true" friends are girls. I know it's unfair to hold Dylan up as the avatar for all boys, but his betrayal cuts deep, and has some real rapey vibes. (Transphobic vibes, too?) When it comes to violence against little girls, you EXPECT an ADULT villain to deceive a child; you don't expect a kid to groom another kid. But Dylan's grooming of Amari starts with posing as a girl to gain her trust, and ends with a final confrontation where he LITERALLY tries to steal our girl's power! Hello Darkling, who said you could leave The Grishaverse!

Long rant short: Friendly Dylan was nice for balancing the scales. It was nice to show that you couldn't judge a person based on looks; that everyone has their own inner world they're wrestling with no matter how secure they look like they ought to be on the outside; AND that a friend might mean well but do and say all the wrong things and hurt you anyway. VILLAIN Dylan is The Worst. He teaches us that you can't trust white boys, they all want to use and abuse you! I miss Friendly Dylan. I miss the world where a black girl and a white boy could misunderstand each other, could disagree and fight with each other, but would choose to build a bridge regardless.

I hope the sequel gives Dylan a chance to redeem himself. Or, if it can't do that, I hope that Amari's world doesn't narrow too much because of him. I hope that she is able to keep trusting and trying to make friends despite the wrongs that have been done to her. I hope Villain Dylan becomes the exception, not the rule, in her life.