An illuminating read for those who want a critical approach to psychology from a leftist-Marxist perspective. However, I can see how this book might get a little ableist at some points but it's because the author does not truly expand on an idea that they would set out to make. For example, there's a lot of times in this book that I read in a confounded manner because I wanted the author to elaborate more on the main point. This feels like a book not to argue for an examination of psychology as a field, but rather for someone who is already feeling/believing in the same points that the author has made. This book is definitely not for those with zero historical knowledge of psychology, you must have some semblance of historical knowledge and the fields that it covers to be able to get 90% of the book (again due to the lack of an explanation). 

Also ps, a few ableist languages are scattered here and there like referring to psychology as "stupid" and "dumb".  I find the lack of nuanced discussion a little jarring as well. I rated it 4 stars in terms of new things that I've learned and the resources that are listed in the book. 

This was such a lovely book. Genuinely such an interesting, adventure-filled story that is grounded very much so in reality while remaining so fantastical. I am definitely looking out for more of the author's work in the future because I've enjoyed both this book and Elatsoe so much. 

So much of YA books right now are just so on the nose, full of characters that are just predictable and mundane with social commentary so heavy-handed that it hinders someone's enjoyment of the book. While I understand the function that YA books are for teens and therefore, unlike me, would probably not be aware that such issues exist in real-time or find solace that these issues are written so clearly for them. And, as a 24-year-old who does not want to be treated like I'm a total noob and have to have issues be spelled out for them, this book (and Elatsoe) does a good job at that. While the commentary is somewhat blatant, which to some degree is always going to happen in children's fiction, it's weaved so greatly into the storytelling of the world.

I have a strong love for middle-grade fiction and children's fiction in general which is why sometimes my disdain towards YA appears quite odd. But the quality of writing for this book reminds me of all the wholesome stories of the children's fiction genre that I love. 

I wrote a review on goodreads, so I'm just going to copy and paste it here. 

I DNF-ed at 32% by falling asleep. I was so eager and excited when I heard the book pitch and how excited the booktubers I followed were talking about it. Unfortunately, I just cannot get into it. The writing style was just not for me. The exposition dump was too much, but maybe it's because I already knew the historical context in-depth as I have studied it prior. A lot of telling, no showing to explain the history of the world which... is weird as it is marketed as a historical fantasy. The pacing was off as we had years of growth between one chapter to another but nothing for us to know what we could have missed etc.

I wished this book was paced better - pacing that would have allowed me to be invested in the main character and the world that was built. We could have explored the grief, the struggle, the joys of being accepted into the monastery, the grit of survival and desperation, the difficulty of being a "boy" a lot more but it was a touch-and-go situation.

Young Adult Horror Fiction is just not a genre for me anymore. Reading this was just a way to fall asleep. I did not feel connected to any of the characters due to how one-dimensional they were written. The plot and how it unfolded just felt uneven and, out of the left field. But I think what made the book a 2 star read for me was the ending & how the main character basically, "aw man it sucks that u killed my sister because the monster made u do so but I am willing to forgive because who else is gonna kiss me that good".. Like, mmkay. Zoey is THE most realistic character in that book. Oh, and also the whole "we need three girls!" and the "big" revelation of the third girl being Val was so underwhelming and predictable. Like, you set this up to be this One Huge Thing to kill the monster and never wrote any other girl character (in my head I was like, oh is Grayson going to come out as a transgirl?) in the entire book other than Val, Zoey and the Main Character (whose name I forgot but she was the Rock of the family, so, something that was drilled into our heads but never shown). Wow, I started off the review being so indifferent but typing this all out made me feel so.. disappointed. Yeah, I think I should wean off YA as a genre for now. I am not the target audience and that's okay.