After 5% into the book, I knew it wasn't for me. It's written like a play with the description of the characters at the beginning of the book. Then it tells us what said person is doing (i.e. laughing, crying), then we get a few words of dialogue. The chapters are acts, and very boring acts I might add. Unfortunately, this is not what I had in mind for an enjoyable fantasy novel.

Won in a Goodreads giveaway.

I read it to my kid before he went to bed, and the feeling we got as we turned each page felt deep. It's not just a story with great fantasy elements and plot. This book really makes you think about the world, our actions in it, and the people around us. Society. It starts with a young girl that escaped what seemed like the middle east or a country with political issues and severe prejudice. She wakes with the need to find her father, and treks across a magical kingdom or realm filled with monsters and mythological creatures, yet these things weren't as important as other fantasy works... The most important thing in this book are the characters and the plot... which is rare in my opinion.. usually authors focus too much on detail or aesthetics, and lose focus on storytelling. This does not do that. In fact, it's one of the best plot driven stories i've read in 2017. It really pulls you in, and every part of the story holds purpose, even the kids bickering hold purpose. (My kid loved those parts by the way. It gave a needed moment of comic relief when things got serious, but I noticed that when it needed to get serious.. it did that again.) Over all, read it. There is laughter, pain, and in the end, purpose to this story.. ( )