I listened to this via audiobook and loved it. LOVED IT. Cece is such an amazing character: compassionate, courageous, curious, and kind. While her physical journey was tons of fun and I loved the criaturas she comes to befriend, it was her emotional journey and character growth that blew me away.

There’s so much at work in this story from themes of slavery and power dynamics to what it means to be a friend and standing up for what is right to questioning the history we’re taught. A lot of the lessons Cece learns are appropriately named for the target audience but nuance still resides in them, too.

I do wish there had been a bit more scaffolding of the folklore and the world-building and there’s a relatively big storyline that has zero resolution, but overall, this was a brilliant read. I cannot recommend it enough. I adored it.

Please ask if you'd like more info about the content warnings I added.